Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Best Advice Ever - Stop Whining and Do It

Top 10 Lists
It seems that every magazine has a top 10 list of what ever. I recently received an e-newsletter with a top 10 list of things to improve my running. Number 8 was the most intriguing. It was Stop Whining and Do it.

Why We Whine
First we have problem and sometimes these problems, though are actually small, at the time seem insurmountable and we need support. So we whine. Sometimes we whine out of frustration. Sometimes we loose our ability to see that everyone has problems and we whine about the grass being greener on the other side. It may be that we can't see the other persons perspective and can only see our own, so when things don't go our way, we whine. This list could go on and on.

Whining About Our Weight and Health
I hear a lot of people whine about their weight, their health, and their inability to do certain things because of their health. These people whine for many of the reasons I have listed above and it is always accompanied with a reason or frustration. "I just don't have time to exercise." "There is no way anyone could live off that little amount of food." "So and so looses weight so easily, why can't I?" All of these complaints focus on an external condition, and not on the whiner.

Be Proactive
Being proactive means to first recognize that we have more control over our situation than we dare admit, even to ourselves. Second, it means to recognize that our response to uncontrollable circumstances is just as important as the circumstance itself.

Where Is The Time
All of us have busy schedules. Work, kids, cleaning house, school, church, and the list can go on and on. The things we do take time for are the things we have decided are important. you may say "No, I go to work because I have to." That is not true, and to say that is to be reactive not proactive. What you should say is "I have a choice of weather or not I go to work. I have decided the rewards for going to work are worth more than the consequences of NOT going to work." It is the same with everything we do in life.

Make Time to Get Fit
When I look at my schedule, and then compare it with what I actually did, there is a lot of down time where I watch TV of spend too long on the computer. I have chosen to cut some of that time out and I walk and run. you don't have to do it all at once either. Do at least 30 minutes of a fitness activity a day and you will see the change.

Wanting To Look Good Is Not Enough
The hardest things to do are those we have very little motivation to do. For example, it would be very hard to go to work, if they quit paying you. Simply loosing weight so that you will look good is very hard for this reason. Unless your are a supermodel or a professional athlete, no one will pay you to loose weight or stop paying you if you don't. It has to be more than that.

Body Image Problems
People who loose weight to look better often don't keep the weight off. On reason is that don't end up with that perfect body when the weight is gone. People who are healthy and loose weight and keep it off, do not have body image problems. As soon as you are happy with yourself, regardless of what you look like (even if you are really over weight) the easier it will be to accomplish anything.

I Can Do It Now
Be proactive and start a fitness and nutrition program today. You will feel better and be healthier than you ever imagined.

2 comments:

Missy said...

You must have seen my Twitter comment about being the same weight for 3 days in a row...talk about whining.

Teri B. Clark said...

I'm wearing the pedometer and am not satisfied with my couch potato status. So, I am looking for ways to walk more. I realized that if I walk to the mailbox from the house instead of driving up to it on the way home from an errand, I gain 100 steps!