Mar
14
Where’s My Motivation?
Filed Under Motivation
I’ve talked about motivation plenty of times before. I think it’s the most important part of any plan you make to get fit and healthy. I can give you a thousand useful tips for exercise and eating, but without motivation, your plan will always fail. Sure, we all know that good health can lead to a long and healthy life, but that’s a sort of ephemeral goal that’s hard to picture. We need things that are more concrete and immediate to really motivate us. Well, I thought I would give you a list of the things that motivate me as a way of inspiring you to find your own motivation.
My Wife
I want to spend a long and healthy life with my wife. We enjoy many physical activities and I’d like to be able to do them for a very long time. Looking at her gives me motivation to control my eating. When she’s not around, I have my wedding band to remind me of her.
Maui Marathon
I signed up for a marathon in September and I’m currently training for it. I picked a beautiful spot (Hawaii) where we’ll spend a couple of days after the marathon enjoying ourselves and recovering from the run. This gives me a very real incentive to keep training and keep running. I want to do well and get a good time. I took my marathon entry form and hung it up at the office in a place where it’s always visible while I work. That way I’m always aware of this goal.
Sleep
I’m tired of sleeping badly. I want to sleep without snoring and without sleep apnea. This gives me incentive to watch my weight.
Physical Activities
Ever since I got in better shape, I’ve found several physical activities that I really enjoy doing. Chief among them is hiking. So I make hiking plans for the weekends by myself or with friends and coworkers. This gives me a constant reminder of why I’m in shape. It’s also a good way to keep motivated during the weekend, a time when many people seem to forget all about healthy eating and fitness.
Pictures
My mom has this old picture of me from the height of my unhealthy days. It’s a good thing to look at sometimes and remind myself that this is who I used to be. Some people would think that this is negative motivation, a way of scaring myself into shape, but it’s not. For me, this is positive motivation. I know how hard I worked to get to where I am today and looking at this picture reminds me that I once thought being in shape would be impossible.
60 in 3
Yep, this blog isn’t just to help others, it’s also to help me. 60 in 3 forces me to stay current on health news. It allows me to make my goals public which in turn makes me more aware of them. It’s a daily reminder of who I am these days.
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Did you notice something about all these ways in which I motivate myself? Each and every one of them has some kind of immediate reminder. Whether it’s my wife, my hobbies or a simple sheet of paper hanging on the wall above my desk, I’m surrounded by things that I can look at and go “ahh, THAT’s why I stay in shape.”
What motivates you and how do you remind your self of it?
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3 Responses to “Where’s My Motivation?”
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Great list. I should do a similar one to remind myself of my own.
I like your list. I need to go find my wife so we can go walk together.
I gained weight in college due to beer and frat parties…are you sure it was the cafeteria food!!!
Mine comes from fear and love. I am a caregiver for my elderly parents. Watching what they have gone through (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s,Cancer, etc.) over the last 15 yeaars motivates me to make better health choices. I fear that my quality of life might turn out to be like theirs and I will become a burden to those around me.
I am blessed to have wonderful people in my life (wife and daughter) who I want to celebrate life with. I want to be there for daughters wedding. I want to enjoy retirement with my wife and spend as little time dying as possible.
Read my blog entry about motivation to get in shape: http://aiminghigher.blogspot.com/2008/01/motivation-to-get-in-shape.html