<span style="color: #000000;">What is "motivation"? People often complain that they lose their sense of motivation and end up quitting their healthy eating or exercise routines. </span>

<span style="color: #000000;">Let me explain to you what motivation is, and is not, so that you can understand yourself better, and get back on track with your goals!</span>

<span style="color: #000000;"><em><strong>Motivation is, very simply, movement toward a goal.</strong></em> It is the energy, direction, and sustained force that is needed to propel a person toward reaching a goal. </span>

<span style="color: #000000;">In order to have motivation, you must have a desired outcome in mind. You must know what you want, and where you are going, in order to focus your mind on reaching your goal. </span>

<strong><em><span style="color: #000000;">Your energy follows your attention. </span></em></strong>

<span style="color: #000000;">You have to define your goal in very measurable, distinct ways that can be attained in plausible steps so that you have a clear path toward your goal. </span>

<span style="color: #000000;">Let me use weight loss as an example. </span>

<span style="color: #000000;">With weight loss, people often focus on avoiding a poor health condition, such as high blood pressure. If your attention is focused on avoiding a negative circumstance, then you are only avoiding something, and not moving toward a desired goal. Certainly it is ideal to want to avoid certain unhealthy things but your attention is not focused on what you want instead. <em>It is only focused on a negative thing that you want to get rid of or avoid. </em></span>

<span style="color: #000000;">If your attention is focused on wanting something, such as healthy blood pressure, or more energy, then your attention is focused on getting what you want. <em>That is movement and energy toward your goal. That is motivation.</em></span>

<strong><span style="color: #000000;">Order what you want off the menu of life.</span></strong>

<span style="color: #000000;">When you order food at a restaurant, you don't tell the waitstaff what you don't want. You don't say, "Don't bring me a steak." You tell the waiter or waitress what you want. You say, "I would like the big salad, please" or whatever you're going to eat. </span>

<span style="color: #000000;">You say what you want, not what you don't want. </span>

<span style="color: #000000;">You identify your realistic, specific goal, and spend your energy moving toward it. </span>

<span style="color: #000000;">So, order what you want off the menu of life and stay motivated toward your goals!</span>

<span style="color: #000000;">[author] [author_image timthumb='on']http://dianazilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/profile-pic-2015.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]by Diana Zilly, MS, MA, LPC, NBCFCH.  Diana is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Fellow in Clinical Hypnotherapy, and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Joliet Junior College. [/author_info] [/author]</span>

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