Four simple steps to unleash the power of your “why”
On Instagram, everyone talks about the successes. Scroll through your feed and you’ll find people conquering mountains (both literal and figurative), winning their race, and beating their latest challenge, whatever it may be.
As we know, though, such success isn’t as easy to come by as social media would have us believe. In your weight loss journey, you might go weeks without an appreciable change on the scale. There are times you might even backslide a bit.
No matter how normal it may be, it is still discouraging. And because your dreams and goals are so important, you tend to judge yourself harshly when you do something like gain weight, overeat, or not lose weight as fast as you were expecting. Then the negative thoughts start rolling in: “I’ve blown it! I should give up.”
It’s at these critical moments in your WW journey that you need to step back, take a breather, and assess the bigger picture.
Let your Why lead the way
In moments of frustration, where you feel like you “failed” somehow, unhelpful thoughts can quickly overwhelm you. Here, you want to stem that tide and shift those thoughts in a more positive direction. In other words, you should take steps that align with your Why.
Your Why, of course, are all the reasons you embarked on your weight-loss journey in the first place. It’s what matters to you. Whether you made the decision to lose weight for your health, or your quality of life, or your family, or — as is so often the case — a blend of all three, remembering that and returning to it when times get tough can give you necessary perspective.
Your Why can guide you and inspire you on your weight journey — and in life in general.
Taking time to notice how the things you did were still in service of your Why, even if they didn’t directly impact your weight, can help you celebrate the week for what it was and help you keep going on your journey.
So, the next time you have a week that doesn’t go as you imagined it would, follow these four steps — as outlined in your Weekly — to notice the things you did that were in line with your Why:
Take a moment to pause and envision your Why. What’s your reason for wanting to lose weight (or keep lost weight off), for wanting to become healthier? Picture what your Why looks like to you.
Now, think about what you did this week. Consider what got in the way of reaching the goals you originally set out to do. What events took place? Where did you spend your time?
Determine what actions you took over the past week that were still in service of your Why, even if they kept you from reaching a weight-related goal. For example, imagine if your Why is to have more time with your grandkids. If you went to your grandkid’s football game on Sunday instead of meal prepping, you were still doing something in service of your Why.
4. If you can’t think of actions you took this week that were aligned with your Why, that’s OK! Choose something small you can do today or tomorrow that is in service for it. For example, if your Why is to have more energy, maybe you can go to bed a little early tonight. If your why is to set a good example for your kids, create a dessert of fresh fruit to eat tonight.
Keeping this mental exercise at the ready when needed, as well as finding ways to take steps that align with your why—even if those steps won’t lead directly to weight loss—will not only help you continue to make progress, it’ll also put setbacks into perspective. Whether you had an “Instagram-worthy” moment today or not doesn’t matter: Your next achievement is just a step away.