inspiration board

sometimes you just need a visual. a reminder. a motivator. we can make lists and goals and have good intentions, and even take steps in the direction of achieving those goals... and yet often we hit plateaus and bumps and encounter obstacles and distractions.  i've found that music is a great motivator in the gym. when it's silent... or the air is filled with music that i don't particularly care for...  i can feel my body slowing down. but put on a song i love (hello MaryMary or Kirk Franklin or Beyonce or MJ).... all of a sudden energy surges to my muscles and my brain reacts and i can do more! another stimulus i've found to be effective is an inspiration board.  our trainer gave us homework a few weeks ago, he told us to pull pictures and words out of magazines, draw images and words....all that represent and remind us of WHY we are working so hard!  below is a photo of the board i see every time i'm on the treadmill... 

my fitness goals are written there: i want to be ABLE, QUICK, STRONG AND FIT.  my pictures represent what i'm striving for... a muscular physique, able bodied equestrian, and (ok, i know) an action figure (i still am quite hung up on ALIAS). the word 'pursue' is from my birthday verse for the year, 1 Timothy 6:11, "pursue righteousness and a godly life...".  in other words...'go get em!', pursue, DO.  the word 'run' is from Hebrews 12, "therefore let us RUN the race God has set before us". it reminds me that, again, something must be done. that responsibility must be taken...for my body, my mind and my heart, both physically and spiritually.

i wanted to be in the best shape of my life at 40.  instead, i was in the worst!! at 40 years old i was the heaviest and unhealthiest i'd ever been.  just stopped trying.  i wasn't making any effort to DO anything about it.  now, at 42, that has all changed.  due to dramatic changes in what i eat (if God made it, eat it) and what i do (work with a trainer 2x a week with weights and boxing (hence the action figure) and running) and the setting of clear goals, i'm where i want to be.

this, above, is Izzi's inspiration board.  i crack up every time i read it!! she is not inspired by photo-shopped, retouched pictures of women in magazines.  she said this is more of a 'distraction board' for her.  when she is on the treadmill she reads these things and laughs...and it takes her mind off of the pain!

if you are feeling unmotivated or like you've hit a lull in your routine, consider making an inspiration board. use your imagination! get creative.... set some goals. pursue. GO!