Hi all,

I was browsing through a past issue of Architectural Digest when I found a quote from an architect named Calvert Vaux. The quote was something like "the past is to be thought of as a servant, not a master."

So instead of beating myself up for overeating for years, I am going to use the past as a measuring stick for what overeating means to me.

I'm going to put that article on my desk. Most of my extra points hit me at work (stress) so I should probably have it staring me in the face!

Anybody else finding dieting inspiration in strange places?

I was listening to the radio in the car and heard an ad for Promise Keepers.the preacher was saying how important it is to look through the windshield and look in front of us.compared to how often we use the rear view mirror!..Yes looking back for a quick glance is helpful and necessary but its more important to look through the windshield at where we are going! I found I made a "connection" with this and weight loss!

I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.

Hi all,
Inspirations are great for the soul, and for losing weight. I've read that one catch however is that these inspirations need to be changed often....I try to do this at least once a week. The reason why they say that is because we grow accustomed to the saying and eventually do not give it the thought and consideration that it needs to be given in order for it to actually INSPIRE, and that seems to be true because I kept one up for over a month and I started ignoring it, Not on purpose, but it had just become a part of things..Anyway, when I get a new one I put it in several places. One is on my computer screen so that it appears there everytime I turn it on. My most recent is:

Today is simply a tool.
I can use it in a destructive
Uneventful moment,
Or
I can treat it
As a building block
For my future hopes and dreams.
I choose the later.

Geefowl

Geefowl'
I really like that one.

One that I like is:

Don't let your yesterdays use up your todays!

You know, when I was younger I was in pretty good shape. I was athletic and I did a lot. As I got older and had children I started inching up on the scales. The biggest gain was after I stopped smoking. I know.....NO EXCUSE, but that was just when it happened. I notice now, looking back, that the more I gained, the less I participated in life. I always took my children places and did things with them, but my doing was mainly on the side lines looking in at all the fun they were having. I was happy for them because that is what gives me so much joy in life. I just wish I could have been more of a participant in the whole thing. Now my son is 28 and my daughter is 22. When they have children of their own I will not be a bystander watching the fun...I will be very active in their lives. Weight robs you of so much.....It's just hard to realize how much until it's over.....
Good luck to all on their attempts.....
Gee

Along the same lines as the rearview mirror story (good analogy!) was this one that I heard on PBS from some motivational speaker (Wayne Dyer? something like that). He said to think of your life in terms of a boat traveling on a river. Does the wake of the boat determine where it goes? So, just as the wake doesn't drive the boat, our past doesn't determine our future.

My reply doesn't go along with all the rest in that it doesn't envolve motivational speakers or anything.

The strange place I find my motivation is in a song. Not that strange, others find motivation in a song, but mine was in an N'Sync song. (And no I am not a fan at all)

I believe the name of the song is "It's gonna be me". They are talking about love, but I think of the lyrics as weightloss instead.

Here's a few lines that get me going....

".....Every little thing I do
Never seems enough for you
You don't want to lose it again
But I'm not like them

......Guess What??
IT'S GONNA BE ME!!

It really gets me pumped. Sure I've lost weight in the past, but this is the last time. I don't want to lose it again. And in the end I will be the me I want to be!!!

Maybe corny but it gets me going.

Just this morning I ran across a quote (attributed to Bruce Lee) that hit home to me:

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."

Laura~

Wow,

Reading all of these, I thought of another one that I love:

"Excuses are the refuge of cowards." - The Princess Bride

...a great movie, even better book (by William Goldman.)

I like the one about the boat, too. And N'Sync.. I told you we get inspired from weird places!!

thanks all for sharing, keep them coming!

Weird place: Star Wars! The Empire Strikes Back, actually. Check out my sig!

You're right in that sometimes inspiration comes from the weirdest places. And when the inspiration hits you, it's like a light bulb going off, lighting up the path you need to take.

Most recently, I've been inspired by a quote that I read somewhere here on the message boards. Someone has it as a part of their signature. It's something like this.....
"Daydreams may be pleasant, but Accomplishments are more satifsying..."

Actually mine was not found in an unusual place, I got it from "Getting2Goal" website with Kim. I love it. "The only one who can stop me is ME and I can take her!" I hope I phrased that correctly. It is so true and really has kept me going! And so has this site, I love them both! Have a great day!!! Sis

I loved all of the comments given here. I read one somewhere on the boards and it was :I LOVINGLY TEND THE GARDEN OF MY MIND.I PULL THE NEGATIVE WEEDS AND MAKE ROOM FOR THE POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS TO GROW."

To me that is so true because I seem to beat myself up with negative feelings and dwell too much in the past.