Finding the Motivation
It’s easy to say “I want to lose 20#.” “I want to be a doctor.” “I want to be debt free.” What’s hard is sticking to it and making that “want” a reality.
I feel like of those three “I wants” that I listed.. becoming the doctor was the easiest! Ha! Although it was countless hours in school, studying after school, sitting exams, crying over…. like everything.. moving MILES away, and back again… It was by far easier to tick one class, one exam, one licensure at a time.
That being said… I’m in the debt I am from those wonderful years of college and multiple degrees. But the dollar figure doesn’t matter as much as the desire to get rid of it. One penny, dollar, or bill at a time. You have to start somewhere. Lets start with a budget!
I LOVE excel spreadsheets. I use them for – literally – EVERYTHING. If you sit down and make a list of all of your expenses for the month (even if its on a post-it), compare it to your monthly income… you may see where you keep getting off track. Is it the food and coffee purchases that are tipping you over each month? Or are you already overspent before you factor in food?
For me my budget had to change several times last year. My residency income was a set amount per month. Last year I had to cancel any extras to make the budget fit. What with rent price increases, and life just getting in the way, I wasn’t making the budget work. I struggled. A LOT.
As you can see by the amount in red… I was definitely in the red. Every month. I would work extra shifts, and widdle down my grocery budget to make things work. But each and every month I struggled. I would have to ask for help more times than I cared to as a 30 something adult.
It doesn’t help that I live in one of the most expensive states, and a very expensive area to live solo. With pets. I quickly said goodbye to my 24hour fitness membership when I opted to move to my current apartment. But I will still over-drafting my accounts and struggling to make payments. My student loan payments increased. My credit card debt increased, which increased the monthly payment. My medical bills started building up, requiring monthly payments. Blah blah blah. It all came down to money.
One by one the “luxury” items on my budget were canceled, frozen, or otherwise removed from a monthly expense. My grocery budget with under a $100 for the month. For me and my dog. YIKES! This stillll wasn’t working out. I had to tighten the financial belt yet again. I have been cheating on my budget with my caffeine fixes. It was time to brew from home. Budget meals, and bulk buys to make frozen dinners – homemade style.
Since then I’ve improved my financial aspects. I’m still stuck some months. Specifically if I have to travel for work, or have an “unexpected expense” that pops up. But my residency is now over. I also managed to save some for my trip to ITALY all the while pinching pennies to meet budget lines! I made the trip in June of this year as a celebration for completing some of the most grueling years of my life. And as a way to close the last THIRTEEN YEARS of my life.
My debt may be a work in progress… But so is my weight. I’ve yo-yo’d like the best of them over the last 10 years. While I’m not at my highest weight, I’m definitely not where I want to be. And as I said earlier… I can’t afford the gym membership at the moment. So I stick to home work outs. I have a acquired a few new things at home to help melt the fat and build the muscle. I’ve hit snags along the way of course. Most recently is my stress fracture of my foot. Womp womp. (I just typed wimp at first. HA!) I was mid training for my (FIRST EVER) marathon when my foot was NOT going to tolerate walking let along running 26miles. WAHHHH!
Needless to say I fell off the wagon. I’m working on hitching myself back on the wagon. I have started with BATHROOM SQUATS, closing rings on the new iWatch, and trying to be as active as the weather allows. While my good friends from Tennessee do these bathroom squats each time they use the restroom… I opted to stick to 2 minutes of squats while I brush my teeth. It was more reliable than waiting for me to use the restroom during my residency.
We all know that good oral hygiene starts with 2 minutes of brushing out teeth. There’s also the dreaded flossing and mouth wash that goes along with it. *I am NOT a dental hygienist. Please seek professionals out for their opinion.*
So I started doing squats. Sometimes it’s boring as hell to brush your teeth. Sometimes it’s boring as hell to do squats. Mass the two together and improve both. I started to get comments from coworker friends that said they can tell the difference. I also just started adding in 100 abs once a day. Planking 15 seconds, with plans to build this to a full minute. Baby steps. We all have to start somewhere and with baby steps. But now-a-days those baby steps bring me closer to closing a ring… And that’s motivation enough sometimes.
That’s how motivation gets started. One foot in front of the other.