Encouragement

Encouragement.  

Everyone needs it.  Everyone wants it.  

It's fuel.  

For me, it's motivation to keep going.  

Over this past week, since sharing that I hit this big milestone of 100 pounds lost, I have been flooded with words of encouragement.  

Phone calls, texts, gifts, Facebook comments and messages, emails.  

It's been BEYOND lovely.  

Inspiration.

That's a word that I have heard this past week.  Many times.  

Wow.  It's so…not even sure of the word to use here.  Just over a year ago, no way would anyone say I'm an inspiration in the area of health & fitness.   Crazy how just a year can change things.  

I love encouragement.  (Really who doesn't love to be told they are rocking at something?!)  

Last year on my birthday, one of the gifts that Kyle gave me was posting throughout our house notes from friends speaking life to me.  Those are still up in our house…since the end of September.  

We've also added motivational statements throughout our house.  

One of my favorites in the house is: "Discipline is choosing between what you want most and what you want now."  Keeps me going.  

Another fave: " It's not about 'having' time.  It's about 'making' time."  (Yes, even when your baby wakes up multiple times a night and you still get up early and hit the gym.)  

My friend, Dana, laminated a handful of motivational cards for me at Christmas that I put up throughout the house.  I love looking at those daily.  One in my bathroom that is good to see daily (as you know we are prone to comparing and getting down on ourselves) is "Don't compare yourself to anyone else.  Compare yourself to the person who you were yesterday."  

Encouragement.  

I'm so thankful for it.

It's kept me going on this journey.  

And, it's not even in the things people say…I find encouragement and motivation in seeing muscles develop in my arms, my jeans getting too big, noticing that I ran faster today in 30 minutes than I did 2 weeks ago.  

If you are just starting out on a journey of becoming healthy, I encourage you to surround yourself with notes, people…anything really…that will give you the drive to succeed.  

Oh, and when you hit your goals - encourage yourself with rewards!  

My overall goal is to lose somewhere between 135-145 pounds.  If I focused on that at the beginning, that number would be OVERWHELMING.  

But, you know what isn't overwhelming?  Breaking things into pieces.  I broke things down into 3 month segments and have rewards for hitting those goals.  I even have some small ones in between those 3 months.  

Hitting 100 pounds lost deserved a big celebration!  My rewards for that were:

• Date night with my husband!  Check!  We went out last Friday for sushi & coffee.  I love any chance to go out with that man and talk!  
• A day at Windsor!  Windsor is a beautiful place here in the city with a pool (also a great children's pool), walking trails, a track, and water fountains (Andrew's fave).  I wanted to go sooner, but I'll be waiting till next month when my family is here so we can enjoy it together.  Well, that, and I don't have a suit that fits anymore.  Kind of a problem ;) 
• Beauty treatment time! Bless my husband for watching the kids Saturday morning as I spend time getting a massage & my hair cut!  

All of this to say - thank you, friends, for life that you spoke to me this past week.  

Bless you.  

And to end…a new favorite quote: "I love the person I've become, because I fought to become her."