Finding Motivation

Last week on Veteran's Day I watched an interview with several veterans who talked about how the things they learned while in the service helped them launch successful businesses.  As expected, they mentioned things like discipline and sacrifice, but one veteran's comment about motivation really impressed me.  He said that there was a sign in the workout room on his military base that read, "Somebody wants to kill you today.  Work out!"  Seeing that sign motivated him to work out hard and push himself because he knew his life could depend on it.

We don't have that kind of threat hanging over us, but I wonder if we would make different choices if we did.  What choices would we make if we opened the refrigerator or cabinet door and saw a sign that said, "Diabetes and heart disease wants to kill you.  Stay on plan!"? 

For most of us those diseases aren't immediate threats to our health, so it's easy to think that the choices we make don't really mean anything.  And they don't, in the short run.  If we choose to go off plan today or tomorrow, it's unlikely that that choice will have a lasting effect.  However, if we make those choices day after day, there will be an accumulative effect.  It may not show up tomorrow or the next day, but if we are making poor choices, we are taking daily steps towards an unhealthy future.

We also may not see immediate results if we choose to stay on plan.  The scale might not move tomorrow and there is no way for us to peek inside our bodies to see the changes that are happening.  But over time, changes will certainly become evident - the scale will eventually record a healthy weight and lab work is likely to reflect improved health.  Each day that we choose to stay on plan, we are taking another step towards a healthier future.

Because we do better over time if we are moving towards something we want instead of moving away from what we don't want, how about this sign for our refrigerators and cabinets, "A healthy future awaits.  Choose wisely."?