There is no such thing as motivation - is there?
A dear friend once said this to me when we were talking about her fitness journey. She always felt out of shape but never really did anything against it. Moving to her dream city and working on her mental health gave her a real boost and she now works out regularly, which makes her feel great - physically and mentally.
I admire that a lot, as I also try hard to work on myself. Not only because I have back issues that are easily solved with working out regularly, but also because I know that working out has also mental benefits.
I also enjoy working out once I am at the gym, so finding a sport is also never the issue. It's more of an energy-problem: When life keeps happening, I quite easily feel overwhelmed and stop working out or taking care or myself. Junkfood and the beloved couch just look so inviting when your batteries are super low.
When I asked her, how she keeps herself motivated, she said
"You only have motivation in the beginning, routine is the key"
She told me that, in the beginning, she struggled too. She was only motivated in the beginning, but quickly disciplined herself to form a habit out of her new lifestyle. Now working out and eating healthy has become such a routine for her that she follows through with her routines pretty easily. She falls out of her habits too sometimes but she with the routine she established for herself, she is able to quickly jump back in whenever she needs to.
It was all making sense to me, but I was afraid that this wouldnt work out for me. I already have problems with initial motivation to eventually form routines, due to me never really showing up for myself and caring enough to stick to my plan.
Therapy helps me reshifting that focus but it will take some time until I rewired my brain to caring for myself too. So, in the meantime, I am currently trying some methods to keep morale high, in hopes that they will trick my brain into forming a consistent workout habit.
Set goals for yourself and check them regularly
If I have multiple ways to go, I immediately get overwhelmed and don't move at all. However, if I have a specific goal, I can see the path better and am then more likely to run. Therefore, I try to always set specific goals instead of just running. Even if you end up on one of the other paths: If you regularly check in with your goals, you will quickly be back on the right path. The "moving forward" is an additional motivation.
Goals can be as simple as "In the month of xx I will work out for 40 mins, 2 times a week". The good thing about wording it like that is: Even if life happens on one day, I still have 6 days left in the week to reschedule my work outs. And when I notice that 40 mins is not doable, I reschedule to 30 mins the next month, until I found the sweet spot that feels easy enough for me to get into a routine.
Educate yourself! And do not compare yourself
Being a digital marketer taught me something: Learning from others is amazing to bring yourself a few more steps ahead. Since working out and dieting are very different from individual to individual, that there always might be more ways to work out you have never heared about. Or people with similar dietary problems to yours that are already ways ahead in the journey. Learn from them and try new things as you go!
BUT two things to keep in mind on the subject:
- Dont compare yourself to others. Our journeys are very different from each others, you are doing just fine!
- Always consult a doctor. Just because a bloggers situation feels similar to yours doesnt mean that it is exactly the same. Especially when it comes to loosing weight or physically exhausting exercise: Always consult your doctor or search for a nutritionist.
Always remind yourself "why?"
Even my super disciplined friend told me that she sometimes gets lost on the way. And that is totally normal and human. Besides goal setting, what she usually does in these moments is reminding herself why she started that journey.
It's so simple but true: When everyday hits, it sometimes can be hard to see the reasons why you started a certain journey. It doesn't have to be a health journey, it can be any journey really. Remind yourself of that reason whenever you feel stuck.
Why do I want to lose weight? To feel good again!
Why do I want to start a business? Because XYZ is my passion. etc.
Always let the "why" be your road map.
Recognize negativity and navigate around it
New roads are always hard. There will come those moments when all you want to do is give up. Then, when you have negative thoughts or feedback from your inner circle, it's super easy to give in to that energy and give up.
It's important to recognize that negative energy and live through it. It does not feel good, but it will help you understand where your roadblocks are, so that you can either avoid them or get rid of them all together.
Let's say you have a colleague that can't stop the fat-jokes in your prescence. They say, they don't mean no harm, but because you welcomed the negative energy to analyze it, you notice that you feel bad and demotivated everytime they do it. Either have an open conversation with them or (if possible) avoid them all together during the phase when you build your habit. The avoidance can be temporary, but since you very likely can't change the person, you can change the exposure to that road block.
Planning, planning, planning!
When motivation or routine is lacking, planning can be a helpful tool. For example, eventhough I give myself some leanway, WHEN I want to go to the gym, I still plan my gym days on specific days. Almost like I do with meetings at work.
For one, it reminds me of the work out everytime I look into my calendar. But it also tricks me into some sense of fullfillment. It's terminated. In my calendar. I shoud attend it right?
Plus it also makes it easier for me to get rid of the usual excuse: "I don't have time." Because I clearly found space for it in my calendar, so I apparently have the time.
But I am also try to cut me some slack if life really happens and I have to reschedule. Which brings me to my last point:
Don't be so hard on yourself
If things don't go your way, don't be so hard on yourself. Life happens and we sometimes get to hard on ourselves if we miss one or two workouts. We are not competing athlethes. As long as these postponements don't become a permanent excuse, you're allowed to be a little more gracious with yourself. After all, if you feel like a failure, that kills motivation too. Get yourself into the mindset of: "I stumbled today, but I'll run again tomorrow."
Establishing ones health journey is one of the hardest things to do and I still struggle massively with this. But giving up is not an option for us, right? 😊
Tell me how you navigate your health journey, I would love to hear from you!
Yours
