Why do you even bother?! This is what I find myself saying to myself sometimes when I am struggling to get to the gym or out the door for a run or even when faced with tempting pastries when just trying to get my morning coffee…..

BEWARE… This is exactly the kind of thinking that will destroy you!!

I have learnt the only way to combat this beast of burden is to have a DEFINITE, ACHIEVABLE and EXCITING goal. That is your rebut.

• Your goal must be something that YOU want and not what you feel pressured to do by someone else or by the media or the stupermodels…(yes I call them stupermodels…).

• It must be realistic. I used to say to myself that I would exercise every single day and eat no carbs at all. I think it lasted a week before I got ridiculously hungry and narcissistic and burnt out. Then I felt so guilty that I turned around and ate junk food for about three weeks non stop. Seriously evil stuff…

• More than all else, I have found that YOU only have to really really really want it. It has to be something that you are excited about – something that makes you happy or will give you incredible happiness.

• If all else fails, visualize yourself and how you will feel in 1 year if you have not achieved anything or even tried starting to….

So what is your goal? Well it could be anything really. I don’t prosper under pressure, but some do. So I would say to myself ” just twenty minutes a day is all you have to do”. I mean seriously what is 20 minutes out of your whole 13, 14, or 15 hour day?? It’s absolutely nothing, but will give you so much control over your life. Alternatively it could be an upcoming event that you want to train for, such as the manly fun run. www.manlyfunrun.org.au or the Balmoral burn. http://www.humpty.com.au/Balmoralburn.aspx. (Both which are coming up next month.) Or it could be a goal weight that you have. (But make sure you know why you want to be that weight).

If you are a more structured person and need to be told what to do, then Personal training sessions might be the answer for combating your demons.

And remember…. always combat a negative thought with two or three positive ones.

Happy training!!

Alison =)