Make a List
Why do you want to be healthy? Or lose weight? Or be more toned? Have you ever really asked yourself that question? Have you ever honestly, truly, thoroughly answered it?
That’s what I want you to do today.
Grab your favorite beverage and your favorite writing utensils. Sit down where it is quiet, preferably near a mirror. Because I really want you to look at yourself in the mirror. Seriously. Look at your body. Look inside your own eyes and ask the question:
Why do I want this?
And then write down every single reason that comes to your mind. From the deeply profound to the ridiculously shallow. All of them. No editing.
My list looks something like this:
1. My mom had her first heart attack at age 53 and died from heart disease at age 70, never seeing 3 of my 4 children. She never saw my brother's 3 children. She never saw my sister's son. She never saw most of her great grand-children. I don’t want that to happen to me.
2. I am glorifying God by taking good care of the only body He has or ever will give me on this Earth. If I don’t take care of it, who will?
3. I want my kids to be healthy, too. They are watching and learning from everything I do—good and bad. If I don’t teach them to make healthy choices, who will?
4. I want to live to play and run with my kids and grandkids, for as long as possible.
5. I want to have energy during the day to do everything else I need to do.
6. I want to sleep well at night.
7. I want my size 4-6 clothes to fit me well.
8. I like looking at muscle tone on my arms, legs and abs.
9. I like when people notice that I’m fit and compliment me,
or when they ask me what I do for exercise and what I eat.
10. I love the endorphin rush after a hard workout.
11. Exercise helps relieve my stress.
12. Exercise is an excellent antidepressant.
13. Exercise helps clear my mind, where I often pray, plan,
create and sort through issues.
14. Exercise gives me a little break from the kiddos.
15. Healthy food tastes good to me.
16. I like the way I feel after I eat healthy food.
17. Healthy eating and exercise reduces the risk of every known disease,
including all cancers and heart disease.
18. Junk food may taste good, but I hate the way junk food makes me feel.
I almost always regret indulging.
So, there you go…I command you to make lists. All of you. I’ll even let you steal some of my reasons. Because long after this series is over, and I’m not there to whisper tips into your ear, you can look back at your list and gain a burst of new motivation.
Now, scoot.
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Congrats to mlhummy! The winner of the picture frame designed by The Chubby Dove!
I will e-mail you to get your mailing address.
The rest of you, go visit her...she does the cutest work EVER. I have lots of her stuff. And I was in her wedding. That's gotta count for something.
And thanks to all of you who helped spread the word about our
31 Days Closer to...series.
Here are the rest of the ladies doing there 31 Day thang:
Wow! These are such good ideas, Sandy. I keep a mental list, but a physical list might be good to have on hand.
ReplyDeleteMy list mirrors yours in many ways.
ReplyDeleteStress relief
Looking better in my clothes
Holding off "looking really old"
Time for solitary meditation/prayer
I love being outside and sweating in the sun.
Increasing physical and mental AND EMOTIONAL endurance
I did this once ages ago and it was a help. I'll dig it out and update it. It will be intersting to see what I wrote and how/if anything has changed.
ReplyDeleteOne of the ones I remeber is that my wedding & engagement rings would fit better, since they were, at that time, getting snug. They went past snug to painful, but now they are so much too big that I'm wearing them on my middle finger.
Lori