3 Reminders to Revamp Your Motivation

Whether you are in the beginning of your fitness journey, or you’ve been at it a while, it is so easy to lose motivation. Sometimes we hit a wall and it’s a sign to rest, but sometimes it’s like writer’s block, and we just have to push through it. Here are some things to think about as we head into the new year and you continue working on your goals.

1. Take care of yourself like you’d care of someone you care about

Would you tell your friend/partner to give up? Would you tell them their body isn’t good enough for vacation? Would you tell them to skip meals and starve themselves? Would you tell them to have a bag of chips for dinner? Would you tell them to stay up late and wake up early? If you wouldn’t tell your friend these, don’t say them to yourself. Whether it’s speaking negatively about your body image, or how you fuel your body, I encourage you to appreciate your body for what it does for you. It carries you through the day, it protects you from disease, it is fighting for you to be the best you can be. Fuel yourself to succeed. Give yourself enough sleep to recover. Move to be strong.

2. If you allow it, exercise can teach you a lot more than just movement.

Exercise teaches you how to fail and improve. I have had many failures in the gym. I try a weight that is too heavy, or I try a new exercise and fail because I haven’t built the skill. Exercise teaches me that I can suck at something, but I can keep trying and get stronger. Then, I try a new challenge, suck again, and improve again. If you take the opportunity to practice this kind of steadfast work ethic to keep trying even when it’s hard, you will build up a mental toughness that relates to a lot more than just exercise. You can take that skill into your relationships, your work, your eating habits, and your professional development. So keep showing up!

3. Delayed Gratification = Greater Results

Delayed gratification is part of what makes successful people successful.

When you carve out time in your day to workout, or you decide to cook your breakfast instead of buying a pastry, you are choosing delayed gratification and investing in your future self. It’s uncomfortable at first, but if you do it long enough to achieve the reward, you start to enjoy the process because you KNOW the result is coming.

Weight loss, a job promotion, getting quality sleep, or improving your mental health all take hard work, time, and practicing new habits that are often uncomfortable.

In a world of so much instant gratification we lose our patience.

If you are not seeing results in your fitness journey, I encourage you to self reflect on what instant gratification you may be overindulging. Whether it's food, shopping, time on an app, TV…we all have our kryptonite. I encourage you to face yours head on and work for delayed gratification.

Stop & Reflect:

"What is one step I can take that is challenging and I can repeat for 6 months?"

Remember, success takes time and the greatest results happen when you keep showing up, even on the days you don’t want to.