What's the best piece of motivational advice you've ever been given?

Molliepops35 · February 2019

What piece of advice did you receive that really resonates with you?

Here are a few of my favourites:

"Dreams don't work until you do"
"Losing weight is a mind game - Change your mind, change your body"
"Diets are like a marriage - you can't cheat and expect it to work"
"No-one ever got in shape by thinking about it - they go up and did it"
"Would you rather be covered in sweat at the gym, or covered in clothes at the beach?"

"The days will pass, whether you are working towards your goals or not - what are you waiting for?"

"You've done it before and you can do it again"

"Don't look too far ahead - set small, achievable targets - every small win, every day you've reached your goal, you will feel better. Soon those small wins will add up and you will look back to see how far you've come and how much you've achieved. If you have 100 lbs to lose, you will feel better after 5lbs lost - keep building, step by step.."

Do not look back in 6 months' time and think "I wish I'd started in February" Take action now!

Stockholm_Andy · February 2019

Stop fannying about and get on with it.

quiksylver296 · February 2019

Motivation won't see you though, building new habits will.

seltzermint555 · February 2019

Mine is pretty much along the same lines as OP. I've always been a very all-or-nothing, black and white thinker though trying to work against that. I felt overwhelmed by the amount of weight I needed to lose (over 100 lb).

"If you start now, in a year from now, even if you don't hit your goal, you'll be so much better off than you are right now"

That advice & attitude helped me a lot. It was actually advice for a friend regarding credit card debt but I applied it more to my health & fitness and later, weight loss. I stopped needing crazy fast progress & focused a little more on the long term.

elisa123gal · February 2019

hmm... it really comes down to NIKE.. Just do it! Don't whine.. don't excuse. yourself into staying in the rut you've made for yourself. as Cher said in Moonstruck.. "Snap out of it!!!

I also read something Tony Danza said long ago ... he learned to tap dance when he was in his older adult life, I think his 40's which to. most would seem ridiculous. He said.. time is going to pass by anyway..why not learn something new.

tcunbeliever · February 2019

Someday is not a day of the week.

chrisjcullen74 · February 2019

Molliepops35 wrote: »

What piece of advice did you receive that really resonates with you?

Here are a few of my favourites:

"Dreams don't work until you do"
"Losing weight is a mind game - Change your mind, change your body"
"Diets are like a marriage - you can't cheat and expect it to work"
"No-one ever got in shape by thinking about it - they go up and did it"
"Would you rather be covered in sweat at the gym, or covered in clothes at the beach?"

"The days will pass, whether you are working towards your goals or not - what are you waiting for?"

"You've done it before and you can do it again"

"Don't look too far ahead - set small, achievable targets - every small win, every day you've reached your goal, you will feel better. Soon those small wins will add up and you will look back to see how far you've come and how much you've achieved. If you have 100 lbs to lose, you will feel better after 5lbs lost - keep building, step by step.."

Do not look back in 6 months' time and think "I wish I'd started in February" Take action now!

chrisjcullen74 · February 2019

Not to concern myself with what others think and to believe in myself

TynaBaby17 · February 2019

I really like:

"You're lapping everyone on the couch."

its simple and kind of comforting, even if I'm going super slow and really struggling I'm doing better than everyone not doing anything!

AND

"A year from now you'll wish you started today."

This is my goal! A year of fitness and health! So excited for this day!

88olds · February 2019

Perfect is the enemy of the good.

23MJ88DBFan · February 2019

Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.

23MJ88DBFan · February 2019

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Motivation won't see you though, building new habits will.

Yes! This is something I've had to teach myself. I hate the word diet because it carries the connotation of something temporary and it's a lifestyle change, new habits you'll have for life.

88olds · February 2019

seltzermint555 wrote: »

"If you start now, in a year from now, even if you don't hit your goal, you'll be so much better off than you are right now"

That advice & attitude helped me a lot. It was actually advice for a friend regarding credit card debt but I applied it more to my health & fitness and later, weight loss. I stopped needing crazy fast progress & focused a little more on the long term.

Smart. Incrementalism is a very valuable concept. Incrementalism as practiced at the gym can be reverse engineered into weight loss.

Machka9 · February 2019

What's the best piece of motivational advice you've ever been given?

Don't leave it up to motivation. Just do it.

jan110144 · February 2019

If you always fo what you have always dond, you will always be where you have always been.

True for most if life, not just weight loss.

AnnPT77 · February 2019

If I'm unhappy with any situation, think first about what I've done to create, promote, or allow that situation.

That focuses my attention on the factors I can influence or control, to make a change.

Focusing on obstacles is a waste of time; it creates a "victim" attitude (perceived powerlessness) when that's completely unnecessary. Focusing on the levers of change is productive - it brings power and a sense of agency.

Also: Don't submit to a tyranny of low expectations.

If I'd like to do something, it's better to put in the work, and see how much I can accomplish, vs. decide up front that "I can't."

Patient persistence is powerful.

thisPGHlife · February 2019

I love all of the. A few of my faves are:

Comparison is the theif of joy.

You don't have to make the sandwich. (This one is for when I'm tired or depressed and don't have the energy to make food. Those times that your want to reach for the easy calorie laden stuff. It basically means, your can eat the parts of what your would make. There is little nutritional difference between making a sandwich or eating some lunch meat and cheese slices with a couple leaves of lettuce and tell slices of bread. It doesn't matter what shape the food takes as long as your getting the nutrition.)

You'll only be 80% of your maximum in a real world situation. (I know this one seems like kind of a downer. I hadn't realized that this is how I love much of my life until one of my instructors had said this. I had been talking about wanting to get my form and technique as perfect as possible so that I set my standard for myself as high as possible. When it comes to a real world fight, I'll only ever be at 80% tops. The better my 100 is, the better my 80 is. I don't know if that makes sense. But it means I set my standards really high so that when I don't meet those standards, I'm still really well off.

msbridgetteanne · February 2019

I can't remember exactly what was said, but it was similar to what others have already mentioned. Something like, "Motivation is fleeting; it can be gone in a matter of weeks, days, or hours. What you need to do is build good habits and exercise discipline." I think about it every time I set a goal for myself, whether it's something like losing weight or learning a new language.