Are you struggling to summon up the motivation to exercise? Are you constantly telling yourself you must get to the gym, but finding that other things just get in the way?
It is a typical scenario, and one that is actually pretty simple to address.
The first thing you need to do, is stop hassling yourself to exercise. You do not have to have willpower of steel or be super disciplined, so you can stop worrying about that right away. Relax a little and have faith that your body will intuitively know what is good for it, if you give yourself a chance to listen to what it is telling you.
Next, you need to sit down! Yes, the first step to successful fat loss is sitting down and doing practically nothing! Get a pen and piece of paper (and a cup of tea – but skip the sugar and cookies) and begin to write down what you want to achieve when it comes to your health and fitness.
Do you want to lose body fat? Do you want to tone up your thighs and bat / bingo wings? Do you want more energy? Do you want to be stronger for daily tasks? Do you want to play a sport better or take up a sport you feel too unfit for?
Brainstorm all these things, and you may find there are some surprising things you attach to fitness, that you hadn’t thought about before. Think about how good your life would be if you could achieve these things – really try to imagine and visualize being slimmer and more energetic, or how you’ll feel when you finally learn to snowboard, if you’ve always felt too unfit to give it a go.
Then write down all the reasons that stop you from exercising.
Do you feel low on energy when you get home? Are you too hungry at the end of the day to go to the gym, but then too full to workout after dinner? Do you struggle to find the time?
Then write down ways you can address all of these. If you are too hungry after a day at work, make sure you take an afternoon snack so you can work out straight from the office. If you struggle with time, consider a time-efficient work out plan, using kettlebells ideally! Realise that there are solutions to all these obstacles.
Then go back to your ‘goals’ list, as that is what you have effectively written in the first step. Then begin to expand on the goals and look into what you will need to do in order to achieve them.
Will you need to exercise? Will you need to look at your nutrition? Will you need to improve your time management?
Then, using all the information you have in front of you, come up with a plan. Write your goals out clearly, and give them a deadline and attach measurements to them. But also state WHY you want to achieve them. Then, state HOW you are going to achieve them, in several clear steps.
Once you have established a clear and compelling WHY (remember to visualise and keep the end result uppermost in your mind) and you have worked out practical steps HOW, then motivation is no longer an issue at all. You see exactly what is required to get the result you are after, and that you truly want, and so will take those actions accordingly.
The next time you find yourself low on energy, you will be able to remind yourself that your workout will energize you. If that is not enough, you can remind yourself that you won’t hit your target if you miss this workout – so the workout is no longer an isolated activity with no purpose, but part of a longer chain of events that will take you exactly where you want to be – to the fitter, slimmer, more confident version of you.
Copyright © 2009 Caroline Radway
A fulfilling life is one of meaning, purpose and balance and the one thing that everybody strives for each and every day. It is living your life and enjoying every moment to the best of your ability and finding the happiness that is all around you. It is not only about materialistic things either. Those things can give the impression of a happy life but often you will find, that with no one to share it with and experiences to remember, all the money, cars and homes will not bring do we want it, it is how do we achieve it?
What is life if it is not lived, lived well, and lived with purpose? How many people randomly go through their lives without giving much thought to what they are doing here on this planet or what they should, perhaps, be doing?
While I like to work swiftly with clients toward their outcome, I’ve never been one for what I call the ‘double jeopardy high-five’ motivational approach. Too much of the ‘wahooooooo!’ or ‘Yaaaay goferit!’ makes me want to puke.
Many people come to me complaining that they’re tired, exhausted, unable to find balance in their life. Some have incredibly busy schedules and others live a life of casual leisure. Yet, both are exhausted. I also know people who have either busy or leisurely schedules who are not tired, they are full of energy and rarely, if ever, tire. What’s the difference?
“The million” honestly doesn’t mean anything in a business until you have a better whole view of the business; its mission, vision, purpose, and financials.. and an idea of the priorities and lifestyle vision of the business owner.