“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one” – Mark Twain
When we are trying to lose weight or thinking about it, we sometimes start to look too far into the future which makes our goal seem close to impossible. This may cause us to shut down because we become overwhelmed or fearful of failure. If we break our weight loss goal into smaller goals and practical steps, then we can focus on just taking the first step each day. That is all we need to focus on, nothing else. By taking the first step we change our mental state from resistant to something more positive and open, we may not be enthusiastic about taking the next step after this first one but we are at least accepting it. We can then take the next step and the rest will follow.
“Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often” – Mark Twain
It is often easy for us to talk, but developing the habit of taking action can be quite a bit harder. Being in the habit of breaking down our weight loss goal into smaller goals is one of the most effective things you can do to take more consistent action. It may help by doing these two simple things:
- Start your day with a good morning routine. This is probably going to be the most important factor for how closely you follow your new lifestyle during a day and how your day turns out in general. A good start will often lead to a good day! A bad or indecisive start often leads to a pretty average day. To create a morning routine with your breakfast all weighed out and prepared, vitamins ready to go, and perhaps a short stretch or meditation or other things you find to get you off to a great start. Once you have started with one meal, you will be encouraged to keep going during your day.
- For some extra motivation, look at your before photograph or read some weight loss success stories and get excited about it! You will then be encouraged to take action today. Make a plan, book an appointment, do something concrete – whatever will help you achieve your goal.
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear” – Mark Twain
Being courageous can be difficult but if we want to achieve our weight loss goal and live the life we want to live, then we have to look into the face of fear and get going anyway! Sometimes it can be hard to be courageous, but there are a few ways you can make it a little easier:
- Ask yourself: What is the worst that could happen? Really have a good think about it and sit down with a piece of paper and pen and write it all out. Then write down a plan for how you can come back from such a situation. This will bring clarity, defuse your fears and help you realise that you can most often bounce back pretty quickly even if the worst case scenario somehow becomes a reality.
- You might like to share your fear with someone. By sharing your fear you can relieve the inner pressure. By keeping it on the inside it is easy to build it up into this massive nightmare that seems like you will never be able to overcome. By sharing and getting some input from a supportive friend, family member or your consultant, they will help you alleviate the fear and inner pressure so you can gain a better perspective on things and continue on.
- It can be a natural impulse to try deny your fear when it shows up. You might try not to think about it or you try to push it away. It is usually better to just accept that fear is here right now and by doing so you stop feeding it more energy. After a few minutes taking in this uncomfortable feeling and accepting it, it will start to become smaller and seem to float away.
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great” – Mark Twain
Spending time with positive people, books, music, movies, and websites is so very important. It is important for us to spend more of our time in an environment that will lift us up. We need to make a conscious choice and start to shape our environment instead of just going along and listening to negative people, watching what people in general or people around us may be in the habit of consuming. With a positive environment, we will be able to take steps forward towards our goals, rather than being held back by things around us.
