When you tune into something good, it gives you the opportunity to connect with yourself and to recommit to yourself.

It reminds you just who you are, and that you’re doing OK. It also reminds you of the things that are important to you.

You joined with some goals in mind – you might have a goal weight/dress size in mind, or you may have decided to focus on the health and well-being benefits, or maybe a bit of both.

Sometimes we joke about “going to your happy place” in your mind while you are working out, but there is some truth here, and some benefit.

Rather than it being a dissociative process, “zoning out” can mean a person is focused in their own present moment, they’re really paying attention to how the machine is feeling and the muscles that are being worked, and that’s a good thing.

Each month we celebrate with two lists – Top Attenders and Top Goal Setter Go Getter, and we do a prize draw of all the names in each list and the winner gets a t-shirt.

Hands down, the ladies who get on those lists get more satisfaction from their workouts and they enjoy them more, and that means, they stay motivated.

The real answer to where your motivation lies is, it’s in your RAS, and if you make friends with it, it will help you achieve all sorts of things you may have struggled with in the past.

The fact is, you probably know that high fives motivate but when do you ever cheer for yourself? Also, what are you waiting for, what will it take to get you to cheer for yourself? And do you hold others to that standard, or do you cheer others literally for tying their own shoelaces?

Having someone who is following the same path as you means your small achievements mean so much more, and someone who knows what it took to achieve them will always celebrate them with you, no matter how small they seem, because they “get it”.

Returning from holiday a leaflet came through my door for Curves with an offer for 6 weeks, I thought 6 weeks - why not? I can always quit if I don’t like it!

If you’d asked Jo a year ago about roller coasters, she would have told you she didn’t like them, she didn’t go on them, and she was the one who would wait holding the coats and bags.

(Is that you? I know it’s a lot of mums because you all tell me, but even if you love roller coasters, read on, it’s worth it I promise)

We’re on a new mission this summer to help women build the habit of exercise in just 6 weeks. How long does it take to build a habit? A quick Google and you’ll find many answers to that question.

And that’s the mistake lots of people make. Because here’s the thing. It’s not time that forms a habit, it’s FREQUENCY.

We can look at this one of two ways.

We can say “only 6 months of the year left, I’ve not even started all the things I thought I would do, I’m hopeless and can’t even stick to one resolution, why do I even bother trying, look at all the fruit/salad/gym membership gone to waste, I’ve wasted 6 months, I’ll never do it now”.

Or we can say…

What’s the difference between getting uncomfortable by getting up early to work on your side gig, or making yourself go the gym even though it’s the last thing you want to do, and the discomfort of staying where you are right now?

Last week I told you about the award I won (thank you for your congratulations by the way) and promised I would share the secret sauce of showing up.

Now I’ll be honest here, I’ve been trying to shoehorn this into my day for a while now. Ideally, it’s to be done very first thing, before anything else shows up or blows up (you know the things, because it doesn’t just happen to business owners, right?).

Last week I won an award and became Entrepreneur of the Month at my local business meeting, and it made me think of you.

I got a wake-up call the other day, talking to a friend about goals. I had a goal, and I realised I wasn’t going to make it. I was talking about adjusting the goal and she caught me out.

This is how you do it!

Our Kaz, making her plan for June, she's got her work rota, her glasses, she's pulled up a chair and asked me for a ruler - she means business!

You may have heard a saying about how long it takes for habits to form. It might range from 30 days to 90 days depending on which report you read.

The thing is habits aren’t formed over time. They’re formed over frequency.

When I was walking through town today, I spotted one of our members skipping along the pavement, holding hands with her children, laughing merrily, and I thought to myself and it reminded me, THAT is why I do what I do. It's what our mission of Strengthening Women is all about.

The fundamental difference between someone who achieves their goals, and someone who doesn’t is how they think. It isn’t about desire, it’s about taking action, doing something even when you don’t want to.