Are You Motivated by Fear or by Self-Love?
Most people’s motivation to eat better, move more, drink less, etc. comes from a place of FEAR. When we are motivated by fear, the body will remain stuck in “fight or flight”, which makes achieving optimal health very difficult.
As long as we are motivated by fear, we will be working against our body and our hormones. When we are trapped by fear, our stress hormone cortisol remains elevated, and our bodies never reach the completion of the stress cycle: the “relaxation response”. Trust me, you want your body (and hormones) on your side!
Here are some examples of being motivated by fear:
- If I don’t eat healthy, I will get sick.
- If I don’t eat clean, I may gain weight and feel self-conscious.
- If I don’t exercise today, I will feel worthless.
- If I don’t maintain eating well and working out, I might gain weight and not be accepted.
- If I eat unhealthy once, I will lose control over all my eating habits.
- If I don’t eat perfectly, I’m a failure and I don’t have enough discipline or willpower.
- If I don’t exercise every day, I will gain weight.
- If I stop exercising, I will no longer be fit and others will judge me.
It’s so important to ask yourself where your motivation is coming from! Your source of motivation will dictate exactly how successful you are at achieving your health goals.
Here are some examples of being motivated by LOVE:
- I love my body and the way exercise makes me FEEL.
- I love taking care of my body and eating healthy food.
- I respect my body, so I treat it well.
- I love myself enough to do healthy things.
- My best is enough. I am enough!
I can tell you from years of experience that most people are motivated by fear.
What motivates you: fear or love?
I highly recommend searching your soul because the answer will determine how healthy you REALLY are.
It is so much easier to take care of ourselves when we like ourselves. When we like who we are, we are motivated by love and self-respect. This makes doing the things that we know we need to do to take care of ourselves so much easier!
