We’ve had a lot of great feedback from Victoria’s post last week, and a TON of questions about her motivational wall. So she was kind enough to give us this great description of what she does to keep motivated and on track with her goals. Here she is:
Hi y’all! I was spot lighted last week for my recent transformation. One of the questions I answered was “what tools motivate you to stay on track?” I really felt my answer was silly, but I guess not! Many people asked me, what is a “motivational wall”? I am glad so many of you are curious about it!
So, to answer everyone’s question……
I started using a small white board in college to stay on track with all my assignments because one semester I was taking 21 credits and life was a bit hectic, to say the least. About a couple of moths into my journey, I thought to myself why don’t I try the same thing, but use it help stay on track with my goal of a healthy life style. The next day, I went to OfficeMax and bought a small white board and a set of multi colored markers. I love projects, so this was fun for me.
On the top right corner, I put a countdown of my weight; starting with my current weight and ending with my goal weight. For example, my current weight was 175 so, it sort of looked like this 175, 174,173, 172, etc. until I reached my goal weight of 150 (I am so close to my goal weight, I can almost taste it). Then I wrote my goal weight larger and circled it with a different color. The different colors help to make it aesthetically pleasing to the eye but also helps organize your white board. Throughout the next couple of weeks/months, I started crossing out each pound I lost. It felt so good to cross each pound one by one. I was like “Take that white board! Another pound down! Wahoo!” It reminded me of how good it felt when I crossed out each paper I had to write in college.
Other ideas I had was to put motivational quotes, I had found/collected at the beginning of my journey to get me started. One of my favorite quotes, is “Don’t give up on yourself”. I like because it reminds me that my journey is mine and only mine. I read each quote everyday to keep my mind focused similar to positive affirmations.
Also, I put a schedule of my workout routine for the week. Every week, I make sure to schedule two “off days”. This doesn’t mean I can sit on the couch and be lazy and eat whatever I want, but it means I don’t have a set activity for the day. These rest days are important for me and help me get through the week. I have a “rest day” routine I put on my wall just to get my body flowing that is only 20 minutes. The other five days, I put each workout class I want to attend. This schedule keeps me honest.
I put my “motivational wall” in my bathroom, this way I can see it when I wake up in the morning and before I go to bed while I brush my teeth. To wrap it up, that’s how I started using the ” motivational wall”. I don’t hide it when guests come over because I’m proud of it, but I do wonder what they think when they see it in my bathroom. Probably, ” wow this girl has got it together and is super focused.” If not whatever because guess what?! It works for me and I still use it today! I’ve included the pic to the left of it!
Stay focused, and don’t give up on yourself! Xoxo Victoria
#FITJ