Where Do You Get Your Motivation?

July 27, 2014 by debo2pt 3 Comments

We have all played the game. You know the one, deciding on whether or not to exercise. The “reasons” are always ridiculous. I put reasons in quotes because let’s be honest the times when we don’t exercise are excuses. Now don’t get me wrong there are times where there are valid reasons, but most the time it is just a lame excuse. Here is a list of some of the excuses I have used:

Took the words out of my mouth

• I’m too sore from yesterday’s run
• I’m tired
• I’d rather clean the apartment
• I wanted to let Kate run
• The weather isn’t ideal
• I don’t like running on treadmills

Those are just some of the lame excuses I have used, but I have noticed that I am hitting the pavement a lot more and without making up excuses. So why is that changing? To be honest I have become a lot more motivated and it is showing in the results. There are 5 motivational factors that have helped me get going; kids, Kate, friends & family, the mirror and the goal to complete the Boston Marathon before I turn 40 years old.

The most important thing to me are my kids and I want to be around for a long time. I always thought that I would have kids at a younger age so that way I would be around for all of the big milestones. Since that didn’t happen I knew I needed to get healthy and stay healthy. I was not going the right direction, the older Hannah and Jacob the more I started to weigh. When I saw the scale hot 279 I knew I needed to change my lifestyle for them.

I should have put Kate and the kids in the same category, but she deserves her own. Kate motivates me, not only because I want to spend as much time with her before not being around, but because she is an absolute monster when it comes to exercise. This woman plays entire basketball games, runs 6 miles with ease even though before recently she had only ran 3 miles at the most and the fact that her abs are already showing after having Hannah 6 months ago is amazing to me. We have a healthy competition of trying to out do each other in basketball and now running. She definitely has the upper hand, but with all the motivation I have I’m coming for her.

Social media is fantastic for motivation! I have many friends and family that are following my journey through Facebook, Runkeeper and MyFitnessPal and to be honest if I wasn’t posting my runs and my food diary I am not sure how well I would be doing. I feel as though Social Media holds you accountable and I also love when people “like” my statuses. I love the support of my friends and family and I in turn support them in their journey. Everyone has their own uses for Social Media and my biggest use at the moment is to share get myself and others going and it works!

The mirror is the devil!  Seeing your stomach hang over your pants is awful, it makes you feel gross and pretty bad about yourself. Which is a good reason to get into exercising. I took a picture when I weighed my most so that I could compare the results and what a great idea that was…

Side view of 33 lbs lost

Front view after 27 lbs lost

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have always wanted to run the Boston Marathon, but never believed I could. After the Marathon Bombings I made a decision that I would run the Boston Marathon before I turn 40. In order to do that I need to qualify so I have a lot of work, but it is truly helpful to have a goal like this because it is not a short term goal. I still have about 6 years to complete this goal and in order for me to do it I will have to stick with it.

I want to earn a finished medal

There are many different things that can motivate individuals, but it is up to the individual to figure out what will get them going. What works for me may not work for you, but that doesn’t mean you should give up. One of the biggest things I’ve learned over the past 3-4 months is that this can’t just be a diet and losing weight. This needs to be a lifestyle change and I think that is why motivation is really important.

The question is what motivates you? Please share your ideas because it may help someone else start their own journey.

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