I recently received a text message from one of my best friends that went a little like this: "I need some motivation... I've fallen away from my workout and good eating kick!!! I need some serious accountability!!!!..." Want to know my response to her? "Don't worry. Take a deep breath. Do something right now that's good for you - even if it's a walk to the mailbox, and make good decisions from then on out!" I then when on to ask her what she has been doing and what does she REALISTICALLY have time to do going forward (
girl
has 6 children to take care of -
life
definitely gets in her way!).
You see, it's one thing to try to back yourself into a corner of what you should be doing, but sometimes, when we box ourselves in SO much, we don't leave time or the ability to veer from our normal path. This is dangerous! Not really dangerous in a skydiving or a driving 100MPH in a 25MPH zone sort of way, but dangerous in a self-sabotaging way. When you fall off of the wagon from this, you are going to fall HARD! It's going to make it even harder to get back on.
Let's talk about the wagon you are on: What does it look like? Is it realistic? Did you try to make yourself or your "goals" into something that you aren't or shouldn't be? Is it too far from what you feel you can actually accomplish? Did you set one big goal or smaller ones that will lead up to a bigger one? You need to evaluate this. If something doesn't seem attainable, squash it - you won't get there. SURE - Dream the impossible and reach for it! However, people don't accomplish the impossible by starting on a direct path to it first. They overcome little hurdles that ultimately add up to the big shebang!
How about the road you are driving the wagon on? What does that road look like? Did you give yourself 3 weeks to run a half marathon? 1 month to lose 20 lbs? If your goal looks like that, you've set yourself up for failure before you even started. Think about your goals and the things it will take you to get there, what's going on in your life (vacation, obligations, responsibilities, time constraints, etc) and determine the road that looks best for YOU. Not a group of your friends, but YOU!
What happens if and when you fall off of the wagon? You see those posts on Pinterest and Facebook all the time - "So and so lost 75lbs in 3 months because they were FOCUSED." Um... first of all, that isn't healthy, but I digress... If it's actually true, do you not think they had times of self-doubt? Think they sneaked in a night of too many calories or drank a glass of wine? Most likely. If it's actually true however, they learned how to pick themselves up off the ground, get back on the wagon and move closer toward their goal. The OVERALL goal became BIGGER than their immediate desire (not need - if it's truly a need, don't ignore it). All you have to do is have the courage (and maybe "gumption" if you are in the South) to get back up, brush yourself on and persevere toward the finish line.
What does your wagon look like?
Tiffany