Getting Motivated is Fairly Easy
And, when you use it the first time or two, you feel like a king or queen. You are unstoppable. You tell yourself that, this time, you will reach your goals.
Then reality starts to set in. After a couple of days, or a couple of weeks, you no longer look at your new equipment as a fun, exciting toy. It is now just an object that takes up precious room and is in the way.
What once was admiration now becomes disdain as you dread your daily sessions with this monster that continuously tries to beat you down. You find reasons to avoid it. You do the housework. The kids need help with their homework. You have to rearrange the cotton swabs on the bathroom counter. Anything to get out of stepping one foot toward that no longer cherished piece of hell.
Finally, in the end, it becomes nothing more than an expensive coat hanger or something for visiting children to attempt to hurt themselves on. Either way, it’s now out of commission and you’re no closer to your goal than you were before you got it.
How can you go from pure and utter excitement over something, to being able to look in the room and not even see that it exists? How do you keep the passion you had when you first started so you can reach your goals, once and for all?
Know Your ‘Why’
The key to staying committed to something long-term is two-fold. First, you have to know your ‘why’. You have completely understand “why” your goal is important to you.For instance, if your goal is to lose weight, why do you want it? Yes, the common response is because you want to feel good and look good, but what exactly does this mean to you?
If you want to feel better, what specifically would it look like when you achieve this? Is it being able to play a game of tag with your kids without getting winded? Or, will you feel good when you are able to easily walk up the four flights of stairs at your office?
Maybe it has more of a health component for you. Would losing weight give you the opportunity to get off blood pressure medication, or allow you to sleep peacefully without relying on your apnea machine? Most likely, getting in shape will prevent the onset of many dangerous conditions that come along with obesity, so is this what you’re after?
Maybe your reason is less health related and more vanity based? That’s not a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with taking pride in your body and wanting to look good.
Just as you need to be specific if your goal is to feel good, the same applies when you’re desired result is to look good. What does this mean to you? If you lost weight and weren’t so self-conscious, would life be better? Would it give you the self-confidence you’ve been craving?
What image does being thin represent to you? Can you see the new you being unafraid to walk into a room full of strangers because you feel good about yourself?
Defining the specific result you are hoping to achieve is key to finding your motivation. It’s knowing why you want to make the changes that keeps you going through the rough times.
Okay. Now once you have found your motivation, how do you keep it?
Motivation is a Continual Process
The part of motivation that trips most people up is that they think that once they get it, they should always have it. Like it’s a tangible object. Like having a deed to a house means it’s yours. But, what happens if you fail to make the payments? It goes back to the bank, right?
Well, you have to continue to make ‘payments’ to your motivational bank too. The only difference is that motivation isn’t something you buy with money. It’s something you purchase, for lack of better words, with continued work and dedication, and a mindset that accepts nothing less than success.
When you first purchase your house, you calendar the payments, right? You want to make sure you don’t forget to send the bank the money, so you write it on your datebook or create reminders in your budget software program. You can apply the same technique with your motivation. Actually write reminders to eat better or to exercise on your calendar so you don’t forget.
And, just like it feels good to see your mortgage balance decrease with every payment you make, again you can apply this concept to your weight loss goal. For instance, maybe your goal is to lose forty pounds. Fill a jar with forty colored stones. Every time you lose a pound, transfer one rock to another jar. Just seeing the first jar empty and the second jar fill up can keep you moving in the right direction because you can actually see your accomplishments.
If you’re a person that likes getting encouragement, make yourself notes that have inspiring quotes or motivational sayings on them. Put them on your desk at work. Tape them to your bathroom mirror. Or, if you have a supportive friend or family member, ask them to be your cheerleader and send you texts that will keep you moving in the right direction.
Maybe you’re a list person? Start every morning by coming up with three to five things that you can do that day that will get you closer to your goal. Make sure they are things that you can complete within the twenty-four hour time frame. As you achieve each item, cross it off.
Motivation can be elusive, but only if you let it be. However, once you master certain techniques, like the ones above, it will become second nature. Now get out there and make it happen. Reach your goal!
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