Jane's April 2013 Blog

Right Back at Ya

I heard a great story this week that was a great boost to my motivation. I hope it will be helpful to you as well.  Here is the story…

There once was a little boy who lived in a valley.  One day he had a terrible fight with his father and then left the house in a rage.  As he left, he screamed “I hate you.”  He ran to the top of a mountain near his house and continued to scream “I hate you” and then he heard back “I hate you”, “I hate you”, “I hate you” getting softer and softer. He screamed “I hate you again and heard the same thing over and over.  He thought there was another little boy in the mountains that hated him.  He got scared and ran back home.  The he told his father the story.  The father suggested he run back up the mountain and yell “I love you” and see what he hears then.  The little boy did this and was shocked to hear back “I love you”, “I love you”, “I love you” getting softer and softer.  The little boy ran home once again and his father explained why he was hearing an echo. 

This story is highly correlated with YOU, believe it or not, and YOUR weight loss journey.   You will get back what you put into it.  If you make a great effort in terms of exercise and good nutrition you will see great results.  If you make an OK effort, you will see OK results. If you make a poor effort, you will see poor results.  Think of your weight loss as an echo.  What you put out is what you get back.  I run most days of the week.  Some days I don’t feel like it.  Positive thinking caries me through on days I am unmotivated.  The echo idea is my new positive thought.  I sometimes chant as I run “what you put in is what you get back” over and over again.  Hope you don’t think I am crazy, but a huge percentage of success in maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the way you talk to yourself.  Think positive thoughts!