HOW DO I STAY MOTIVATED ALL THE TIME?
A couple of questions come up most weeks……..
‘How do you stay motivated all of the time?’
OR
“ I just need the motivation to get me started, where do I begin?”
So I figured I’d answer that. My answer, if you know me, or maybe even if you don’t, will probably surprise you.
I often think that when people speak to me, and ask me about what I do in terms of my work and my own training, that they kind of think that I am some freak of nature who stays motivated non stop, never falters, and always stays at 100% effort, and who always loves to get out of bed at 6am on the weekend to train!
I DON’T!
Well, hopefully this will set the record straight, tell you that yes, I AM human, and help let you know that is it actually OK to NOT stay 100% motivated the WHOLE time, while also giving you some ideas to stay on track too.
You see, the simple answer to the above question is this . . . NO ONE stays 100% ON IT !
Not me, not you, not Olympic athletes, NO ONE stays motivated and on top form 100% of the time. It’s just not possible.
Yes I stay on track maybe 90-95% of the time and keep my head in the game, but the truth is . . .
We ALL have days when we’d rather do something else.
We ALL have times when life gets in the way and something else needs to take priority.
We ALL go through times when we need a break.
We ALL have days when we just . . . can’t be arsed.
We ALL feel rock bottom from time to time.
You know what though? Contrary to what people may lead you to believe – It’s cool. It’s fine. It’s NATURAL.
BUT . . .
Staying in control (KEY WORD), and on your path to YOUR success is all about enjoying the process MOST of the time.
Sure, if you were to stay 100% motivated and on track all of the time, you’d get from A-B in the shortest possible time. For a long term goal at least however, it’s highly unlikely that your path will be totally straight.
There will be days when you just want a bit of cheesecake!
Likely, you’ll have the odd diversion, a little bend here and there, and that’s fine. So long as you keep moving along as directly as possible, then you’ll get there soon enough. There will be challenges that crop up, but the key is to keep moving toward that goal…….and when you get there enjoy it but PREPARE yourself to move to the next goal.
Often happens with us here at the studio, a client achieves their goal, then soon looks for the next one…..
Often vanity comes first for us all, after all who doesn’t want to look good?! Then come the other goals!
These are not just applicable to your fitness and health goals but also your hobbies, your business or career and just about anything you care about.
1) Accept that losing motivation is normal
There I said it. It WILL happen. It’s bound to. IF you know that it’s going to happen, you can kind of plan for it. So take it on the chin, but know what you need to do in order to get back on track, then most importantly – do it. If fat loss is your goal, and you’re following a nutrition/workout plan, remember that you are always just ONE meal and ONE workout away from being back on the wagon. Don’t ‘leave it til Monday’, or have the attitude of ‘I started the day with a rubbish meal so I just as well have a crap diet all day and start tomorrow’.
- Get breakfast right( should contain protein and some good carbs)
- Drink just water all day
- Aim for bed before 10pm.
2) Embrace the crap times
As I’ve said, we all have these. For me, the thing that gets to most people in the UK is something that is out of our control (weather) …. Mainly because it drains those around you… BUT we can’t honestly afford to spend time being reactive to such things as the weather. Much like those workouts that you don’t quite feel up for.. We all feel like that from time to time BUT because be safe in the knowledge that it’s getting you closer to what you want and get it done. If something crops up that makes your mission harder, embrace it, figure out how to get round/over it, and crack on. Refuse to let the rubbish times get in the way of your success.
3) Plan plan plan
Time management is key. At the start of every week, I’ll physically write into my diary every single training session I need to do. That way it’s in there, and I can plan around it. I’ll also plan out most of the ingredients we need so that I can stay on top of nutrition to help performance. This is a real key to success, so get a pen and your diary out, and get planning. You’re MUCH more likely to get it done if it’s diarised. A few of my clients tell me that they print off the meal planners that I give them and stick them on their fridge.
4) Focus on the process, not just the result
In particular if you’ve set yourself a long term goal, being aware of, and embracing the process that will get you to achieve it is as important than the end result itself.
How will your life change on the way?
How much healthier will you be getting as a result?
How many new people will you meet?
How much happier will you be?
The process is so important, so be sure to focus on that, not just the end result. Again not only related to exercise and health but also applicable to your other goals. For instance, I love travel and I always look back at when Jo and I completed the trek to Machu Picchu, now the walking itself wasn’t that difficult, the altitude was, but each weekend before we went for 12 weeks, we went walking. This was amazing, as we visited coast lines and trails we would not have done. This made the process enjoyable, whilst knowing that we were putting ourselves in a good place to not only complete the walk but to enjoy it , and that we did.
5) Remember WHY you want it
Massively important. WHY do you want to achieve whatever it is? Knowing the reasons why you want to achieve something should be plenty to see you through. Remind yourself about your WHY factor every single day.
If you don’t know exactly what you want, that’s not a problem, but you need to find out WHY you are doing what you are doing.
So look, while not rocket science, not complicated, and certainly not a scholarly article, hopefully the above 5 points will help you to feel “on track” and help you in realising that no one is 100% motivated the whole time.
To your success,
Matt
p.s. If you need more accountability don’t be afraid to ask for help or check out the transformation programme we are running starting next monday.
http://www.mattluxtonhealthandfitness.com/6weekbodytransformation
