How To Stay Motivated
I'm about four weeks into a new workout program (80 Day Obsession), and I'd be lying if I told you there weren't moments of doubt, frustration and wanting to flat out just quit. To do fairly intense workouts, 6 days a week is not easy, and requires not only physical stamina, but quite a bit of mental dedication as well. So...how do I do it? I'm going to share some of my top tips with you below. These can be applied to your physical fitness, or any goal you are working toward!
Your "Why": In the end, if you don't have a deep and clear goal that you are reaching for, you are never going to be able to stay consistent or even committed to seeing something through. I think a lot of people actually get deterred by this, because they may feel this goal needs to be something deep rooted and profound. While that's certainly wonderful, I've found that for me it is almost better to have something a bit more surface level and easy to visualize. For this specific program, my goal is to get back into that bathing suit (ok fine...bikini) feeling confident and happy by April. Yup, that's it! When the going gets tough (and trust me, it does)...I just come back to this goal and remind myself of what I'm working for. It almost always works.
Rewards: In order to stay consistent to reach a long term goal (this specific program is 80 days), I've found the concept of rewards to be very helpful. Note - I'm very careful to make them non food based. This is a subject for another post, but I eat intuitively and don't withhold or reward myself with food. For the first round of this program, which lasted 4 weeks, I set my reward as a new pair of cross trainers. It can also be much simpler - something like a mani/pedi or massage!
Community: Whether it is an online Facebook group, friends or family -- I can't stress how important it is to have other people supporting you in your quest to get it done. I've found Facebook groups helpful, but more importantly I usually share my goals with a small group of people - either friends or family. I share wins with them, and also when I might be discouraged. Above all, I make sure it's a group of people that will support me unconditionally.
Visualization: When all else fails, I visualize. You have to figure that if Olympic athletes and performers do this, there is probably something to it. Although I'm neither, it can make me feel so much better to see myself as exactly who I want to be. Remember -- you create your world with your thoughts. If you are telling yourself that you can't, or that you are weak, than that's where it's going to go.
So, the next time you want to quit, I hope you can come back to these quick tips to stay on track. Do you have any others that might help? Let me know in the comments below!
Onward!
