Thinking about fixing to get ready to get started

In my Mary Kay days, I was soooo excited about my business! I could spend HOURS thinking about all the great things I would do with all the money I would make, and the great team I was going to build and how far I would go and and and… you get the idea.

Know how much money I made and far I got with all the thinking and the planning?

Go on, guess!

Yeah, didn't get very far at all.

It wasn't for lack of information; it wasn't for lack of motivation or excitement; It was because I spent all my time thinking about the end, and then would think about fixin' to get ready to get started… but never did.

Why? I found excuses to not do the work (because that litter box need cleaning and dishes need to be done and that movie ain't gonna watch itself ya know?!). I spent all my brain power thinking about it I was exhausted when it came down to do it. Rather than just doing /something/ I chose to do nothing, then whined about my business not growing. I knew I could be a Director, or even a National Sales Director, and that I could be one of those mad stylin' ladies who were earning $15,000 a MONTH. But I didn't because I never got started. I was waiting for all the lights to turn green at the same time before I got started on my awesome trip to stardom.

Guess what? It never happened.

So, what does this have to do with Tough Love Thursday and weight loss?

Everything!

How many times have you had a great PLAN that you'll start as soon as Monday comes/the first of the year or month comes around/you go shopping/this holiday passes/you get through your cousin's dog's birthday party/you finish reading this or that book/your child (who's 4) graduates from college/etc.? Or you do well for a while, fall off the 'wagon' and then procrastinate about jumping back on. Or you overdo and rationalize it as 'oh, I'll do better next time'.

Here's the real question: What the heck are you waiting for?! Everything to be absolutely perfect? For the rest of the world to disappear so you can do your thing to get skinny, /then/ figure out how to deal with reality?

And here's the Tough Love Truths:

1) There will never, ever, ever be a perfect time to start your journey to lose fat, get healthy and fit.

By postponing your journey, you're postponing your joy. You're allowing your perfectionism and the all or nothing attitude to win, and you make your chances for success even smaller.

2) There will ALWAYS be a party, a birthday, a holiday, etc.

As near as I can tell, most of them are actually planned out and posted on this thing called… oh what is it? Oh yeah, a calendar. Basically, every day is an opportunity for eating; you have to decide which event is important to you, and what's more important: Being in charge of food, or the food being in charge of you.

3) Losing weight is hard work.

I'm not just talking about the physical sweat, either. You will have to work every day on reshaping the way you think about food, about movement, and even harder: how you think and act toward yourself. There will always be crisis', sick kids/parents/spouses/self, there will be work stress, there will be life stress. Life is difficult at best, but we're in it together, and together we are stronger, better, and faster… wait, wrong show… you know what I mean!

4) Losing weight is hard work, but it's not impossible.

It's a long slow process, but the most important thing is to keep your long term goal in mind of being with people you love for a long time and improving your overall heath. It requires baby steps, it requires you to pay attention, it requires you to be proactive rather than reactive, it requires you to plan and it requires you to commit to yourself. But it doesn't require you to do any of those things perfectly, or all at once.

It doesn't mean grueling hours in the gym or giving up your favorite food. It means making a slight attitude shift of knowing WHY you are doing it, and making the decisions of what to do or not to do based on how they impact your goals.

You are worth it!!! You are worth getting to know and you are sooo worth the work that's involved!

Start to live your life as if you're already at you've already reached your goal, as if you're already successful in this journey. Begin your QUEST (Quit Using Excuses Sabotaging Triumph) today... be dramatic! Draw an imaginary line in the sand with yourself and turn moment-to-moment decisions into black and white. When we QUEST there is no wiggle room. Pick one thing you are going to stop doing, then let's go Cold Turkey!

Besides, when was the last time you heard a successful person say, "I should have..."?

Technorati : Exercise, food, goals, health, life, motivation, sparkpeople, thoughts