More often than not, people don’t lack time to workout, rather than that they lack motivation! Sometimes it might look hard to find motivation and keep going when you don’t really feel like doing it.That’s why I will suggest you four ways to stay motivated!
1. Know why you are doing it– whatever you do in life, no matter what your goal is, in first place you always have to find the reason WHY you are doing it? And don’t rush and answer that “I want to lose weight”; “I want to have six pack”;” I want to be toned”. That is way too skin deep. You need to dig deeper! You need to find that thing which will drive you to get up early in the morning, when everybody else is sleeping. When it is freezing cold outside, and you’d rather stay in your comfy bed, but you will still choose to get up and get dirty!
If you ask me why I workout, yes I will tell you that I enjoy being fit and looking good. But that is far from the main reason I enjoy working out so much. It is just about the feeling, the sense of accomplishment. When everything in life seems hopeless and pointless, I know that I have an outlet- the gym. I go there, put the weights on the bar and I start crushing them. Right there in this moment I feel unstoppable. I don’t care what happened in the outside world before I stepped in the gym, I don’t care what is gonna happen when I leave the gym, I focus on that exact moment. To me my workout is the place where an entire life can be compressed into an hour. Where the emotions of a lifetime can be felt. To me the workout is the place where the common man becomes an uncommon hero. My workouts give me peak experiences when I feel completely useless. They help me become my potential when I feel incapable and unworthy!
I think that is a reason good enough to keep me motivated. This is my “why” behind working out. That is why I NEVER make excuses for skipping workouts. That is why always have a burning desire to work out no matter the circumstances!
2. Next comes commitment– finding your “why” is a big step forward but it is far from enough. Motivation is nothing without action. That is why you have to commit yourself to what you do! I have a quote in my notebook that I ”stole” from the signature of a friend. It says that commitment is the ability to carry out a worthy decision, even when the excitement of making that decision has passed! Outstanding! Couldn’t have said it better! You know how you are always excited at the beginning of each journey. Then, as time goes by, the excitement is being replaced by doubt, and that is when most people either keep going and achieve, or quit! When you feel that doubt creeping up in your head, turn back time. Remind yourself about your “why” and keep going. Reveal something new in the activities you are doing. That will keep it interesting and won’t let the excitement die. Challenge yourself. Provoke your limits! You will find it fun and exciting and you won’t leave it behind!
3. After commitment come plans– a commitment without a plan is just a waste of time. Yea you will keep yourself busy but I you won’t make it far! In my marketing classes we have a bunch of planning subjects. They always tell us how it is fantastic if we have an idea. But the idea should be developed. It should be broke down in little, measurable goals! Thus, it is easier to keep a view of the whole picture, but still focusing on the present moment. It is the same with working out, with your athletic and appearance goals! Keep in mind how you’d like to look after an year, but break it down in smaller steps. Plan it for the week ahead or the month ahead! That will give you a realistic view of your progress and if you are moving forward or just stuck in one place!
4. Find support-I know that most often than not, people close to you, won’t appreciate your desire to workout. They will either discourage you when you are consistent to working out, or encourage you to keep skipping workouts when you feel lack of motivation. When that happens, don’t quit. It is not necessary for other people to support you! Do you want it? Yes! Then go ahead and do it! I assure you that you will meet a lot of people that have the same goals as you do. They will support you and encourage you. Just let yourself find them!
Those four things are the least you could do to keep yourself motivated but still enough to keep you going!
