Inspiration

What inspires you?

It's important to know what you're reaching for. Especially when you're starting a long-term journey like taking your physical, mental, spiritual, and financial health under control. Many people advocate the power of imagination and visualization - and I agree with them! There's a lot to be said for the power of what you're choosing to focus on!

But sometimes your imagination just isn't up to the task. When it comes to my physical health, mine certainly isn't! I can't even begin to imagine what I'll look like when I'm skinny and healthy, because I haven't been skinny and healthy since I was a child. Whenever I try to call up a mental picture of that, I just come up with a giant blank space and some question marks (literally, that's what I see in my mind when I try to imagine myself as skinny).

When we hit these points where we just can't visualize the future for ourselves, we need inspiration. I collect pictures of skinny women in beautiful evening gowns because I'm a princess at heart and I love gowns. I also collect pictures of women doing yoga or playing with children or cooking. These women don't look like me and for all I know there's a good chance I won't look like them when I reach my physical health goal. But while I'm in that space where I can't even imagine what my goal looks like, these pictures are great inspiration. They give me a rough draft kind of idea, something to focus on and believe in and work toward, something that lifts my heart when I'm feeling down and helps me believe in what I'm reaching for again.

These inspirations give my imagination the jumping off point that it needs. I love imagining myself running around the house chasing after a bunch of kids as they scream and giggle and have fun. I love thinking about taking tons of pictures and never thinking "gosh, I look horrible." I love thinking about doing yoga together with my whole family on the front lawn while the sun comes up, or hiking in the autumn just to see the colors. I love thinking about birthday parties and proms and weddings and always having plenty of energy to handle wave after wave of "Mom, have you seen my shoes?" and "Tell him to stop hitting me!" because I'm healthy and keeping my body fueled with good, clean-burning foods.

I'm inspired when I imagine what life is going to be like for me, ten or twenty years from now, when I'm healthy and mentally and emotionally at peace and secure because I'm connected to God and I know that no matter what may happen I've got our money situation handled.

My dream, my inspiration, doesn't have to be what inspires you. In fact, it probably won't be. We're different people with different desires and experiences and that's part of what makes life so wonderful!

Maybe your inspiration is something else altogether, something I never would have thought of. Whatever it is, you need to get ahold of it. You need to find pictures and words and even songs that bring that inspiration to mind, because that inspiration is going to play a big part in your success. That inspiration will re-ignite the fire when the right decision isn't the easy one, or when you're just tired of doing what's necessary to gain health for yourself.

If you look for it, inspiration is everywhere. The key is looking with the right attitude.

We'll get into it more another day, but your mental attitude is the "glasses" for your brain. Whatever attitude you have will affect what you see. If you're upset, grumpy, or not feeling very hopeful, all you'll see all around you is more reason to be upset, grumpy, and hopeless. The good news is that you can change your attitude very simply - by deciding what attitude you want to have and then choosing to see things through those new glasses. You can start out grumpy, decide to have a positive attitude, and choose to see the positive possibilities in everything. Practicing this will take some time, but it will also open your eyes to new inspiration!

Today, go find something that inspires you. It may be a picture on the internet or in a magazine or catalog. It may be a family member or a pet, it could be anything! Figure out what inspires you and find a way to have it (or a picture of it) somewhere you can easily access it at any time of the day - wallets and day planners are a great place for those pictures. Take hold of this inspiration, keep it close to your heart and fresh in your mind, and you'll be amazed at how it can help you reach your goals.