An old boss of mine had a sign on his door that read, “The floggings will continue until morale improves.”

It was a joke, of course. But how often do you try to motivate yourself to eat the “right” foods or exercise with the whip of internal insults, slurs, and condemnations?

Ouch!

Does telling yourself that you’re “ugly, fat, stupid, and lazy,” really make you want to get up and do your workout, or forgo the potato chips?

This may be hard to hear, but the truth is, if spoken aloud, your internal dialogue might be deemed verbal abuse.

What do you think this stream of abuse does to your self-esteem and belief that you CAN achieve your goals?

Pushing through this line of thinking to create action takes incredible energy and strength, much like rolling a boulder up a hill.

While progress can be made, without changing your underlying thoughts, emotions, and beliefs, one moment of mental fatigue or flagging self-discipline may result in your watching that boulder roll back down the hill.

The result? You not only regain all the weight you lost, but then some.

Changing your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs about yourself, what you want, and what you can achieve helps break this cycle of self-punishment. It creates a boost of momentum that makes your push towards wellness a lot more fun and sustainable.

So how do you begin to shift this momentum?

A general rule of thumb is, “If you wouldn’t say it to a friend, it’s not appropriate to say to yourself.”

Begin treating yourself with the respect you deserve.

Focus on all the reasons you DO want to move your body and eat healthy foods. Focus on all the things you ARE doing to move yourself forward, and celebrate each small sign of progress.

By doing the internal work along with taking action you CAN create the body you want.

Together we can do it!