Motivation Tip 2
 

Willpower and Weight Loss

How many times have you heard someone say - "If only I had the willpower to lose weight?
How many times have you said it, yourself? Quite a lot, I expect.

Poor old willpower! It always gets the blame.

Why can't we stick to a diet? Because we lack willpower.
Why do we fall into temptation? Because we lack willpower.
Why do we eat a whole cake in one sitting? Because we lack willpower.

We see willpower as a magical quality. If someone has it, they're invincible - if they don't have it, they're done for.

What's more, we can't really develop willpower, can we? No way! Either we have it, or we don't. And we DON'T have it, right? And so life goes on. We continue trying to lose weight but we never succeed, because in our heart of hearts we KNOW we don't have the willpower to do it. And each failure reinforces our feeling of helplessness.

Does this sound like you? Do you suffer from lack of willpower?
If so, let me give you some help.

1. Say Goodbye to the word WILLPOWER.
2. Say Hello to the word INCENTIVE.

You see, we think of willpower as something we either have or we don't. Like a big nose, a gift for music, or a sense of humor. So we feel helpless to develop any for ourselves. We just sit on our butt and say: "Help! I don't have any willpower"...(sob).

In other words, focusing on willpower gives us a sore butt and precious little else.

But INCENTIVES are different. We don't inherit incentives. We find and develop them for ourselves. In fact, we can develop an incentive for almost anything, including dieting.

So stop thinking WILLPOWER and start thinking INCENTIVE.

Remember, losing weight isn't a matter of gritting your teeth and overcoming 168 different pain barriers.

It's about choosing to be slim, rather than fat.
It's about choosing a slim lifestyle, rather than a burger and fries lifestyle.

After all, you don't HAVE to be slim. You can be any shape or size you want. So stop worrying about lack of willpower and concentrate on finding a good incentive to lose weight. Something positive to aim for, that will keep you going in the weeks ahead.

And if you can't find a good incentive, then maybe you don't really want to be slim. Maybe you'd rather eat cookies. In which case, stop worrying about dieting and find happiness elsewhere.

Anne Collins

Great article!

My incentive: Wedding date 11/05/05 strapless dress! Yikes!

My incentive - get rid of pain in my back.

My incentive - to be really fit, slim, energetic, and to look good in a bathingsuit. I had read somewhere that someone's goal was to be able to run on the beach without anything wobbling (except for what is supposed to wobble) and that is what I want! :strong:

My incentive is to actually go buy a new outfit without having to largest size available. I want some cute sexy small sized clothes! I want to FEEL GOOD when I walk out of a clothes store, not frustrated!

Lynn - what a great article!!

My incentive is just to feel healthy. I don't necessarily have to be a size 10, just want to feel good about myself and I believe my body will let me know when that is. I have lost at least 15 pounds so far and I am feeling way better already. I can go up a flight of steps without having to stop at the top and catch my breath. That's a biggy for me!!!

My incentive is my closet that is full of cute size 12 and 10 clothes. I would love more than anything to be in them by Christmas and all of my family just die. I live 12 hours away from my family so I don't get to see them very often...so I would love to back where I used to be. I know that they all talk about me and how I used to be so pretty when I was thin..so I'd love to show them :smoking: