Are you having trouble getting started?
Maybe you had the best of intentions thinking “I should make a resolution to be healthier”. But, and that’s a big but (or maybe a big butt), you never got going. Something was standing in your way. Now, it’s February and your back in the same rut you’ve been living in.
I thought about this as I was riding my bicycle on Badger Mountain.
Over 10 years ago, I am not sure what “Clicked”, but I started on a kick that left me a hundred pounds lighter, more active and committed to an overall healthier lifestyle.
I wanted to share a few things that might help you get started.
1. Remember you are who you are, there may be no way to change it. You are a certain age, you are a certain ethnicity, you are a certain size (this you may be able to change), you have a certain set of talents, skills and abilities (this you can change too). What you really have the ability to change TODAY is your attitude. How you present yourself, how you carry yourself, how you dress and groom yourself, these can all have a big effect on how you succeed at your desires. People around you will react favorably to a person who has an attitude of success and will welcome and support you in your positive life changes. “We all know people who are 50 going on 30 and those who are 50 going on 70” says Nancy Collamer, author of Second Act Careers; “People who take pride in their appearance, high energy, and who have a youthful attitude…it is so much more about the age that you project as opposed to your actual physical age.”
2. Whatever is keeping you from making a change or getting started is probably not more important than making positive lifestyle changes. Author Dan Miller says: “Obstacles can be opportunities in disguise.” “But, I’m afraid of getting started”, you might be saying to yourself. That fear is real, no doubt about it but the key is to take some baby steps, take small risks and progress into the larger steps that will help you progress toward your desires. Maybe you start on the Badger Flats trail with no elevation gain but you get outdoors and enjoy the special kind of beauty the Tri-Cities has to offer.
3. Do it! The modern day prophet Spencer W. Kimball had this saying on his desk. What do you have to lose? (except maybe some weight, reliance on medications, a job you don’t particularly enjoy or family dynamics that are not optimal). Desire is the first step toward accomplishment and you must have that desire if you’ve read this far. A little voice must have said in your head “there has to be something better.” That is a voice of hope something that you can lean on for motivation to start and continue. “Do it” can be a powerful motivator and I’ll add my extra word; Do it NOW.
I hope these little tidbits will help you in your hopes to live a purposeful, more fulfilling life through positive changes.