Are you someone who wants to get healthy, but struggles to meet your goals time after time? Have you tried fad diets? Or at home workout video programs? Maybe even a personal trainer for a few months? Do you know why you keep failing to meet your health goals? Do you know what drives you and what motivates you? Do you know your why?
Let’s find your why together! Finding your why will help you understand the true reason towards your goals of eating healthy, losing weight, or getting stronger.
To find and understand your why, you will need to understand motivation. I want to discuss that a little bit here in this blog.
What does motivation mean to you? Are you typically a motivated person? Unmotivated person? What makes you that way? Think about that for a few minutes and see if your definition fits into one of these categories below.
“To be motivated is to be moved to do something (Ryan and Deci).” Someone who does not have a reason to do something is considered unmotivated, while someone who is energized and active towards achieving a goal is considered motivated. Some people have more of this energy and some people have less. Why is that?
Two Types of Motivation
Intrinsic
Intrinsic motivation is doing something because it is interesting or enjoyable and you want to do that action because something inside you is telling you that it makes you happy. Nothing else is trying to make you do it.
Example: Working out purely because it makes you feel good. You physically and mentally enjoy exercising and fitness. You love how you feel before, during, and after. You also know that working out will only make you feel better. It is something you truly enjoy. (This is me by the way!!)
Extrinsic
Extrinsic motivation is doing something because there is something gained from the outside. There is a goal and end point. Once that end point is achieved, this form of motivation is gone. And things cycle all over again.
Example: Working out because you want to lose weight in order to be healthy for your family and be there for them in their lives because there is a fear that you won’t be there for them one day. Or working out because you want to look good for an event/someone/fame.
Everyone is built differently and has different forms of motivation, but finding your internal (intrinsic) motivation wil help you achieve your fitness goals. Internal motivation will result in long term, lasting results. Not everyone has this internal drive, but it can happen. That starts with understanding how your mind works in order to fully grasp your why.
The graph below shows that there are more types of motivation than just motivated or unmotivated. There are different degrees of autonomy in each of us. You can see where you lie in this spectrum.
What category of motivation do you find yourself? How can you learn to adjust your mindset so you can become more internally, or intrinsically, motivated so that you don’t commit to a workout plan for a few months and then lose interest once your goal is either met or not resulting fast enough for you?
Let’s talk about ways to find your internal drive to achieve your fitness goals.
Can I do this?
Ask yourself if you can do this. Do you feel competent, strong, and capable of completing the tasks at hand to achieve your goal? If you don’t believe you can, start smaller or find a variation. Change your mindset to an I can attitude. Just because you can’t physically do something at the moment, doesn’t mean that you can’t take small steps to get there in the future! If you can, then do it!
Do I want to do this and why?
This is where your drive kicks in. Dig deep and ask yourself why you are really doing this.
For me, I started my fitness journey (specifically resistance training) because I felt like I was missing something, I wasn’t happy with where I was in life, and I wanted to look better for other people, basically. I ended up loving it and my mindset shifted from an extrinsic social form of motivation to an intrinsic self-actualization, autonomous form of motivation. It may take time, but change can happen if you let it!
What do I have to do to be successful?
Set appropriate, achievable goals.
Set learning goals.
Monitor.
Evaluate progress.
Ways to find your motivation:
Decide whether you are intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. Why are you really striving for this fitness goal?
Good moods. Do things that improve your mood before going to workout. Drink coffee, play with your pet, go shopping, get a preworkout meal with a friend/significant other, dance when no one is watching. Whatever puts you in the best mood. Do that right before and you will associate your workouts with that mood!!
Write your goal down. Use sticky notes on your mirror. Set daily reminders on your phone. Set three small weekly goals (like being able to go up 10lbs on your squats or 1 rep) every week. Seeing what you’re aiming for and what you accomplish will help keep you motivated.
Plan. Plan your day and make the time required for your fitness goals.
Reward yourself. When you meet your weekly goals, have a cheat meal, go see a movie, get some ice cream. Make sure you are celebrating the small victories.
Find a workout partner. Having a workout partner always makes working out more fun, more competitive, and more motivating because you have an accountability partner and can laugh along the way.
Manifest. Every day tell yourself that you will achieve “XYZ” goal out loud 5 times. Every day. I am a big believer in the subconscious playing a big role in the outcome of your desires. Once your subconscious knows it will happen, it will. Just keep telling yourself that! Check out my Instagram post on manifesting!
Be patient. Progress does not happen over night. But good things do not come to those who wait; it comes to those who do. So keep doing. And keep telling yourself that you can because you know what? You are strong, badass babes and I know you have what it takes to make all your desires come true!
Use these tools to find motivation and make it a habit. Stay focused. Stay consistent. And keep learning and growing, both mentally and physically. Your inner motivation will shine through in no time!
Let’s get through this together! I challenge each of you to search for your why and what drives your motivation (intrinsic or extrinsic). Add these tools everyday to keep yourself motivated and focused on your end goal. Comment below what worked for you and what small victories you have made this week. I will also be posting to my Instagram stories, so be on the lookout.
As always, feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or suggestions. Be a goal-getter, babes!! xoxo