Zig Ziglar said, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”  Some days you wake up feeling motivated, and some days those negative thoughts of failure or hopelessness might creep in.  Today we’re going to discuss how you can get yourself going and stay motivated during your ZOË journey! 

The secret is to start small and build momentum through the day.  It’s just like a train – it starts slowly with huffing and puffing but it’s hard to stop once its moving!   

Let’s talk about what drives you.  It’s important for you to identify what makes this journey worth it to you so you may have the vision to actually implement changes in your life.  Take a second and jot down why it’s important for you to make this life change.  It might be simple – you may write, ‘I want to feel better.’  Or ‘I want to look better.’  Or like one of our recent success stories, who decided to make his commitment after having gained over 400 pounds and had been warned by his doctor that he was at risk of death – he simply wrote, ‘For my kids.’  Whatever your reason, write it down now.  We’ll wait.  Once you have written it down, place this note where you will see it often throughout each day – your bathroom mirror, on your computer screen, wherever you will be most often reminded of WHY you are on your journey. 

Next, you need to allow someone to hold you accountable for keeping to your commitment to yourself… or if they are on a similar journey, there’s nothing at all wrong with a friendly competition!   Remember, this is what you want, and you’re worth it!  Meanwhile, don’t beat yourself up if you stumble:  that just makes you feel less motivated!  It’s better to just nudge yourself back onto track and build up your momentum again!  Start talking positively to everyone about how far you’ve come, and what you’re doing next to keep going! 

Another thing to remember is to not compare yourself to other people.  Listen, your success story is yours, and you own it.  Don’t compare yourself with others or against people in magazines.  Instead, look to see how far you have already come in your journey.  Look at yourself in the mirror and congratulate yourself on your running tab of success – you can say, ‘I lost that many pounds in just that many days???’   

Give yourself some credit when you accomplish a goal. Social media or weight loss sites with community pages are great places to share your successes and get support. When you feel pride in yourself, you will increase your motivation. 

Lastly, reward yourself!  I mean, don’t award yourself with food… but yeah, go to a movie, get a manicure, something that’s not so you would never normally buy it, or so trivial it’s not really a reward.