As a personal trainer, I talk to a lot of people about goals and making changes. Inevitably, motivation is a common topic that comes up.
“I just can’t seem to stay motivated” or “I need help with motivation” is something I hear almost every day.
Understanding these next few points is critical if you want to become motivated. It starts with a complete mindset shift. The truth is, we’re being misled every single day when it comes to motivation.
First, it’s important to understand where motivation comes from. Most people think motivation just appears out of nowhere and that it’s a genetic trait that you either have or you don’t. So what happens when you have this belief? Nothing. You sit there and wait and wait and wait to become motivated. It never happens.
This is why the most important thing to know about motivation is that motivation comes after action, not before action. You have to get started first, THEN you will start becoming motivated. Most people believe the opposite.
Why are we struggling with this?
We live in a society where things are becoming easier, and more convenient than ever before. This is tricking our minds into believing that everything should be easy and convenient.
We’re clearly struggling with this like never before. According to the CDC, over 70% of our country is overweight, and over 40% is obese. To put it in perspective, the obesity rate in 1980 was 13%.
I struggle with this, because most diseases linked to being overweight and obese are preventable, and every single type of morbidity is linked to lack of movement. Understanding the truth about motivation will help.
Trap #2:
Beware of the honeymoon phase of motivation…
Ok, so let’s say you’ve gotten started, and you’re beginning to feel motivated. Congratulations! You’ve now entered the honeymoon phase of motivation.
This is a trap, because in the beginning of something new, you’re almost always excited about it. Think of when you first started dating your husband or wife. For the first few weeks or months the excitement was real! This is the honeymoon phase. After a few months or years, it starts to wear off, and your relationship requires more effort.
The same is true when it comes to motivation. The longer you’re doing something, the more effort and intention will be required to stay motivated to continue doing it.
Most people enter the honeymoon phase and because of that extra early burst of energy and excitement, they start to believe that they will always feel this way… until one day they wake up and that excitement has suddenly disappeared.
They don’t feel like doing what they were doing anymore, and the sudden loss of motivation allows their minds to start telling them things like “oh I can just do that tomorrow” or “I’ll just hit the snooze button once today.”
My advice? Train your mind to believe that it will never get easier. Now, you wake up every day expecting NOT to feel motivated, and NOT to feel energized. Now that you’ve trained yourself to expect not to feel motivated and energized, you do what you set out to do anyway.
Feelings of motivation will come and go, so its best to be prepared to go on that roller coaster ride. When you wake up and feel motivated, embrace those days. The truth is, there are going to be many more days you don’t feel motivated compared to when you do.
Not the best news, I know. But this is the truth. This is why so many people aren’t motivated, and don’t achieve their goals.
I guarantee you that if you change your mindset on motivation, you will achieve your goals.
Have a great one!
-Steve
