Natalie rushed into my office and sank into my client chair. “Sorry I’m late,” she began. “I had a terrible week, and almost didn’t come in to see you today!”
“You look pretty stressed,” I responded. “So what’s going on with your weight-loss efforts?”
“I’m not getting anywhere,” Natalie replied. “I can’t figure out why I’m so LAZY! I start the week with good intentions but then I get tired or upset and I don’t feel like doing any of the things on my weight-loss plan.
For example, I take my healthy lunch to work, but at noon, I don’t feel like eating it, so I go out for fast food. After I get home, I glance at my workout clothes laid out on the bed, but I don’t feel like exercising, so I skip it. In fact, I didn’t feel like coming to see you today either. But I pushed myself to show up because I really need some help.”
“Well, I’m glad you kept your appointment,” I said. “It takes extra effort when you don’t FEEL like being here. Let’s take a look at what has caused you to become so depleted and unmotivated.”
As Natalie and I talked, I assured her that she was not alone in her struggle. Most of us have times when we don’t FEEL like doing things. And even if we’d been faithful with these areas in the past, we’ll have no idea why they are so hard right now.
In fact, this past weekend, I caught myself saying “I don’t feel like it” about my exercise plan. I was tired, had lots to do, and my motivation had disappeared.
But I realized that even though I didn’t feel like doing laundry or working on my income taxes, I did those things anyway. So I decided to apply that same push to my exercise goals, and I shoved myself out the door for my walk.
As you can see at the beginning of this post, I also created a screensaver that says “Do it anyway” so I’m reminded of this several times a day.
Do it anyway
If you wait until you FEEL like doing the steps required for losing weight, you’ll probably never do anything. So instead of hoping you’ll feel motivated for exercise or healthy eating, tell yourself this phrase: Do it anyway!
When you make yourself go to work or handle other challenges in your life, you focus on actions, not your feelings. So on days when you don’t feel like sticking with your diet or exercise plan, take action and “do it anyway!”
Take a few “do it anyway” actions each day. Over time, they will add up to a lot of changes. You’ll also remember what it feels like to use your own power as a motivation tool, rather than hoping that one of these days, you might “feel” like sticking with your weight-loss plan.