It is that time of the week again, where we have a little chat about your fitness mindset, because, my dear, your mindset totally matters when it comes to fitness.
Have you ever felt unmotivated? I do not even know why I am asking that question. Of course you have. We all have. (True confessions: I felt a little unmotivated to sit down and write this blog post – the couch is calling my name! – but it is such an important topic to talk about that here I am anyway. But you will totally find me on the couch later, I promise.)
Here is a better question: have you ever thought that motivation was something that you could control, that you have the power to manipulate and even guarantee that it is available to you?
Ahhhh! Because it is. And that is what we are going to dive into today: What motivation is not , and some practical steps to always be able to find yours.
The Myth Of Motivation | The Buzz
Okay, first, let us talk about what motivation “is not”. It is not just one thing. It is not a feeling that comes to you on a whim. And – most importantly – it is not outside of your control.
Motivation is like a three-legged stool, and each of the legs has the important job of supporting your weight, but none of the legs can do the job on their own.
Leg Number One: Scheduling
I always tell my clients, “If you do not know when you are going to work out tomorrow, you are not going to work out tomorrow”.
The sad truth of the matter is that if you do not schedule time to work out, you are almost definitely not going to find the time in your day to exercise.
We are all busy and if there is unscheduled time in our days, we tend to fill it with downtime or pleasure activities.
Items on the “to-do” list are far more likely to get done, because we have made mental (and possibly physical, if you write your list on paper like I do!) time for them.
Leg Number Two: Priorities
One of the reasons you might not have scheduled a workout is because it is not really a priority in your life.
And you might be saying, “But I really want to lose weight/fit in those jeans/other goal”! which sounds like exercising is a priority, but it is missing the mark. The results of the activity might be a priority, but maybe the work itself is not.
When the activity needed to achieve those results is not a priority, it is not going to get on the schedule and you are not going to feel motivated.
Leg Number Three: Pleasure
So, why is not exercise a priority? Why is not it getting on the schedule? The simple answer is this: maybe you do not enjoy it. Yet!
When you first start working out, exercise just feels hard, and it is tough to reap the benefit of pleasure from it. But I promise, exercise is pleasurable! It releases endorphins, which are a pleasure hormone, making workouts become their own reward.
Not Feeling Motivated? Start Here
All three legs of this motivation stool are super important, but if you are feeling unmotivated, the best place to start is with pleasure. Find something you love to do, and it will make it much easier to schedule and prioritize.
Pick an activity that makes you feel good, happy and confident. You are probably going to have to tune out the noise of other peoples’ opinions about this.
Do not worry if “other people” might think what you are doing is too easy, or too hard, or silly, or not fun for them. Your only concern here is “you”.
Make yourself happy, and you will find yourself being motivated.
I would love to know what you think about this model of motivation! What are you struggling to get motivated about right now, and how can you change your mindset to start feeling motivated to meet your goals? Leave a comment below!
