Achieving Goals = Motivation

I have been on a whirlwind journey for the past couple of years.  I have set many goals.  Some of them I have achieved, and some of them I haven't.  Some have been left behind, some I am still working at.  One thing I know is that when I finally do reach a goal, it motivates me to keep going, keep setting new goals, keep trying to achieve the ones I have yet to complete.  It's a hard road, trying to do things for myself, but I know that in the end, the effort is worth it.  When I can say, "Ya, I did that," it feels absolutely fantastic.  The sense of pride and accomplishment is rivaled by nothing else.  It's absolutely empowering.

Before I got pregnant, I did not feel good about myself.  I was a good 25 pounds overweight, and though I tried to lose it, it seemed to be stuck on my body.  I wanted a baby so badly, but was reluctant to start trying because I knew I would just get fatter.  There wasn't a whole lot of positive self talk going on in my life at that time.  I finally decided that having a baby was more important than losing a few pounds, so I did.  I gained a LOT of weight with this pregnancy, and since my weight was high to begin with, I had a lot more to lose at the end.  I accepted the fact that I was going to spend a good couple of years of my life being fat again.  I reconciled myself to the fact, and then I started to eat.  I figured that if I was going to have to lose weight later anyway, I may as well forget about showing any restraint and just go for it.  Because of this kind of thinking, I topped the scales at about 245 before I gave birth. I was still over 200 when my daughter was born.  How depressing.

One thing that motivated me to get back on the wagon and make healthier life choices was the fact that I had done this before.  When my first daughter was born, I tipped the scales at about 190, and I lost over 40 pounds.  I knew I had it in me, but I also knew it was going to be hard.  As soon as I could, I started getting active again.  The biggest struggle I had was changing my eating habits.  Sugar and carbs are secret lovers of mine, and I was having (and still have) a hard time giving them up.  I am still trying very hard to make better choices in my food, and I have written about that extensively before.

The reason for writing this post, however, is not to talk about how fat I was.  It's to talk about goals I've set, and goals I've achieved.  I have achieved many.  It's a wonderful, wonderful feeling, and it is one of the things that is helping me to continue on this journey.  My daughter was 10 months old yesterday, and for the last month, I have been able to wear every single article of clothing I wore right before I got pregnant.  Everything fits.  In 9 months, I lost every single pound I gained while pregnant.  Every. Single. Pound.  What an accomplishment!  I am so incredibly proud of myself.  I love looking in the mirror and seeing the progress I've made.  I still have imperfections.  I am still overweight.  But it won't be forever, and I have proven this to myself, again.  Because I've been able to experience this success, I know for a fact that I can do it.  Tony Robbins says that if you give a person an experience, it becomes real to them; a lesson they can internalize instead of just hear.  I tend to agree.  When we see results, we know they aren't unattainable.  How fantastic is that?

My inspiration today was a friend's blog, where she wrote about some goals she has set for herself, and overcoming the fear involved and replacing it with faith.  I think it's so true.  For a long time, I was afraid to try a lot of things because I didn't want to fail.  I was afraid.  I didn't want to try to write a novel because I was afraid I just couldn't do it.  Now I have written 89 pages, and over 48 000 words.  I'm actually doing it, and I think it's pretty good, for a first draft.  \I hid behind my fat for a long time, and used food to make myself feel better.  I am now overcoming those things in my life, and have lost over 30 pounds.  I still have lots of other goals, and I am looking forward to seeing them come to fruition.   I know for a fact that I can make them happen. 

What things have you achieved lately?  It doesn't have to be something huge like writing a novel or losing a bunch of weight.  It can be making a healthy meal choice today, or finishing that project you've been working on.  Once you look at your experiences, and what you have achieved, you will most certainly be able to believe you can achieve more.  You can take that next step.  You can take it to the next level.  Let your successes, and not your failures, motivate you today.