Death twitches my ear.  “Live,” he says, “I am coming.” ~Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro), Minor Poems, Copa

Greetings!  How have you been since my last entry?  Hopefully great!  Last time we looked at my list of 20 reasons why I was going to do what it takes to get back into great shape in 2009.  I also talked briefly about towards motivation and away from motivation.  For many goals, for many of my clients, I will have them only look at towards (positive) motivations.  I do this for good reason, negative motivators are by nature stress inducing and one thing most of my clients tend to already have enough of is stress.  When you focus just on moving away from something, then you will feel stress.

Is negative motivation always bad then?  No.  Negative motivation is often, even commonly, more powerful than positive motivation.  Given that, when you really need to get something done, and especially if you have tried to make a change in the past and it did not happen, then it becomes a good idea to use negative and positive motivation.

For me, I have been trying to get back into shape since I became a non-smoker.  I have gotten most of the way there and gotten out of shape again.  I have lost weight again and again only to gain it back.  I have lost, conservatively, 500 pounds in the past 12 years and yet here I am, still virtually the same weight.  I could be depressed about this; I could even give up, but I am not going to.  This time things will be very different and you will see why as this series of articles progresses and the year goes on!

My Vision for Optimal Health

(Here is the first draft of my personal vision that I will use to help me get back in shape.  It is a work in progress, I will update it whenever I find a way to make it feel even better, work even better, motivate me even more fully.)

I wake up in the morning feeling great – feeling completely rested and energized.  More >