"Rewards Change Your Auto Pilot"

Motivation...motive; the inner drive that causes one to act!
We are on week # 8 of 10, looking at ways to keep motivation alive. Healthy motivation is the key to reaching your goals in any area of your life. The question we must ask ourselves is, "what causes me to act?" The answer is a simple one...PLEASURE! We do EVERYTHING we do, to avoid pain or seek pleasure! A huge part of keeping motivation alive is to reward your new behavior. We will ALWAYS gravitate towards pleasure. The next tool in your tool box:

8. Reward yourself for new behavior

The problem we face when we try to change is that we link pleasure to the wrong things. One of the keys to permanent change is to use pain and pleasure to change your beliefs system for good. Rewarding new behavior is a must to keep your motivation alive!

It's easy to look back in our lives and see when rewards were used effectively. From the charts our parents made us for doing our chores(you know, the ones with stars on them) to the creative ways our teachers rewarded us for turning in our homework, being quiet in class or any other behavior they were motivating us to live out, rewards have been a part of our lives.

For some reason, as adults we quit rewarding ourselves, or we begin to use unhealthy rewards in our lives like food, alcohol, spending...rewards that promote addiction. (all empty or wounded places in us are addictions waiting to happen)

We make decisions as adults to quit over eating, quit drinking, or stop over spending, but we don't replace those pleasures with anything else. We are fine for a while, putting pleasure aside, but 100% of the time we will automatically swing back to what we feel is pleasure. Rewarding yourself with new pleasure is a MUST!

It's important to reward yourself not only for weight loss goals, but also for new behavior. It's great to reward yourself at a 10 pound, 20 pound...weight loss, but equally important to reward yourself when you attend a party and stay on your nutritional plan! Your subconscious mind will begin to love living the new life style and feel pleasure in a new way. Auto pilot changes when you use rewards!

In looking at the kinds of rewards you might find pleasure in, it's important that you don't see rewards as something you buy. Rewards should be things that bring pleasure to you in many areas of your life.

Linking pain to old behavior and pleasure to new behavior will be life changing for you. Don't miss out on the importance of rewards. They will truly keep motivation alive!

Always encouraging you,
Letha

"Act As If"

As we continue to look at ways to keep motivation alive it's very important to remember that motivation is in the doing! We can't just 'think' about being motivated...we must also 'act' on our motivation.

Our 7th tool in this priceless tool box:

Act As If.

What would happen this weekend if you acted like a healthy, slender person? What if you chose to act like you have always been slim? What choices would you make? Where would you go? What would you eat? What would you say yes to? What would you say no to? You've heard it said before, "fake it till you make it", well, that is another way of saying, act as if!

Have you ever studied slender people? They do things differently than over weight people:

They do more and sit less
They don't look for the closest parking spot
They take the stairs instead of the elevator
They choose restaurants with the best food, not the most food
They don't have a problem ordering what they want
They take small bites
They don't focus on the food when they eat out, they focus on the company
They always have their dressing on the side
They always need a 'to go box' for their leftovers
They leave food on their plate
They don't order dessert

Just to name a few.

What if, this weekend you acted as if? Motivation IS in the doing and you would find yourself feeling better about yourself and begin to believe that you really could live out the rest of your life as a slender person.

Your beliefs dictate your thoughts which dictate your feelings which dictate your actions However, to permanently change your beliefs, sometimes you have to act your way into feeling which causes you to think differently and ultimately helps you change your beliefs!


Act as if this weekend and embrace the feelings of your new decision to live a healthy life.

Always encouraging you,
Letha

" Dear Future Me"

It's all about the motivation! Motive; the inner drive that causes one to act.
We spend way too much time thinking about food when we are trying to lose weight...and way too little time thinking about why we want to lose weight; our motive for losing weight.

Our weight loss goals MUST inspire us. Motivation is SO important to being successful at weight loss and weight maintenance that I have spent the last 5 weeks on Motivation! One week at a time, I've been focusing on one tool to add to your motivation tool box. Today I'll give you your 6th tool and an effective one at that!

6. Write a letter to your future self.

This is a powerful exercise that can be life changing! What would your letter look like if you sat down today, at the weight you are at, at the health level you are experiencing, and wrote to your future self? Your future self who is living at goal weight, healthy, and has made permanent changes. What do you want him or her to know about how you are feeling today? How compelling could your letter be? How desperate are you to tell your future self that this life is painful and you don't want to EVER live here again!?

Below, you'll find a letter that a client wrote and gave me permission to use. I hope it touches you like it did me. Take the time to write a letter to your future self this weekend. Motivation is in the doing...this tool will make a difference, I promise!


Dear Future Self,
**You are at the Clark County fair with your kids. It is warm and the sun is just disappearing. One of the kids, I think it was your daughter, wants to go on a ride together with you. You give the toothsome "carnie" your tickets, find your seats, and wait in anticipation. He comes around to lower the bar and yours won't go down. The safety bar can't click into place because you are too big. You are so embarrassed you want to fade into the seat so no one can see you. But you can't. You look at your daughter, and see the disappointment in her face. She won't go on the ride without you. You slowly get out of your seat, take her by the hand, and walk towards the midway. You apologize to her trying to keep your voice steady, and she squeezes your hand three times very quickly... your secret way of saying I love you to each other when you are in public. It is all you can do to not burst into tears for the rest of the night.**

Please remember this moment. As painful as the memory is, it is important for you to keep it fresh in your mind. You never want to go back to this place and all the other ones just like it. You want to be able to go shopping and try on clothes without breaking a sweat. You want to run up a flight of stairs without losing your breath. You want to actually WANT to look in a full length mirror. You don't want to be the girl that hides behind her layers of fat to keep herself safe from all the men in the world. You want to be healthy, and to be able to get on a bike without instantly worrying that you've flattened the tires. You want to be able to lie on the beach and feel completely relaxed without wondering if people are looking at you and feeling disgusted.

Most of all, you want to set a good example for your son. You want to show him that eating right and taking care of your body is important. You DON'T want him to go through any of the embarrassing moments that you have lived through. The time is now. The opportunity is here. There is no tomorrow. There is only TODAY.

Always encouraging you,
Letha

"Garbage In ~ Garbage Out"

For the last four weeks we've been looking at ways to keep motivation alive. Losing weight and keeping it off for life is a difficult task, and if we don't keep motivation alive and well, we're going to have a tough go of it!

I don't know about you, but the bad news and the tragedies of this world get to me and affect my thinking. I have to make conscious decisions to take in good news and positive thoughts to keep my mind renewed. I believe in the phrase, "garbage in, garbage out," and that is why I'll encourage you to take out the 5th tool in your tool box to keep your motivation alive!

5.Absorb GOOD NEWS through books, tapes, the internet or however you can wrap your mind around it!

This last few weeks have been difficult for me. I have struggled with grief and fear because of personal situations in my life. It seemed that all the tragedies happening in the world and on the news and were adding to my already dark feelings. I knew that the circumstance were not going to change, so it was time that I made the choice to change my thinking.

My usual practice when I'm feeling this way is to walk into my office and slowly look over my book shelf. I have lots of books that have made a difference in my life over the years. I look until one jumps out and screams, "read me again!" Well, this week it was a winner..."As a Man Thinketh" by James Allen. A powerful, classic book that I have not read in over 15 years!

I was on page 2 when I felt my mind turning around. "A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all of his thoughts."
Allen goes on to say, "Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself mansions of joy and strength and peace."

There it was! The truth that I needed to hear to turn my thoughts around! Changing your thinking is hard work, especially during difficult times in your life but I am convinced that these are the times when our mind grows the strongest.

What are you reading? What are you listening to? Is the garbage that the world is presenting to you on a daily basis consuming you? It's up to you to find the balance in this world. As we face the hard things of life we also must keep focused on the good. Do everything you can to absorb GOOD NEWS to keep your mind strong and thinking rightly.

As a man thinketh...so is he.

Take out the 5th tool in this tool box and keep it close...use it often...it will change the way you think; change your thinking...change your life!

Always encouraging you,
Letha