Christine Howard Blog

Have you ever stopped to think about your motivation for the many choices in your day?   Have you ever stopped to think about how your motivation affects the results you have in your life?   Here are a few scenarios to think about: Do you workout because you are afraid of being overweight and out of shape or do exercise because you love and respect your body?   Do you eat organic food because you are afraid of disease or because you love to give yourself the best nutrition you can?   How about with your family – do you help your kids with their homework because you are afraid they will fail on their own or do you help them because you love them and want to see them succeed?   Finally, do you say “yes” to something because you are afraid of letting the other person down, afraid of how they may react if you say “no” or are you saying “yes” because you enjoy the activity and spending time with that person? Fear and love cannot exist together....

When I decided to train for the May 2013 NPC Figure Competition I was so excited about my commitment.   I was flying high for that first week as I visualized myself in lean, muscular shape, all tanned, walking up to accept my trophy.   I saw my achievement clearly!   Within a week that high vanished and I found myself feeling overwhelmed and scared.   On the one hand I deeply desired to achieve this goal, but on the other hand I realized that I had MANY (hundreds) things to accomplish over the six months leading up to the competition.   There were changes to be made in my diet, in my workouts and my supplements.   I needed to learn about and perfect the poses, the tan, and the makeup.   The scariest tasks were those that required me to step up and ask for help from my family and friends.   The more I thought about all the different steps, the more scared and anxious I became.   Stopping the mind chatter One morning I sat qu...