Without a positive mindset, you will not achieve your full potential. Positivity is especially important when you want to lose weight. If you focus on the challenges, you will never begin. Instead, focus on the reasons why you can and should lose weight. Make them your motivation.
Fear is a crippling deterrent.
Some of us may know of the glass bridge in China. It is said to be a very safe and sturdy bridge, but many are afraid to cross it because you can see everything below and the fear of falling kicks in. Our natural fear of falling is understandable because we cannot fly. If someone guided a blindfolded person across the bridge without their knowledge, there would be no issue in getting them across. However, without the blindfold, they start looking down and thinking of what will happen if they fall. This fear cripples them and makes them unable to walk across. We cannot afford to let our fear overpower our motivation to live healthily.
Our mind is a powerful machine.
This capacity to overrun reason with fear shows how powerful the mind is. It lets us see and believe things that are not possible. The mind can be a powerful motivator. On the other hand, it can prevent us from crossing the bridge and moving from a state of being overweight to one of losing weight because we fear failure.
Many people do not want to hear about what it takes to lose weight because it brings fear as they envision why they can’t succeed. However, life is such that, for every reason why we can’t do something, there is at least one reason why we can. We have the choice to make weight loss our desire and achieve it against all odds or to believe that we can’t and give up. Make the reasons why you can your motivation.
Don't let your limited reality hinder your learning!
Although the world is vast, we each only experience a small section of it. We live within our own little world moulded by our experiences in life. So, we can discover new things each day, no matter how old we are. Sometimes, a very young child can teach a great-grandparent something entirely new. This reality of limited perspectives is quite normal, but we cannot allow it to narrow our scope of learning. We must be willing to explore what others have done and think outside of the box we know.
As seen in the post How Do We Lose Weight, we all have the ability to lose weight, but some of us do not know how. We may have tried and failed in the past, but that does not mean we can’t succeed. Say you ate a particular awful-tasting meal and vowed to never eat it again. However, someone somehow convinced you to taste how they cook it. It tastes so good that you can’t believe it is the same dish. If we allow others to show us the “how” part, we can overcome our doubts and make weight loss happen. We need to have an open mind and be willing to learn why we may have failed and how we can now do it the right way based on our unique situation. Weight loss can take time, so we must find ways to keep our motivation going and positive mindset high.
"Failure is Impossible"
Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906), known for her immovable stance on women’s rights in the US, spoke these words during a suffrage meeting held the day she turned 86 in 1906. Anthony faced constant criticism and was later arrested, tried, and declared guilty of voting illegally. Despite this, she vowed to continue fighting to gain women the right to vote, believing her cause was just. Though she didn’t live to see the fruit of her labour, her declaration proved true. In 1920, the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote.
Nehemiah's Story
Nehemiah 6:1-15
Failure wasn’t an option for Nehemiah either, mainly because he had a powerful helper: God. After asking Him to bless his cause – rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem – Nehemiah and those who had returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon worked to make that happen. They needed the wall to keep the people safe from enemies. But opposition to the cause came in the form of deception and threats. Nehemiah refused to let opposition deter him. He informed those who opposed the work, “I am carrying on a great project” (Nehemiah 6:3). After that, he prayed, “Now strengthen my hands” (v. 9) and, thanks to perseverance, Nehemiah completed his work (v. 15).
God gave Nehemiah the strength to persevere in the face of opposition. Is there a task that you’re tempted to give up? Ask God to provide whatever you need to keep going.
To continue reading, learn more about the importance of a good diet.
