Shattering the Glass: My Moment of Motivation

Ever have that moment when you suddenly see something? How I Met Your Mother fans may remember the shattering glass episode called “Spoiler Alert” where members of the group point out how Ted’s girlfriend cannot stop talking, shattering his perception of her (accompanied with the appropriate sound effect). The episode continues to reveal annoying habits of the group, each with the tinkle of broken glass. Once each behavior has been revealed, they cannot help but see it.

In my last post I identified losing weight as one of my goals for 2015. Just a few days later, I posted pictures from Christmas, and on a photo of my boyfriend and I, his uncle made a comment in Bosnian that was not so flattering, essentially pointing out that I have gained weight. On Facebook. Ugh.

I know that this particular uncle is approaching his 70’s, that he doesn’t really understand Facebook, and that he probably didn’t think I would see/understand the comment (seriously though, who doesn’t use Google translate?), but the comment still stung. Shifting through moods faster than a summer storm, I went from being angry to depressed to depressed to wanting to crawl into a hole and cry faster than you can snarf down a donut. But this time, after months of turning to comfort food, I didn’t feel the urge.

Because he was right. As unfortunate and rude as it was, he was right. I HAVE gained weight, and quite a lot of it. But this comment did what the scale, my tight pants, and the mirror had all been trying to accomplish… It shattered the glass. I knew what I wanted to accomplish this year. I even had a nutrition and exercise plan in place, I just had to start. I just needed to really commit, and that comment was the catalyst to doing just that.

So, I could have let it ruin my day, but instead I turned it into the fuel I needed to hold myself accountable to that goal. Change can only happen when we are under pressure, and how you let other people affect you is YOUR decision. How can you mold criticism to fuel your goals?