I’ve read several articles lately…about the importance of knowing your…true 
motivations…or goals…for doing something…say…losing weight…because…sometimes the surface goals…the upcoming reunion or wedding…pleasing a partner…even a jean size…isn’t significant enough to get you there…or keep you there…and…it’s sort of an all or nothing proposition…
So…it’s about digging down…to the underlying reasons that you really want it…because…that is what will help you accomplish your goal…and…even allow your goals to morph…if they need to…
Well…you guessed it…Bertha…has had the shovel out all week…and…I’ve been digging…we started with my strength training program…what do I want to accomplish…why am I doing this…how will I know if I am successful…what are my little milestones along the way…
Of course…my first response was…I wanted washboard abs…I mean…really…isn’t that the goal…I want this belly gone…vamoosed…poof…beyond that…I wanted well defined arms…no bat wings for me…I want to look good at the beach this summer…
She laughed…evidently…those reasons were all or nothing kind of goals that the articles were talking about…and while I may accomplish all of them…they are too out there…it’s too easy to blow them off…to say…well…I’ve got plenty of time…or…it’s not happening anyway…why bother…I needed something that I could see sooner…something to truly motivate me to get to the gym…morning after morning…before the rooster has even considered getting up…
So…we came up with the underlying things that I want…I want to feel a sense of accomplishment…of strength…that is beyond how many pounds I can pick up and move through space…or even how many pounds I weigh…but…is more about my character…I want to do something that is good for my body…to thank it for all the years of faithful service it has given me…I want to keep my bones strong…I want to increase my lean muscle mass…I want to decrease my body fat…I want my posture to be better…I want to be able to sit in butterfly pose without pain in my hip…
And…while those are all good reasons…and…they are important to me…in the short term and the long run…my primary motivation…has to be…to keep my bra straps on my shoulders…and…I know from past experience that weight training will do just that…
It’s working…too…
Jane
PS…and the pain and range of motion in my hip are getting better…which is the ultimate goal…and comes from strengthening my lower back…
As my late husband used to say, “Begin…the rest is easy.” He and Bertha would have gotten along famously!!
Arlene…your husband was a very wise man! Bertha would have been honored to know him.