-ations

Inspiration. Motivation. Dedication. I need these -ations! It's gotta start with the inspiration, I think. I need to find something that will inspire me and then motivate me and then I can apply the dedication.

The other day, I read one of the blogs I follow, Hippo Brigade, and I thought, "Oh, I wish I could write like that." I read her writing and I say to myself that she writes how I think. Then I try to put pen to paper (well, fingertips to keyboard) and nothing comes out. Or something comes out and it's not witty.

The inspiration and the motivation need to come hand-in-hand. I have to get inspired by something and that will motivate me -- to write, to run, to work out, to bake, to just get off the couch. I need a kick in the pants!

I'm thinking about joining a new gym. The gym I currently belong to is super affordable, but that also means it's super limited. I really only use the treadmill. There aren't any classes there and I'm never motivated enough to use the free weights or the machines. So, I got a two-week free pass to a huge gym that is closer to my house and has rooms and rooms of equipment and cardio and offers classes. So, the inspiration is there, I guess - I've been inspired to try something new. Now I need the motivation.

Sure, I went to the gym yesterday. But I used the treadmill. Nothing inspired there.

Tomorrow I'm going to take my first spinning class. I'm nervous. I've never done it before and I'll be the all-around newbie in the class. I know gyms can be clique-y and that makes me shy. I'm hoping that after I make it through the class, I'll be motivated to try out some other classes.

I know that I'm motivated enough to go to the gym five days a week, since I've been doing that for about two years now. Last year, I ran my first 5K. I had a goal and I reached it. Then I went on to run five more in a year. Now I need a new goal. Plus, my body is getting tired of running five days a week and it's letting me know! I'm starting to think that I've skipped the inspiration step. I'm motivated to burn calories, but what inspires me? What's the push?

Do I need to start cutting pictures out of magazines of women with great bodies to hang on the refrigerator? My husband might like that. I don't know if that's enough to inspire and motivate me. I give in to my food cravings far too often and think that I could probably overlook the hot bodies and say that I'll just start over tomorrow.

So, what is going to inspire me? What will inspire me to write? What will inspire me to be creative? What will inspire me to change my workout? I need to think on this . . . and hope for a little divine intervention . . . or inspiration . . . .