“Well, I suck.”
I had only worked out once a week for the past 3 weeks. My excuse? I had started “freestyling” my workouts instead of going with the tried and true plans and because I hadn’t scheduled specific workout days, my lovely procrastination problem reared its ugly head with less than desirable lifting totals.
I went from being fairly regimented to the other end of the spectrum. Why is balancing two extremes such a problem for us?
Sometimes we lack motivation. Other times we think we can light the world on fire (in a good way). Perhaps not so oddly, the days I think I can light the world on fire in pleasant flames never comes about by forcing myself to do something.
Those days, I have motivation that is more internal and it takes much less willpower to do the thing that I want/need to do.
How do you get more internal motivation?
Sometimes the thing you want isn’t actually something that resonates with you on a deeper level. Maybe you chose to do a particular task or to have a particular goal because it seemed like a good one to have or because it was a good suggestion from someone you respect or care about, or maybe because you kind of are “supposed” to do that thing.
Maybe, when it comes down to it, you don’t actually know what you want at all. Until you find that thing, or cause, or challenge that rouses your spirit you will not only fail to reach those “fake” goals but you will completely miss the goals that would have possibly changed your life.
When it comes to your health, instead of answering the “What are your fitness goals?” question with “I want to lose fat and tone up.” maybe you could try agreeing with some statements that get a little closer to the heart of why “losing fat” or “toning up” are so important to you.
Here are some sample statements for you to answer YES or NO to regarding your health and fitness:
- I want to be a bodybuilder
- I want to impress someone
- I have to prove something
- I want more self-confidence
- I want to be taken seriously at work
- I want to look awesome at the beach
- I want more energy in the day
- I want to be my own ‘before and after’
- I want more mobility so I can enjoy playing sports more
- I want to keep up with my kids or grandkids
- I want to wear the suit and not have the suit wear me
- I want to fill out a tee shirt and jeans
Now, let’s go further.
Change the tense from future to present as if you already have obtained that goal.
If you want more self-confidence, start saying, “I am confident” or “I am happy and thankful that I have confidence to do what is difficult for others.”
If you want to be your own ‘before and after’, start saying “I am my own ‘before and after’ and my successes are helping me have more confidence to be successful in other areas of my life as well.”
If you want to lose fat or reach a certain body composition, start saying “I am glad that I weigh ____ pounds and am at __% body fat.”
As you can see, the point is to write what you WANT and not what you want to get rid of. Every statement has a positive vibe to it as opposed to emphasizing what you don’t have yet and helps switch your motivation more internally.
By switching your goal to a positive affirmation stated in the present tense, you are helping rewrite how you view yourself.
If you’re constantly saying “I’m a healthy person who exercises and chooses healthy food to take care of my body.” you do what the “healthy” person does when presented with the option to eat a donut or an apple (donuts are glorious by the way and have their place in everyone’s life).
Your subconscious doesn’t think in future terms. It doesn’t know how to process the future. What it does know is the here and now, the present. And if you have that positive, affirmative goal statement running through your mind everyday, it begins to think you’ve actually arrived at that goal and makes choices dependent on whatever info you keep feeding it. All of this takes less willpower because it’s something that actually really matters to you.
Read your affirmation every day, if not multiple times a day.
By continually presenting your mind to the thing you want by stating you already have it, you are putting it not only in your subconscious thoughts but also at the forefront of your mind. There’s a quote that says something along the lines of “A goal unwritten is just a wish.”
Stop forcing motivation. Dig deep into discovering why you want to “lose fat”, or whatever your health goal might be, and then reprogram the way you think by writing down that goal in 1-2 positive affirmations. Finally, own that goal by reading it everyday and keeping it at the forefront of your mind.
Think it. Write it. Speak it. Own it.
P. S.
What are your affirmative statements? Would you like to know more about a particular topic? Do you have a hard time figuring out where to start?
I may be able to help you out.
I work with busy moms and time-stretched dads who never seem to have enough spare time to devote to a healthier lifestyle. Through a hybrid model of online training and one-on-one sessions, I meet you where you are and help you reach your goals quicker than if you were to go at it alone. Fill out the Interest Form when you decide you’re ready to take the next step to invest in a lifestyle of health. After I review your responses and we get a chance to talk, our journey will begin immediately if we’re a good fit 
Here’s the link for the interest form: Click Me!
Take Luck,
Bryce
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