Motivationally Challenged Or Motivationally Disabled??

Published on March 30, 2004 By Tangled Wishes In Blogging

I suffer from the title problem. I know in normal person speak it's referred to as lazy, but it's like a fricking condition, man. You think I don't want to be motivated?? My God I would love it!!!!

Unfortunately I have that problem.

I can't even decide what I would rather call it. Motivationally challenged seems to be... outdated. Motivationally Disabled sounds very serious, as it is, of course. But still... I've been calling it "motivationally challenged" for like two or three weeks. I just don't know if I'm willing to make a change. What if it makes people think I'm inconsistent?

(Note, if you get bored from this point on, you don't need to read it all. The end is me just kinda sharing diet tips and blabbing. Tell me what I should call my "condition"!!!)

Anyhow, I'm feeling "motivationally whatever" right now. I'm supposed to do Pilates at some freaking point and time but I just can't freakin' do it!! I mean, I don't have enough time now before dinner, but I DID have enough time a half hour ago. Why didn't I just do it??? I'm definitely not stopping doing Pilates. I love what it's doing to my body. I'm also not stopping dieting. It's very healthy for me and a good idea and besides I don't even have any freaking junk food that I could eat if I wanted to.

So I was reading this article in Vogue where a lady who lost significant weight (like 35 pounds, I believe) with her workout plan, and her personal trainer gave her a tip on how to eat less. He told her to eat an apple before every meal, because it will make you eat 25% less of said meal. It fills you up. And it's healthy!!!!

Of course, the weight-obsesser in me totally picked up on that!! So I've decided to give that a try, and that's why I have a bad taste in my mouth. (God damn apple crap!!!) I really wish he would have said oranges. I could do that. I normally eat at least one orange a day anyway. It wouldn't kill me to eat three!! I would enjoy it greatly. I just don't fucking like apples sometimes. I just ate a really shitty, not ripe apple but it was all I had so I had to. I have an iron-hard resolve for losing weight. It's almost summer and I NEED to be great in a swimsuit.

But right now, I'm just motivationally disabled.

I'll do the damn pilates later.

~Anne!

Comments

dharmagrl

on Mar 30, 2004

If you don't like apples, then eat oranges...or pears, or peaches, or apricots, or whatever. I think your focus should be more on eating healthily than sticking to a diet.

I know what you mean about being motivationally challenged. I used to go through phases of working out like a maniac for weeks and then have 'off' days when I don't feel like doing anything...which put me at the top of a slippery slope of inactivity. The way I found worked best for me was to make habits of stuff...incorporate things into my daily routine, just as you would brushing your teeth or taking a shower. I have a routine in the mornings where I get up, read the paper, get the kids off to school, then I go meditate for a while and do a little yoga/pilates before getting on with the rest of my day. I think that once you do that, and you see and feel the benefit of doing that, you'll find it easier to become more motivated. I still find it hard to be self disciplined, but I'm getting better about it. It's not something that's going to happen overnight..those of us who are...errmm....lazy is all I can come up with..by nature take a little longer to settle into any kind of routine that involves activity or self denial - it's just easier not to, ya know?

Also, don't beat yourself up too bad for slacking off...you get into a vicious cycle doing that. Cut yourself a little slack, allow yourself to have a 'lazy' day...then just pick up where you left off the next day (or whenever you get motivated again)

Congrats on your 'iron will' to lose weight....I know that's hard. I was a little bigger than I needed to be for a couple of years (155lbs, I'm 5'2") and I know it was difficult for me to drop any weight at all...I just didn't have the resolve you have; I got frustrated way too easily. I finally managed to lose 40lbs last year, but I wouldn't recommend the method I used to anyone (I call it the caffiene, nicotine and injury diet - not pleasant at all).

Good luck, and if you need motivation, let me know. I'll be more than happy to give you a kick in the pants if you think you need one!

Dharma.

new-age nomad

on Mar 30, 2004

I don't know what you need motivation on, but I'm having the same problems with it. My is because of being overwhelmed with everything though. It's like, there's too much to do so why even start if I can't do it all?

It sucks. If you figure out the answers, let me know.

Trinitie

Tangled Wishes

on Mar 30, 2004

Thanks for being supportive Dharma!!! I'm going to get into yoga soon, as soon as I'm flexible enough, because I never have been, stupid long legs and crap.

I used to be about 140 and 5'9" and you know, I didn't really think of myself as skinny at the time but I sure as hell couldn't have been fat. I remember I used to think, jeez! If I only lost ten or fifteen pounds I could be a model! But the fact that I was skinny never really occurred to me.

It's damn hard for me to make a habit/routine time for working out, because I don't get up at the same time every day. Well I could work out later in the evening but that's not a good idea, that's when I get FRICKING MOTIVATIONALLY CHALLENGED and I also do my schoolwork then. So it's like, I try to find time sometime in the middle of the day but it's never at the same time.

Trin, I have a lot going on too. I guess my suggestion is try to find a little bit of alone time every day and do something solitary that you really love, like read a good book, or take a bath, or something, and hopefully you will be feel better and more motivated to get started on your tasks!!!

But who am I to talk? I am Motivationally Retarded

~Anne

dharmagrl

on Mar 30, 2004

It's damn hard for me to make a habit/routine time for working out, because I don't get up at the same time every day

You don't need to get up at the same time every day. You do it at home, right? There's not a class that you have to go to? So, do it when you get up. That's what I meant when I said to try and make it part of your routine. You don't have to do it at the same time every day. Also, working out later in the day will help reduce your appetite and keep your metabolism from slowing down too much..which means you'll be using more calories, and so on....

Yoga before bedtime is a great way to wind down and center yourself. Rodney Yee has a taped workout that is good for beginners - you don't have to be very flexible to do it and he shows you modified ways of doing things if you're not flexible enough to start off with. That's what I started off with - now I'm experienced enough to stand in and teach if I'm needed.

Let us know how it goes!

Tangled Wishes

on Mar 30, 2004

Thank you Dharma... You rock my blog world

It's 7:31 and I'm still too motivationally handicapped to work out. I hope I change my mind.

~Anne

Jepel

on Mar 31, 2004

Is this just a lady's blog? or just lady are motivated challenged...

I can go through time of lack of motivation, unfortunately, I can't allow them very often, specially now...

For your diet, I would suggest cut the carbohydrate at dinner's time, you don't need them when you sleep. You could drop a couple of pound really easily... Like Dharmagrl said: eat healthy and do some exercise is the best thing you can do for both your body or your ego...

Tangled Wishes

on Mar 31, 2004

Thanks for the advice Jepel

I'm doing the bestest that I can!!!!

~Anne

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