It’s that magical time of year where gyms all across the galaxies are running promotions to get you to commit to a membership. Whether you decide to get healthier in January as a new year resolutioner, or if you decide to get healthier in August, the key to all of this is motivation.
I was asked a while ago, “How do you stay so motivated”….or something to that effect. I’ve thought about that question quite a bit. I have a list of reasons that motivate me to workout and want to eat healthier, and the more that I think about it, I notice there’s one thing that’s missing. Real quick….let me go ahead and share my little list of motivation:
- I DON’T WANT TO BE OUT OF SHAPE – I just don’t. It’s that simple
- I ENJOY WORKING OUT – What can I say? I like it. I think it’s fun. I was in the gym one day doing a set of battle ropes. Afterwards, a nice old lady came up to me and asked if I was training to be a cop. I smiled (yes, I actually DO smile sometimes) and said that I just do this stuff for fun. She laughed. We laughed. Everyone laughed and the credits rolled.
- GOALS – Setting goals and meeting/surpassing them is always a good motivator. It’s always nice to see progression.
- I HAVE A DEADLY DISEASE – Cystic Fibrosis wants me dead…..so that’s a pretty good motivator. Wouldn’t you agree? When CF hits me with its best shot, it’s always nice to hit back twice as hard.
- TO MOTIVATE OTHERS – I want to show others with CF that it is possible to beat it.
- I’M TRAINING TO BE BATMAN – no explanation needed
- ITS GOOD FOR YOU – The Good LORD gave you one life on earth and a body to live in. Exercise and eating good is the best thing you can do for yourself. Take care of your body and be responsible.
So, that one thing that I noticed was missing from my list? Feelings/emotions. I don’t workout just when I “feel like it.” I don’t let my emotions dictate my motivation. Feelings always change. One day they’re this and the next day they’re that. One day you’re ready to hit that gym and give it 100%, and then the next day it’s overcast outside and rainy and you’re just like, “eeehhhh…..i’ll go to the gym tomorrow…” Believe me, there are a lot of days that I just want to stay home. There are a lot of days that I have to drag myself to the gym or to the running trail. How I feel at the time does not decide if I will workout or not. If it did, I would never be consistent. If i were never consistent, my life and my health would never change.
This is not to say that emotions and feelings aren’t involved in finding reasons to get motivated. You might have as your reason that you are tired of being fat and out of shape. You’ve had enough and you’re going to change your life. There’s probably a lot of emotion involved in that reason, and that’s a good thing, but it’s the reason that dictates your motivation and not the other way around.
In my opinion, motivation is rooted and grounded in a reason, not in an emotion or a feeling. Emotions can waver. Having a reason to change will not waver. I would challenge you to sit down and think of a reason or even a list of reasons to change your health for the better. The reasons don’t have to be inter-dimensional or ground-breaking. They can be the simplest of simple. I mean, look at my list again…..”I Enjoy It” is one of my reasons. How deep is that? Not very. But it works for me. What works for you? Do you hate the gym? That’s perfectly fine. Write down what you do like and do that instead of the gym: swimming? Cycling? Hiking? MMA? What do you like?
I hope this blooooog is helpful in finding the right kind of motivation. Please feel free to share what motivates you to work out and be healthier. I also wanted to say thank you because I will probably hit 2000 views when this bloooog is posted. I’m very, very close to that as I am sitting here typing this.
Until next time,
STAY TUNED
LXV fit 