How many times have you shot down a goal or dream because you thought you couldn’t do it?  What if you told yourself you could do it?  What if you truly believed it?!  So often we fail to tap into our true potential because we’ve trained ourselves to believe that we CAN’T do it, or we give a mediocre effort and then tell ourselves it’s all we’ve got.

This is especially true in the area of weight loss.  Sometimes looking at the big picture is so overwhelming we give up before we even start.  If I would have thought in my mind that I had almost 100 pounds to lose, I would have thrown in the towel and dove into a bag of Doritos (the cool ranch kind).

Could it be, that you have no idea what your true potential is?  Maybe just maybe you are strong enough to conquer your fears and go for it! 

Try this:  Strap on your running shoes and go for a walk/jog…even if you are not a jogger.  When I first started jogging, I couldn’t jog anymore than 30 seconds before I wanted to puke in my mouth a little (sorry, descriptive I know).   

Warm up 5 minutes walking, now start jogging; even if it’s barely a jog.  When your breathing gets laboured and your legs start to burn and your mind starts screaming “holy Hanna Montana you have got to STOP!!!”…Don’t do it! Keep going!  Tell yourself, you will jog another 15 seconds.   Go again the next day.  This time go for an extra 3o seconds, or an extra 5 minutes…depending on the level you are at.  The point is, you CAN push through it. 

Don’t let yourself believe that you aren’t strong.  You are only limited by your mind.

My sister Janice has MS.   Before she got sick, she was the most active & vivacious woman I have ever met.  She loved to go for speed walks and being active was just part of who she was.  She now walks short distances with the aide of a walker. When I first started exercising, my little sister and I went for a walk/jog while on our family vacation.  I could not for the life of me keep up to her!  It was like chasing Forest Gump.  I returned back to the cabin a good 10 minutes behind her so I was feel discouraged about my slow pace.  Janice was in the cabin when I returned and I told her how bummed I was because I couldn’t run very fast.  She looked at me and said “I wish I could run again.”  I had to duck into another room because I was so overwhelmed by her statement and realization of how spoiled I was complaining about how difficult exercising is when I CAN exercise. 

My sisters and me Christmas 02 (my little sister is missing from this shot as she was basking in tropical son).  Me, Roxy, Sharon, Janice, and Darlene.

So I run because I CAN run.

This is the song I play on my Ipod when I don’t want to run anymore (I apologize for the crude Madonna photos that accompany this song.  It was the only one I could find on the net that I could embed.  Just listen to the words!).  The words of this song remind me of my sister and I refuse to quit when I hear it.

Push yourself and tap into your potential.  You won’t believe how strong you actually are.