How To Feel More Motivated On Your WLS Journey

Living a healthy lifestyle on a daily basis is not always easy, especially in our modern, hectic world. It requires ongoing effort and commitment to keep taking the right steps - avoiding temptations, choosing the right foods, exercising regularly and getting plenty of rest and sleep.

So how do we make sure that we stay motivated to take the right actions for the long-term? And how do we stay on track when we’re faced with challenges?

The answer is actually quite simple -  get really, really clear on your ‘reasons why’ and keep focusing on these reasons. Taking the time to identify all of the reasons for creating health, and connecting with these reasons regularly, can massively boost your motivation.   

“If your why is strong enough, you will figure out how!” Les Brown

In our Fresh Start interview series, where we interview people who have achieved incredible results after their surgery and importantly sustained those results, there's always a powerful set of reasons for creating change.

One Fresh Start client created the shift because of her young daughter - she knew that improving her health would mean that she would have a longer life to enjoy with her daughter and that it would give her more energy to play with her daughter. She would also be a better role model for her daughter, inspiring her daughter to also have a happier, longer life. Not only was our client clear on her reasons why, but she also reminded herself regularly of why she was doing this. She put a photo of her daughter up on her treadmill, so that she would walk even when she didn’t feel like it, and she also put a photo on her fridge door, so that it would encourage her to make the right food choices. This all helped her to keep on track, no matter what was going on in her life and it was reflected in her transformational results.

Often we have conversations with clients who tell themselves that they just need to have more willpower, and what we share with them is that we recommend moving away from relying on will power alone. Willpower only works  for short-term periods and it never lasts, especially when we become challenged or fatigued. 

Willpower means saying ‘no’ to something that you want right now in order to say ‘yes’ to something that you  want in the future. In order to do that and to choose what you want MOST over what you want NOW:

1. You need to have clarity about what you’re actually choosing in the future over, and that’s why we always start with getting clarity around your exciting vision or goal, AND
2. Your LT goal needs to be meaningful enough and really inspiring and compelling in order to keep you being able to say ‘no’ to everything else that won’t support you to reach your goal. 

In other words, you have to have a big reason WHY. Why power beats Will power alone every time. You have to have the WHY power in order for the Will power to work properly, and then it’s about creating habits that you do automatically to move you towards your vision.

So what do you value most in your life and how will focusing more on your health support those values?

Is it about living a longer, happier life?

Is it about being a better role model for your family or friends?

Is it about having the energy to give to others or to focus on your career?

The more reasons you can come up with, the more motivation you will feel!

A simple way to discover your ‘reasons why’ is to take yourself to a quiet spot and to play some music that feels inspiring or gets you in a really positive emotional state.

Then review the following questions:

• What’s your ultimate purpose? 
• Why do you want to be the healthiest version of you?
• What will it give you? 
• What will you be able to do? 
• What will it change in your life? 
• How will it affect your confidence? 
• What kind of example would you be to your friends and your family? 
• Who would you attract or inspire? 
• What would be possible if you were the healthiest version of you, with high levels of vitality, energy and drive? 
• How proud would you feel? 
• What is your ultimate purpose to create health?  

Next, ask yourself:

• What pain will you have (or what will it cost you?) if you don’t keep making changes to your health? Consider your health, relationships, self-esteem, career, quality of life, wealth and every other aspect.
• How will you feel and what will it cost you if you go back to your old habits? 
• What will you miss out on? 

Finally, ask yourself:

• What will it feel like when you do become the healthiest version of you? Consider how you will physically feel e.g. energy, vitality, strength etc. and how you will emotionally feel e.g. calm, confident, proud, unstoppable, free etc.

Next, close your eyes, breathe deeply and reflect on your answers to those questions for a few minutes. Once you’ve done this, open your eyes and capture it all down on paper.

If you take the time to really reflect and explore what's meaningful and purposeful for you, then we trust you’ll be feeling more motivated than you have for a while. This is a process you can repeat whenever you want and can be a great way to reconnect with and update your reasons why as time passes after your surgery, especially to build momentum when you’re feeling flat or uninspired. 

Have fun with this simple yet powerful process, and with the actions you take as a result!