Motivation! It's amazing how this one little word can cause so many intense emotions. When you just read that word, motivation, I'm willing to bet you felt some sort of feels deep down in your stomach. Were they butterflies signaling some sort of excitement and reminding you of big plans in the near future? Or was it a sudden drop signaling nervous feelings and anxiety? I'm sure many of us would hope it was the prior, however, if you're having trouble motivating yourself and reaching your fitness goals, THIS ARTICLE IS FOR YOU! This blog will be all about tuning into your motivation station and has all sorts of tips and guidelines to help you reach your fitness goals. (Although these tips could be applied to help you reach any goals)
1. WRITE IT DOWN!
This one is huge! What's that quote? "A goal without a plan is just an idea". I think it goes something like that, either way, you get the idea! Figure out how you're going to reach your goal, map it out, and put it somewhere you can see it. I'm talking vision board status! Nothings more motivating than being confronted by your goals every morning as soon as you wake up, and letting your goals be the last thing you see each morning before you go to bed. Forbes Magazine recently published an article reporting that "One in five small business owners used a vision board or other visual representation when starting their business; 76% of those business owners said that today their business is where they envisioned it would be when they started it."
2. Create a schedule
Section out time in your day to actively work towards your goal. For example; say you create a schedule where you decide to workout every Tuesday and Thursday at 2:00. You make sure you never schedule anything else at that time since that is your priority on that day at that time. This way, when 2:00 rolls around you don't think to yourself "hey I have some free time, maybe I'll go workout" instead you'll think "2:00, that means gym time!" Studies show it takes 21 days for something to become a habit, that means in just 3 short weeks this act will feel completely natural! Psst! You'll probably even start to enjoy it.
3. Don't beat yourself up
Remember, this is a journey not a race. We are all human, we all live busy lives, we have priorities and things get in the way! This being said if you happen to miss a day or have a cheat meal, don't freak out. This can make all the difference between staying motivated and excited about reaching your goals, or feeling angry and defeated and burning out instead of reaching your goals. If you miss a day, use that extra energy to hit your session even harder next time.
4. CHOOSE A FORM OF EXERCISE THAT YOU ACTUALLY LIKE
This is another huge one. Fitness is Fun. I'll say it again FITNESS IS FUN! This should not feel like punishment. There is so much pressure now from social media and so many other sources we are able to acquire, that like to tell what you SHOULD be doing, or what you NEED to be doing in order to reach your "dream body". But in reality, all exercise is good exercise. You are much better off choosing a form that you actually enjoy and allowing yourself to thrive, progress, and have fun instead of forcing yourself into a mold that you just don't fit.
5. Track Your Progress
"You don't know where you are if you can't remember where you've been." Yet another quote that I may have butchered, but nonetheless, tracking progress can be a HUGE incentive to keep you motivated! This could be through weigh ins, PRs (i.e. continuing to increase weight, continuing to beat times), measurements, blood pressure, heart rate recovery times, or my personal favorite photos. In my personal journey, there's been many pictures that have surfaced of me where I look at them and transport back to me at that time and realize at that time I was happy and still thought I was fit, but I see I've made HUGE strides physically, mentally, and decision based.
6. Discuss with like minded people
Just like bring a friend week when you were a little kid, things can be much more fun when you share them. Having a workout partner or someone to talk your struggles and successes through with can be a huge tool to insure that you remain focused and stay motivated when things get tough.
7. Acknowledge Accomplishments
Another great incentive, reward yourself when you reach a milestone. "When I'm done 5 pounds I get to buy those gorgeous shoes I've had my eye on for months". "If I make it to the gym 5 days this week I'll buy those concert tickets with my friends". "If I eat clean this whole week we're going out to dessert on Sunday". Choose something you really want, and only get it if you stick to your plan for a set period of time.
8. Remind yourself why you started
Anytime you feel like giving up revisit why you started. What gave you this drive initially? Transport back to that time and regain your fire, you still have a lot of people to prove wrong!
9. Read motivational blogs, books, post motivational pics, set affirmations
And of course read motivational things to keep you on track, I mean you're already reading this blog so you're off to a great start!