How To GET (and STAY) Motivated
A lack of motivation is often something that people really struggle with.
This can negatively impact on a persons ability to look, move and feel better.
Today we’re going to look at:
How we can get motivated in the first place?
How we can stay motivated?
Understanding motivation will help get the best possible results.
Let’s dig in!
How To get Motivated in the First Place?
Motivation vs Action
Perhaps you’re in a position where you understand that you need to make improvements to your health and fitness.
Maybe you’re:
A little out of shape or Unfit?
Starting to experience some health problems
Or you just don’t feel great on a day-day basis.
It’s common for people to know that they need to make some adjustments to their exercise, nutrition and overall lifestyle.
… But they simply lack the desire or motivation to make those changes.
This is especially the case if the situation isn’t urgent… But can even be the case for those needing to make more drastic change!
The challenge is that we can be waiting around for a tsunami of motivation to wash over us and thrust us into action, but it never comes.
Days, weeks, months or even years go by and we can still be in the same situation or perhaps even worse off.
I believe that there is an inverse relationship between motivation and action.
My approach for clients who have been in this position is to encourage them to take action FIRST.
This doesn’t need to be anything ground-breaking.
It could be something simple like drinking more water or going for a walk on their lunch break.
All of a sudden, a few days pass by and they start to feel a little bit better. Perhaps more energised and more productive.
They then realise that they were able to set out a goal, achieve it and they feel better as a result.
Now the ball is rolling!
They might then start eating a healthier lunch.
Now they lose some weight and their trousers aren’t so tight!
At this point, they feel motivated to make more changes because they are feeling the benefits of their actions.
As humans, we are reward incentivised creatures.
If we can feel an action is benefiting us, it makes it far easier to get motivated to do it.
My advice on “how to get motivated” is therefore pretty clear.
Take Action.
Set some achievable goals, execute them and allow yourself to build momentum that leads to motivation.
Don’t sit back waiting for a wave of motivation that may never come.
How to Stay Motivated?
Motivation vs Discipline
Now we’re motivated and getting some results.
How do we stay motivated?
Despite what social media will try to make you believe…
Nobody is motivated 24/7 … 365 days a year.
Motivation is a very elusive feeling.
I like to think of motivation as the wind that moves the boat.
When the wind blows strong, a sail boat is propelled forward at speed.
But what happens if the wind drops?
Well…. The boat isn’t going to get very far.
That’s when we can switch on the motor.
The motor will chug away no matter whether the wind blows or not, moving the boat forward, it could be a little bit slower and maybe not as fun, but the boat will continue to make progress.
I like to think of the motor as discipline.
To me…
The difference between motivation and discipline is that:
Motivation is doing something when we want to do it.
Discipline is doing something when we don’t want to do it.
I’m sure we’ve all experienced this at one time or another in many areas of life.
For example,
I love my job and I’m fortunate that I usually feel motivated to go to work.
But when the alarm is going off at 5 am on a winter morning, and I just want to roll over and go back to sleep.
Discipline is what get’s me up and out the door.
It takes effort to be disciplined.
But for things that are worthwhile, I don’t really see any other choice.
We have to show discipline at work. In relationships. With family life. And with looking after our health and wellbeing.
This is something that I try to highlight to members of Fitness Studio 46 as I truly believe in the value of being disciplined and doing things even when you don’t want to.
But… In reality… I do start to get a bit nervous as time goes on.
I often wonder how long a person can get through on discipline alone.
Working out when they don’t want to.
Preparing healthy food when they don’t want to.
Tracking results when they don’t want to.
If discipline is like the motor on a boat, I wonder how far a person can get before the engine runs out of fuel and they’re just dead in the water.
So I have a few strategies to try and get the winds of motivation blowing again.
3 ways to get re-motivated
Re-Discover your WHY
Is it to stay healthy as they age?
Is it to be a role model to their children?
Is it to perform at their best?
Once that why is re-established, I encourage people to share it!
Put it out there to your coach, your friends and your family so they can remind you of it when times get difficult.
Rediscovering the WHY behind any course of action helps create buy-in and can kick start motivation.
2. Set Goals
Having both a long term vision and multiple short term goals is important.
I suggest putting pen to paper and writing down some achievable short term goals.
Maybe you could book an event or challenge to create a target and deadline to shoot for.
Nothing gets me motivated like a deadline!
3. Make a change
Maybe things have simply gotten stagnant.
You may need to do something different to help freshen things up.
This could be a small or a larger change.
Such as, a new training playlist, a new training programme, training with new people, in a new place, trying a different type of exercise or learning a new sport / skill.
In summary
My thoughts on improving motivation, are more to do with action and discipline.
If you’re struggling to get motivated to take positive actions for your health & fitness… Switch the emphasis.
Take action, see a result and then the motivation will come and it’ll get easier.
As you continue to see results…
Capitalise on periods of high motivation.
But know that there will also be times of low motivation.
This is when discipline kicks in and we must make an effort to be consistent with our healthy habits, even if we don’t feel like it.
Motivation will more than likely kick-in again at some point naturally.
But you may need to re-prioritise, set some goals or make an adjustment in order to get the winds of motivation blowing once again!