CHOOSING SUCCESS

Today I'm home with my son who has a viral infection. It caught me a bit off guard as I had no work with me (I have every other day taken work home and not done it) and I got up at 5.15 to do my training. If I'd known I was going to be home I could have slept in and done the training anytime during the day. BUGGER!!

So I've had this strange feeling of time on my hands and not quite sure what to do. Its too early to clean the house for the weekend open. There isnt quite enough washing as yet. I couldnt go out anywhere. Its been rather odd.

So today I've been thinking about success and failure. I hate the word "failure" but its one way to describe lack of success so its my word of choice for this post.

In the past I can recall numerous failed attempts to lose body fat and gain a lean and toned physique. The failures happened almost bi-weekly or monthly at the least. Many would know what I mean, when you eat well for however long only to "fall off the wagon" and then "blow it all" and then just decide its all too hard, eat crap for however long before you pull it all together and repeat the cycle over and over.

This was my life and the life of others too from what I read in other blogs. But it changed recently and it changed for the better. Why? Because I decided that I didnt want to live my life that way any more. Yes I had had enough and I took steps to get help with my thoughts and behaviours because going it alone had not worked before. I've blogged about my sessions with my Sports Psyche and how they've turned my life around (I know that sounds corny but its true). After decades of binge eating I now think differently and act differently and I no longer binge :-)

But that is merely step one. I had to also want success.

When I started a new program to get me lean and toned I had a desire to lose about 10 kilos. It was a goal but on a scale of 1 - 10 how badly did I want it? About a 6. Not much hey?? On the outside I convinced myself that I was focussed and determined as I worked towards my goal, but was I really? Well a couple of weekends ago the writing was on the wall. Care factor for my goal had hit an all time low and progress was negative.

So what happened? Did I have a lightbulb moment where all of a sudden the motivation came back into full force? Did I revisit my goals and reaffirm their importance? Did I stumble across a secret ingredient that I had missed before, a new superfood or a new training method?

Well none of the above actually. When I felt really low and the motivation was still lacking I just took one small step at a time and made one small good choice after another. Nothing ground breaking. Nothing earth shattering. And it soon dawned on me that I did REALLY want to achieve my goal. My wanting it at level 6 had shot up to probably a 9. I found passion and I found drive and I was getting on with it and DOING IT.

So now I choose success. I look for ways to follow my eating plan even when the alternative looks so attractive. I plan out my training and allow some flexibility so I dont get caught at the end of the week with no time left but sessions still to complete. I practice my affirmations daily even if its for a few minutes before I fall asleep. And I picture the body I want and the life I want to live so that they are ingrained in my mind and can morph into reality.

So success can be yours. You start by wanting it, planning for it, taking action to achieve it, believing it will happen and accepting no less. Thats my philosophy.

Cheers all

Magda

PS I can feel a bonus cardio session coming on tonight as I'll have some more free time on my hands and all weight training is done and dusted.