two women dancing in front of a garage door.

May The Fourth Be With You!

This blog is all about making good moves to promote your own health and wellbeing. I write about things I’m learning in the process of living and creating me.

One thing that is talked about a lot in the context of people living with neurological conditions like Parkinson’s, is motivation, or a struggle to maintain motivation even to do essential things or things we love and are passionate about.

This affects me too. Even though I know I’m better when I exercise, I can easily find excuses to not do it.

My latest excuses are that I’m busy as it is school holidays and there is so much to be done to keep the kids active, and do the household chores (the laundry alone is a monumental daily task). Although I’m not working for a whole two weeks, these “holidays” are almost more stressful than regular school term time. This is partly to do with having a four-year-old who is incredibly active.

Running around playing with Maia is on the one hand really great for me, but at times I get really wiped out, exhausted, completely energy drained, especially on the days when I’ve struggled to sleep the night before.

My family has also been blessed with visits from family these holidays. It has been awesome to see everyone, and we’ve had great catch ups, but there is also an energy draining element to hosting.

 

woman smiling sitting on a grassy bank holding a baby on her knee.
A regular sized Emma (29) and Niko (4 months), January 2008

The other factor I am dealing with is my ongoing struggle to stop losing weight. This is a weirdly taboo subject for me. The large majority of my family and friends are battling the opposite problem, whereas I have been worriedly weighing myself everyday and wondering why the number keeps slowly ticking down.

In order to stop losing weight, I need to maintain a delicate balance of:

  • eating the right amount of the right kinds of foods, at the right times
  • doing the right amount of exercise – not too much, not too little
  • taking medication at the right times.

Not one thing has to change – there are a range of factors operating in a complex system. Getting the mix right is hard!

This need to maintain balance drives my intrinsic motivation.

 

two women dancing in front of a garage door.
Smaller-sized Emma (42) shaking my butt, and Kitty (praising a higher power!)

Intrinsic motivation comes from inside of you, as opposed to extrinsic motivation which comes from things that happen outside of yourself.

I depend on extrinsic motivation a lot to get me to exercise or go to karate training – like I will get my butt to training in spite of believing I have a good excuse not to, if my husband Elia says ‘Go to training, you’ll feel better for it’.

It is intrinsic motivation however that is more important in the long run. Intrinsic motivation is a force inside that you have to nurture to experience its full power. Easier said than done, that is true. Again, there is no one silver bullet or one single answer to how to get there.

I do know it takes self-belief, and the knowledge that you have what it takes to problem solve your life’s challenges.

I wish you well in your self-learning journey! May the fourth be with you! (Kitty: groans, face-palm).

kitty laughing into camera
Kiity Fitton - usually up to mischief.

Kitty Fitton is a motivational speaker, MC and comedian. She is also a full-time blogger and writer. She is mother to four small people and was very cross to discover she had Parkinson’s Disease.

Find out more at her personal site below. 

emma_k
Emma Kyriacou. Quite good at hitting things.

Emma Kyriacou is a real-life ninja. Taking up Karate to help fight her Parkinson’s Disease, she’s co-founder of Good Moves and is passionate about promoting exercise to improve mobility and neuroplasticity. (Is that a word? It should be.)

Find out more at her personal site below. 

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