My Strongest Muscle
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threnjen
Posts: 687 Member
Couldn't decide where to put this. I know there is a forum dedicated to Motivation & Support, and there is always Success Stories, but this forum is the busiest and I hope that people will enjoy reading this.
TL&DR: Willpower is my strongest muscle
My willpower is my strongest and most powerful muscle, and I exercise it every day.
It was not always as strong as it is now. When I began, my willpower muscle was small and weak from a lifetime of disuse. Exercising it made it sore and tired, and there were lots of days where I just wanted to stop using it, just for a little while. But I knew that the more that I used the muscle, the stronger it would get. Especially at the beginning, when the newb gains from using a muscle are so great. That is an important time to push the willpower muscle, to teach it how you want it to work for your body and mind.
In the beginning, my willpower muscle was invisible. It was hidden somewhere on my body underneath a layer of body fat. It’s hard to get motivated to exercise something that is invisible, because it takes a long time to uncover it, and it’s still a work in progress. Sometimes I would look in the mirror and feel discouraged that I still couldn’t see my willpower muscle. But I just kept exercising it, day after day. Because one day I knew that I could look in the mirror and see it looking back at me.
Some days my willpower muscle was just too tired and genuinely needed a break. That’s ok sometimes, to give a muscle a rest. All muscles need rest days to function at their best, even the willpower muscle. Sometimes the rest days are planned, and sometimes they just happen. The important thing is that we don’t rest our muscles forever. Muscles stay strong when they only have a day or two of rest, and then we get right back to exercising them, as strong and as hard as we did before.
Nowadays when I look in the mirror, I can finally see some of my willpower muscle. I see it now in my strong arms, in my more shapely calves, in my more defined waist. I feel it when I can pick up heavy things, and when I can run for miles without being winded. I can feel and see my willpower muscle everywhere. In fact, it’s the strongest thing that I see now when I look in the mirror – my willpower muscle.
So, I keep using it, because a muscle that I stop using will become weak and atrophied. So I will have to exercise my willpower muscle forever, because even as we get stronger and stronger, our muscles still need our attention. Even the willpower muscle. If we stop exercising it, it will become hidden and invisible again, like it used to be. The willpower muscle can’t be neglected just because we’ve seen it shine through after lots of use.
I hope that you, too, can find the strength to exercise your willpower muscle. And I hope that I can continue to exercise mine, forever.
TL&DR: Willpower is my strongest muscle
My willpower is my strongest and most powerful muscle, and I exercise it every day.
It was not always as strong as it is now. When I began, my willpower muscle was small and weak from a lifetime of disuse. Exercising it made it sore and tired, and there were lots of days where I just wanted to stop using it, just for a little while. But I knew that the more that I used the muscle, the stronger it would get. Especially at the beginning, when the newb gains from using a muscle are so great. That is an important time to push the willpower muscle, to teach it how you want it to work for your body and mind.
In the beginning, my willpower muscle was invisible. It was hidden somewhere on my body underneath a layer of body fat. It’s hard to get motivated to exercise something that is invisible, because it takes a long time to uncover it, and it’s still a work in progress. Sometimes I would look in the mirror and feel discouraged that I still couldn’t see my willpower muscle. But I just kept exercising it, day after day. Because one day I knew that I could look in the mirror and see it looking back at me.
Some days my willpower muscle was just too tired and genuinely needed a break. That’s ok sometimes, to give a muscle a rest. All muscles need rest days to function at their best, even the willpower muscle. Sometimes the rest days are planned, and sometimes they just happen. The important thing is that we don’t rest our muscles forever. Muscles stay strong when they only have a day or two of rest, and then we get right back to exercising them, as strong and as hard as we did before.
Nowadays when I look in the mirror, I can finally see some of my willpower muscle. I see it now in my strong arms, in my more shapely calves, in my more defined waist. I feel it when I can pick up heavy things, and when I can run for miles without being winded. I can feel and see my willpower muscle everywhere. In fact, it’s the strongest thing that I see now when I look in the mirror – my willpower muscle.
So, I keep using it, because a muscle that I stop using will become weak and atrophied. So I will have to exercise my willpower muscle forever, because even as we get stronger and stronger, our muscles still need our attention. Even the willpower muscle. If we stop exercising it, it will become hidden and invisible again, like it used to be. The willpower muscle can’t be neglected just because we’ve seen it shine through after lots of use.
I hope that you, too, can find the strength to exercise your willpower muscle. And I hope that I can continue to exercise mine, forever.
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Replies
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I'm definitely feeling a little embarrassed and self conscious that this has gotten no comment. Is it just too cheesy, or is it just the wrong forum for it? I can have it removed and put it somewhere that it fits better.0
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Lol you look great and healthy. I think its why they call it a journey necayse it also teaches a lot about ourselves.. Im not sure for me whether its about willpower I prefer focus and commitment. Ive also been interested in the power of habit, routine and determination (latter may be the same).
Wait it will get responses. I think people like pics and you get one sort of response on the success forum and they arent used to pics in the motivation colum, hence they are confuzzled. You look great anyway and i read it.0 -
You've done fantastic work getting healthy, you look great.0
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You do look great. Join us in maintenance!0
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You should have probably posted that in the "success stories" category.
But congratulations on your weight loss and your resilience! You are looking great!0 -
I gathered she really wnated to talk more about the way willpower has helped her. People skip to the pics.0
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What a great way of thinking of it! I bet you’d have gotten more comments in Success Stories - here, people might think you’re talking about strength training
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Anyway, your results are incredible, well done! I love the “willpower muscle” idea
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Yeah it was less fishing for compliments on my success, and more sharing my recent epiphany about how my willpower is what has shaped and defined my successes so far. I guess I could have left the pictures off and just stuck with the essay
I didn't really know where to put it, but I enjoy the analogy of my willpower being something I have to actively use to make it strong.
@999tigger I like all those words you've mentioned as well. Some days it feels like a routine or a habit, but I always find I'm having to exercise my willpower. I feel like I still think about food all the time.
Well thanks for reading, anyone who did Exercise that willpower! Or determination, or focus, or whatever you want to call your strongest muscle. We should just call it the success muscle - just exercise that one. 0 -
Actually your heart is your strongest muscle and if you don't take care of it, you die. Willpower doesn't exist. We make choices. They either support our goals or they don't, it's as simple as that.0
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It's an analogy. I would REALLY hope that is obvious to everyone with an IQ over 50.-1
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I love this post, and it is so true. I am still on my journey, but you are correct that it has to be continuous and the commitment does not end at your goal weight. It helps me to think in the long term when my weight loss is slow, and I know it will slow more closer to goal. Luckily, I don't have to exercise my willpower much for resisting unhealthy foods, I just have to resist over eating in general...which is where weighing and measuring are my best tools. I'm glad you posted this here. I check this forum more often than success or motivation.0
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Thanks so much for sharing your pics and story. It's obvious that you've worked hard and you look awesome! I agree that sometimes we're just too tired, and it's ok to let ourselves rest a day or two... as long as we get back to working hard to be in the best health possible. After years of dealing with a chronic illness, I'm finally able to focus on getting stronger and having more energy. I don't beat myself up when I need a rest day because I know it need it. I've been able to lose 14 pounds since the beginning of February, and I love having more defined muscles & more energy. I'm determined to work hard to be as healthy as possible.0
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