Nov
12
How To Keep Motivated
Filed Under Motivation, Uncategorized
If you look at the core of fitness you’ll find motivation. Motivation drives everything else. Yes, I know, we all think fitness is about exercise and diet, but it’s really about motivation. Think about it, we all know that we can get fit by eating better and exercising more. So why are many of us still unfit? Well, because it’s hard to translate what we know into what we do. I know that the extra piece of chocolate is bad for me, but it looks so tasty but the reward for eating it is immediate and the bad health consequences seem so remote. I know skipping my workout is bad for me but come on, it’s just one workout and the reward for working out seems so distant and vague. What’s good health for the rest of my life compared to an hour more of playing video games right now?
It sounds silly when you put it that way but for many people, including myself, motivation is an issue. I used to have a horrible time with motivation, and I still had issues with it when it came to eating even in the past couple of years. I knew I needed to eat just a little bit better if I wanted to lose weight, but I could never motivate myself enough to make those final few changes. So here are a few things that I’ve found work really well for me:
Daily Reminder
Schedule a daily email or task that arrives every morning. There are numerous ways to do this. For example, I have a task in Microsoft Outlook called “improve myself”. This task has a daily reminder which means it pops up every morning when I log into my PC and switch Outlook on. Right at the top of the task I’ve written down my top reasons for wanting to stay fit and lose those remaining few lbs. This way I start out my day every morning with a reminder of why I do the things I do.
Keepsake
In the old days, knights would go into battle carrying a keepsake of their ladies back home. Even today, soldiers go to war carrying pictures, toys and other items that remind them of their lives back home. Why do they do this? Because in a horrible environment like war, it helps to have something to motivate you, something to remind you of what you’re fighting for and why you should work hard to stay alive and come back home.
Now I’m not trying to compare a struggle for health with the horrors of war, but the idea itself still works. Keep something on you at all times that will remind you of why staying fit is worth it and why that extra serving of dessert is not. For me, it’s my wedding band. Wearing it and looking at it reminds me of why I want to lose the weight and stay fit. It reminds me of the years and years I want to spend with my wife and how being healthy will make those years far happier.
Immediate Rewards
Don’t keep reminding yourself of long term goals, reward yourself in the short term as well. Make sure your healthy life doesn’t feel like a prison by incorporating some rewards. For me, I love chocolate. So after a great week of being healthy, I like rewarding with myself with a piece or two of chocolate. I work hard to make sure that doesn’t out of hand and turn into a chocolate binge, but the reward makes me feel like I’m not depriving myself.
###
What are you doing to motivate yourself?
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Comments
2 Responses to “How To Keep Motivated”
Leave a Reply
I think for many people adjusting their diet and lifestyle should also include a change to the way they view food. It might be a good idea to break the association of ‘naughty’ food being the chosen reward. There isn’t much difference between using and abusing (two letters!) Instead of a food ‘treat’ go for rewards that enforce the fact there’s more to life than food: a lie-in, cinema/DVD, flowers, massage…I like the daily reminder one though…you could also do that for your mobile phone.
Great post Gal!
Matt, you’re right on about how we view food. Americans now see food, portions, and plenty as God given rights, and that is a big part of what has gone wrong. I once saw it articulated on Sesame Street that there are “sometimes” foods and “always” foods. How basic and jow profound simultaneously. I have never forgotten the difference bewteen sometimes and always, and I saw that over 30 years ago.