This is one of THOSE weeks.  The imperfect in this journey.  I don’t know why.  I don’t know what set this off.  But it is just one of THOSE weeks.  And THOSE weeks happen (more about the week tomorrow in my weekly accountability post). 

Yesterday afternoon I had finally had it.  My stomach hurt.  I didn’t feel well, physically.  And I was angry with myself and embarrassed. 

Me?  How could I eat all that?  What happened to the valve that “turns off” eating?  Mine was definitely broken.

It was then, in the midst of beating myself up, that I remembered the photo collage I had created years ago, to motivate me to stay at my goal and to keep working on being the healthiest me I could be.  The photo used to hang on my refrigerator…. But hadn’t been there in over a year.  Where was it?

I searched through all my things until I found it- the photo collage of my before and after pics along with a question/statement that helps me to stay focused. One of my anchors.

As I sat at the table, putting the photo onto another paper to frame it, I remembered the vision board I had created years ago and realized it was in the back of the closet.  Well, if this photo will help motivate me then surely my vision board would too!

So, I found the board.  It needed updating.  (the last activity goal on there was for January 2020….. )  I sat at my kitchen table, with bright colored paper and my marker and created a board that would motivate me. 

–The collage photo with the question “Which YOU do you want to be?  Only YOU can choose!” prominently displayed on my vision board.

–Two strings tacked along the top with small clothespins, each representing one pound.  The top string for the pounds I had left to lose.  The bottom string for the pounds I had lost.  Visual motivation! 

–Quotes to motivate me!

–A list of the things that WORK for me!

–Twos questions I ended every workshop I coached with- “Can I?  Will I?”  Powerful questions to ask.  Yes, I CAN.  But the real question is always WILL I?  WILL I do what I need to do?  And if not, then what WILL I do to help move me forward? 

–My activity goal, updated to reflect my goal for January 2022—when I complete the She Power 5k.  My goal is for it to be my fastest 5k EVER. 

This vision board is motivating for me.  The board sits on my counter, where I see it multiple times a day.  An anchor, to ground me to my journey and remind me what I am doing. 

And the photo is back on my refrigerator and now also in my pantry, hanging from the shelf in front of the snacks.  Anchors to remind me to check with myself BEFORE I grab food to eat—which one am I choosing?  Anchors to remind me to choose ME!

Anchors keep us moving forward.  They remind us why we are doing what we are doing, why we want to keep going, and what we are working toward.  If you want to know a little more about anchors, I wrote about them on another blog in 2017 and you can read about them here and see what my anchors have been on my journey. 

How do you motivate yourself?  How do you keep going when you have had an imperfect day?  What are your anchors? 

This week (heck the past year) has truly shown me that this journey is an imperfect one, a perfectly imperfect journey!