The Trees are changing

Found a random little library 🙂

Hey everyone!

Thanks to all my readers and new subscribers! Keep the emails, comments, and subscriptions coming! We are now on day 7! A week has gone by so quickly. Today, I had to remind myself that I have NEVER done a workout I regretted. I was feeling somewhat sluggish but knew I wanted to workout. Instead of continuing to procrastinate, I decided to go ahead and take a walk. What better way to start a week than on the right foot?

Mondays are notorious for being stressful days. Even though I’m currently on my maternity leave, I realized that Monday could easily be the start of a dreary week or a week in which I accomplish my goals. Even though I know I always feel better after I workout, it is sometimes hard to get the motivation to put on my exercise clothes and get it done. I am sure being two months postpartum and sleep deprived has something to do with that.

Let me share a few tips on how to motivate yourself when you’re feeling unmotivated.

1. Begin with the end in mind– this is a principle from the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It basically means to start each task knowing exactly what you want to accomplish. My end goal today was to have more energy. Even though I was very tired I knew that walk would help me feel better.
2. Know your why – before we can accomplish any goal or check a task off the list, it is important to know why you want to accomplish it. It is easier to be motivated if I’m passionate about something than if I am not.
3. Start small –  because I knew I had a good reason to be tired, I let myself off the hook some and made a goal to only walk for 30 minutes. I am a runner… walking seems so boring. My jogging stroller says you should wait 6 months before running with your baby. So that gave me another excuse  reason to take it easy.  On days where I am extremely tired, I sometimes make goals for as little as 15 minutes. It is easier to accomplish something if we do not overwhelm ourselves by making promises that we can’t keep.
4. Have someone hold you accountable – Today, I used my desire to write on the blog to hold me accountable. I wanted to be able to blog about it and therefore, I knew I needed to get up, lace up my shoes, and get it done. It is too easy to continue to let yourself slide  when you don’t have anyone to call you on your excuses.
5. Dangle the carrot – I will soon be laying on a beautiful beach with white sand and blue water and therefore, I feel more motivated to get out and exercise even if I wasn’t enthusiastic when I started. We need something to look forward to help us achieve our goals.
6. Add a soundtrack– whether I’m cleaning, studying, or exercising I always feel more motivated when I have some good music to keep me going. You can create a nice Pandora station or iTunes playlist full of songs that motivate you to move a little more.

I got it done and feel amazing! I hope you had a great Monday! Below, I will share some pictures from today’s walk:

Time for some Fresh Air

B-O-B

Found a random little library 🙂

The Trees are changing

 Did you find any random Beauty today? How was your Monday? How do you motivate yourself when you really aren’t feeling it!?

Beauty is as Beauty Does

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The Midnight Beauty