We’ve just waved goodbye to the first half of 2017. Not sure about you, but personally that seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. Hopefully you’re able to say that overall, the past six months have allowed you to experience success on your health and fitness journey. I say journey because there are always areas that we can improve in. It’s not about perfection, or attaining some ridiculous standards set by society. It’s about giving ourselves every chance of being the best versions of ourselves. So, in saying this a question that we should ask ourselves on a regular basis is this, ‘What’s my why?’ Your why should be personal to you. Your why doesn’t have to be shared with the whole world. Your why should be what helps you to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again if you happen to fall short of the goals that you set for yourself. Your why may have a physical, mental, spiritual, emotional or relational aspect to it. But it is more likely that your why has a combination of these. For some of us our why goes beyond wanting to. Our why is because we need to; because we can’t continue with the same habits that are doing harm to our bodies. If we don’t make incremental, yet significant change and continue as we are, the likelihood of us enjoying and participating in every moment of our lives now and into the future is at real risk. During this time of year, it’s so easy to make up excuses as to why you can’t exercise, turn up to a session or put in the work that needs to be done to create the necessary change. I believe in the saying that goes ‘if it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.’ If you’ve fallen away from your why, or are uncertain about it, talk to a health professional you know and trust, and together you can come up with a plan that will work for you. Let your why be your motivation, and get back on the path to achieving success on your health and fitness journey. You’ll be glad that you did. DK