Truly Great Celebrity Advice To Get You In Amazing Shape

I read a great article today. It was actually all about how to be a better blogger. Mara Rogers of SecretsforMoney wrote it as a guest post for ProBlogger and for some reason it stood out in the midst of the countless articles I scan each day. I enjoyed what Mara wrote so much that I thought I’d shamelessly copy her idea for my post today. So here goes –

Movie Star Advice To Get You In Great Shape

“I just want to be wonderful.”—Marilyn Monroe

Well, who doesn’t? I know I sure do. And I’ll bet that you do as well.

But what does wonderful mean to you? Is it admired by those near and dear? Adored by fans far and wide? Or proud of yourself and your achievements –  inspiring to yourself because no-one else is as important?

Your image of your BodyIncredible is yours and yours alone. So make sure it truly is your image. Wonderful is not what the world wants. It’s the way you feel when you’re proud of yourself and happy with what you’ve accomplished. For me it is:

• eating ‘clean’ all day even though the 3pm vanilla slice was beckoning
• completing at least one solid piece of writing rather than spending the day on email and admin
• pushing through the pain’n’sweat barrier even though my lungs were screaming

How about you?

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“Is there anything better than to be longing for something, when you know it is within reach?”—Greta Garbo

We’ve all had days where we’ve sat back and done absolutely zip toward our health or fitness goals (let alone anything else). Which is fine. A good day of DVDs and chocolate is a must-have remedy from time to time. But it’s not who you are.

Is it?

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“An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.”—Mae West

New Year’s Resolutions, here I come. I’ll bet I’m not the only one who set great expectations for myself in Jan 08 and is now justifying why they didn’t come good. OTT goals are one thing, but failing to do something you very well could have ticked off your list is another.

Lesson to be learned: Quit talking. Start doing. A promise to yourself is not made to be broken.

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“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”—Judy Garland

It’s not about being a size 8. Or having a superbly-defined six-pack. It’s not about running the marathon in 2 hours flat. Or performing the standing splits. Unless, of course, those are truly your goals and you are truly doing what it takes to get yourself as close as humanly possible to achieving them.

The truth is that you are unique in a way that no-body else is. And that it’s your particular brand of personality and character that defines your ‘bodyincredibilit-y’. If your definition of that is wrapped up in the way you should perform or look, because others perform or look that way, then you may very well miss out on making the most of the things that make you incredible just the way you are. Trust me. They’re there.

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“It is up to us to give ourselves recognition. If we wait for it to come from others, we feel resentful when it doesn’t, and when it does, we may well reject it”–Spencer Tracy

Feeling and looking amazing is not about what you can do, nor what you should do. It’s about what you have done. And certainly about what you will do. If you’ve hit the gym more frequently this year than last, if you’ve held back on the drinks one time out of ten when normally you’d be first at the bar, if you’ve set your alarm for 5am to go for a run when bed is your best friend, well then you deserve a pat on the back. And you’re the best person to deliver it.

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“The more things you do, the more you can do.” –Lucille Ball

If you ran one mile this year for the first time, then 2009 is the year you run 5. If you ate healthy 50% of the time, then you know you can do it 60% of the time. Heck, even 80% of the time. And if you told yourself you’re truly wonderful even once, then you know you can do it again. And more importantly, believe it.

Who knew? Movie stars do have something to teach us all. And it’s more than just how to be a diva.

Full credit goes to Mara Rogers of SecretsforMoney for the quotes and the inspiration for this article.

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