So my love language is Acts of Service – thank you Gary Chapman; followed closely by quality time. Receiving gifts speak to me when it is apparent the gift is about thought and understanding of who I am as a person and has an emotional element to it. Physical touch, well I’m not a hugger unless you are a child.. then you get all the hugs and words of affirmation, other than a thank you, roll off of me. I guess that explains why I am unable to latch onto any of the popular self-help, motivating folks out there.
I’ve been living a healthy lifestyle for a while now, lost some weight, increased my physical activity by finding things I love to do, developed a new eating pattern, focused on delicious and nutritious food. I refuse to “diet”. Cooking for me excites my creative side and I thoroughly enjoy the experience from start to finish (well not the dirty dishes, but you get my drift). As part of this lifestyle I belong to many pages and groups and I find it so very fascinating learning about how others follow their path. I do not compare myself to their journey, I am just genuinely interested in what drives people and why they make the choices they make. I am truly happy in their successes and I emphasize with them when they struggle. But I may not be the best cheerleader. I have a hard time sometimes articulating simple statements that one might consider motivating.
I find motivation in the details, the what some might consider, the every day mundane details. I look for the ebb and flow of life that indicates #itsallweightrelated. I do like the occasional motivational quote, but I’m a conversationalist so I am more attracted to statements that strike up dialogue rather than a mic drop…
I wish I could find motivation in a profound quote with a pretty picture, but I would be lying if I said that seeing something like that is a catalyst for me to get up and do what needs to be done. Are you motivated by these things? Do you see a quote and have that aha moment? I am more of an internal analyst. I need to think things through and have a conversation with myself. I spend quiet time alone with God, through prayer and reflection I figure out what or how to be motivated and then make the decision what to do next.
There are no right or wrong answers about what is motivating, it is a very personal experience. It just needs to speak to us on a level that gets us moving in the right direction… so tell me – what motivates you?
Wherever My Heart Lead Me 
Sometimes a beautiful picture or an inspiring quote is something I enjoy . The beauty in the fall leaves ; the wind blowing the trees ; a frog or was it a toad jumping away from me . Being thankful for them .
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I enjoy quotes that are thought-provoking but my true motivation comes from being able to do for others. My personality is drawn to acts of service.
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I wrote a reply that vanished…
I should have made a copy but I had forgotten how easily a couple of thousand key-strokes can disappear.
Thank you for sharing your photos and thoughts.
as to motivation quotes etc..
I enjoy reading them… but I cannot recall a single one ever actually motivating me to change even one tiny scintilla.
Take care.. Stay safe and healthy
Audra (75HealthyMe)
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I’m not sure whether motivation is as important to me as consistency; as long as I can set up the circumstances of my life to support the habits I need to do, then I tend to do them.
I definitely find “inspiration” to have only short term use, in that regard. Inspiration is good for creative pursuits and problem solving.
But motivation? I’m not really sure. I’ll have to think about it some more and get back to you on that. 🙂
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Motivation, for me, is internal… inspiration can be drawn from external things. I find encouragement in those words of affirmation, and I tend to offer it that way, too, so I’m thinking (even though I haven’t read the books) that is one of my love languages. And acts of service. “What can I do to help?”
My son considers me to be a “motivation multiplier” because of this trait. The family cheerleader. But I’m horrible about tangible gifts… positively horrible, like my mother before me. I appreciate them, because of the thoughtfulness that those who are good at it put into it, and they *do* make me feel loved… but more for the obvious thought and feeling than for the specific gift, which I think tracks with what you wrote.
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I am not really sure what motivates me. At age 71 I should know by now! However, back in 2008 I had gotten an e-mail that did “spark” me. I checked out the sparkpeople.com website, joined since it was free and actually started reading the articles. As I received them I pass them on to my sister who unbeknownst to me kept deleting them without reading. When she asked about them I explained what the website was about.
Late July we began out journey to a healthy lifestyle. We have both lost about 188 lbs each,and have been maintaining our weight loss since 2010. I would say that my sister motivates and inspires me. We encourage each other. When I travel to visit my younger sister in Montana for a couple months I often think how will I survive without Becky. I have Julie to keep me motivated. I have my bil Wayne to feed me some of the greatest meals I have ever eaten and I still maintain my weightwithin a plus or minus 3% of my chosen center weight.
I love your blogs!!
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Hi there! How are you?
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