There are moments where inspiration is everywhere. Those moments where you can’t work fast enough or write down those ideas quick enough. Then there are those times where you’re looking for inspiration and it’s nowhere to be found. You call out to it, invite it over for coffee, and try to lure it in with kind words. But nope. Still nothing. What do you do then?

The reason why you do things matter.

In weight loss and in life, the reasons why you do things matter. I know….because I’ve been there. Losing weight because you want to look pretty doesn’t work. Neither does starting a business because you want more money.

When you ask yourself WHY you want to do something, oftentimes that first answer you get is not the actual answer. Surely no one wants to lose weight to look pretty so that they can sit on their couch at home. And no one wants to start a business to make money and just stay at home with that money in their lap. It’s the underlying reasons why you want those things that actually matter.

So let’s get to the bottom of it.

What will weighing less mean to you? Will you be able to travel more? Play tag with your kids? Be able to go hiking with friends without having to take a break every 5 minutes? Wear those jeans without feeling self-conscious? What will having more money do for you? Will you be able to quit your job and stay at home with your kids? Will you be able to finally travel to spend more time with a family member that you haven’t seen in years? Will you be able to build that school in that country? donate to that orphanage?

The reasons why you do things matter. It will be the thing that will keep you inspired, especially when things get tough and you feel like quitting.

Have a clear goal.

If you can’t clearly define your goal, it’s going to be hard to stay inspired. You have to know what you’re working towards. And I’m not talking about huge scary goals that seem unattainable. Those goals are great but if you’re wanting to stay inspired, you have to set a goal that’s attainable. Something that you can see yourself achieving in a few days or weeks.

When I first had the idea of teaching women how to discover and live their best life, I had no idea what that meant. I knew I wanted to teach it live, face to face. But how was I going to make that happen? My goal then became to figure out how I’m going to teach this. Was it going to be through a series of questions? A one day event? A vision board making workshop? I had a clear goal that was attainable. With a little bit of research, I came across the idea of creating a three day workshop and pitching it to a local community college. And just like that, I had accomplished that one small goal.

Have a clear definition of success.

How will you know if you’re successful at achieving that goal? You can’t get to your destination if you have no idea where you’re going. Going back to my workshop example, I defined my success very clearly. When I was done creating the workshop with the presentation and the worksheets, I would consider that successful. Notice I didn’t say when my workshop is approved or when I have 50 women signed up. You can’t let the results define you. I am in no way in control of how many people register for the workshop or if the workshop gets picked up by the college. The only thing that is 100% in my hands is my ability to create the program and be able to pitch it. Once you have a good definition of what that success will look like and you’re able to achieve it, you will have all the inspiration you need to keep going.

**You have to base your success on things that are within your control. If you're going to get and stay inspired, you cannot let the results define you.**

Here’s to inspiration. May it always find you working.

Putting it into action:

Try these…

Have a project you’re trying to complete? Can’t find the inspiration to complete it? Remind yourself WHY you started. Take a piece of paper and a pen and write down the reason why this is important to you. Remember to dig deep. The first answer that you want to give is often not the right one; it’s not the actual reason why. After you write that down, keep it somewhere that you can always see. Let it serve as a constant reminder that you have a bigger reason why you’re doing all of this!
Can’t find inspiration to start anything? Start anyway. Inspiration has to find you working or it will never approach you. Start with something that you do know and just keep going. Love cooking? Take a cooking class. Love painting? Just put brush to canvas. Do something!