Confusing the reason with the goal

Have you been longing for greater health for a long time but never seem to get there? Perhaps you don’t have quite the right reasons lined up to propel you forward towards lasting change. Knowing your ‘why’ is very important. Your ‘why’ has nothing to do with the goals you want to achieve, but are the reasons you want to achieve them. We often think our goals and our reasons are the same, and when that happens we just don’t have that intrinsic motivation needed to truly change.

I know that when I started my own weight loss journey (then started it again, then started it again, and then again… you get the picture) I didn’t really know my true ‘why.’ My reasons were all mixed up with my goals. I had 3 goals for over 20 years: to weigh a certain amount, to eat a certain way, and to exercise regularly. It wasn’t until I found my ‘why’, however, that I was finally able to achieve those goals a few years back.

Back when I was still goal-oriented rather than ‘why’ oriented, if you had asked me why I wanted to be healthier I would have said “because I want to be thin”. But that’s an externally-based goal, not a true reason. Your ‘why’ is internally-driven. It’s emotional. It moves you to make changes from a place of love-based inspiration rather than lack- and fear-based motivation.

Finding your ‘why’

So what’s your ‘why’ for becoming a healthier you? Determining your true ‘why’ can be found by asking yourself a single question: How do you want to feel? Most people are not inspired by numbers on a scale, miles walked in a given week, or calories counted on a given day (yuk and double-yuk in the inspiration department); but, they can be powerfully inspired by imagining how confident, energized, strong, sure, worthy and connected they would feel by becoming healthy.

Focusing solely on outer goals and results is very limiting. Your health is not about numbers, sizes and calculations! Here are just a few of my ‘whys’ that inspired me to lasting wellness. Can you connect emotionally with any of these yourself?

A ‘why’ be healthy list

Feeling more comfortable and at ease in your own skin

Feeling vital enough to participate in desired activities & events

Feeling free to choose what to eat rather than being controlled by cravings

Feeling self-loving rather than self-hating

Feeling confident enough to go after other life dreams and goals

Feeling strong, secure, in control and sure

Feeling balanced and centered in your body

Feeling alive, energized and zestful about life

What’s your ‘why?’

Freeing yourself from the endless cycle of number crunching, willpower, forcing and deprivation is the way to true and long-lasting health. And once you get there, you’ll never look back. If you’re someone wanting to lose weight, you’ve just got to discover your deeper motivation, your inner inspiration, your feeling-based ‘why’.

Start with asking yourself, “How do I want to feel by losing weight and living healthy?” or “What would it feel like to have lost the weight and gotten healthy?” Determine your own ‘why’ by making a list like the one above and let that serve as the foundation to help you reach your goals. It’s not only more joyful and meaningful than motivating your way to health, it’s the only way to really get there.