Last Friday week, I went to the World Trade Centre with my brother and dad and it was phenomenal. The building, the waterfall, the views, the way it was organised, how friendly the staff were, even the lifts were a spectacle – everything about the place is first class.

We had a drink in there and Dad asked the barman a couple of questions. How many visitors did the place get and how high was the building?

The response was between 15,000 and 30,000 visitors a day and 1776 feet.

Myself and my brother are not usually stuck for words but we did find it hard to put some on the above figures and the thought of the work which must have gone into everything from clearing the site to making sure the victims were honoured properly to the planning and construction of the building itself (1776 represented the U.S year of independence).

But another point that was made was how important it was to recover from the attack, honour its victims and show strength despite it. Which the Trade Centre now definitely does.

Last year I did an online business course where one of the first things we were told to do was write a list of the reasons why we wanted to achieve certain things. The reason being anything worthwhile will be difficult at times so you need a strong enough motivator to help you keep going.

Looking at this from a weight loss point of view. Which sounds better?

“I want to lose 2 stone on the scales.”

Or: “I want to lose the weight so that I have more energy, vitality and confidence in myself and look amazing in a dress that I used to fit into but don’t anymore. I also want to feel better for the people in my life as I know that my shape is starting to affect my mood also.”

For me I’ve said time and again I’m not always completely motivated to work-out when I plan to but I have plenty of reasons to make sure that I do. Just by taking some time to link having more energy and vitality etc. with other aspects of my life such as family, business, longevity, confidence, vanity.

If you’re struggling with motivation at the moment and are letting things slip from a nutrition and exercise point of view, you could do a lot worse than sit down and ask yourself WHY you want to get into shape.

And give yourself some time to answer them. If you’re stuck for where to start, below are some questions you could ask yourself to help get motivated:

– What would being fitter and healthier do for your confidence? This is a big one and it is surprising how many people have body confidence issues – even feeling uncomfortable in some public settings as a result.

– Would more energy help you in certain situations? Work, family life even travels and getting around seeing the world a bit can all be improved by increased energy levels.

– Your Health. Life is kind of cool and while none of us are guaranteed a certain amount of time, looking after ourselves has been shown to give us a better chance of hanging around for as long as we can.

– Being an inspiration to others. We all have relatives, friends etc. Surely there are a few that look up to us enough to be inspired if we keep ourselves/get into good shape.

– Proving points to ourselves and others. Have you ever doubted yourself or been told you can’t do certain things? Sometimes when I’m struggling with a session I will think of examples of the above and convince myself that if I can push through the session it will help give me the mental and physical strength to prove those who told me that wrong.

– Looking better. Working out and keeping in shape will help everything from your skin tone to giving you better posture – all good things from a cosmetics point of view.

Over the years I’ve watched as people take great care of things like clothes, cars, kitchen utensils – all just stuff – while through stress and a lack of care letting their bodies take a battering and fall into disrepair.

This makes no sense to me. If you’re letting things slip and fitness maybe you need to ask yourself:

WHY?