Motivation
Motivation isn’t something that just happens to you, but something you create for yourself. However, people sometimes tend to put too much emphasis on motivation. Because, ultimately, it’s discipline and habit that keeps you going, not always motivation. A little dose of that is great when you are starting something new, but it won’t always be there, so you shouldn’t rely on it too much. None of us are super-motivated every day. There might be days when you won’t want to go to the gym, eat your salad or go for a walk – but if you build your habits strong enough, you will do it anyway. And then you’ll feel much better. And that’s what makes all the difference. Here’s a few tips for successful habit-building:
Accept the fact that you have to exercise and eat well to maintain your health and weight - sitting around and wanting to lose weight doesn’t work, movement and the right eating habits do. No pill or surgical procedure can take the place of being active. Making peace with that fact that you need to keep it going often makes doing it a little easier, and the good news is there are lots of choices out there! Do you need motivation to brush your teeth? Probably not as you know that it needs to be done but so does being active to stay healthy! And if you don’t eat well, you probably won’t feel very well either – that’s just a fact.
Acknowledge your lifestyle – in this day and age, it is way too easy to be inactive and make questionable food choices. We’ve got food deliveries one click away, smart automatic hoovers and lawnmowers, we don’t even have to get off the sofa to turn the lights on. While all the technology can make our lives easier, sometimes it can be tempting to get all too comfortable. We need to take responsibility for our own lifestyle and we need to find balance – just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.
Make exercise and healthy lifestyle mean something to you – for many people, exercise is a means to an end, a way to lose weight and get the perfect body, or at least a better one than they have now. Exercise and the right diet should be about health too – first and foremost really, the desire to live longer, improve your mobility, ease your aches and pains, and move better as you continue to age. Always working for some future, intangible thing isn’t enough – you need it to mean something now! If you find yourself struggling to keep up with your new healthy habits, remember the reason why you started in the first place – if it is a strong and meaningful reason, it will help you to stay on track much more.
Find your own exercise path and eating pattern - too often a lot of the mainstream things make us cringe. You might have experienced exercise classes or foods that you hated – and that’s okay, you don’t have to engage with those! The key is to find something that you enjoy and can keep up – if you really hate running, you probably won’t convince yourself to go run on a cold winter’s evening. But you might enjoy swimming and you’ll happily go to your local pool – so do that instead! Just do what works for you, any movement is better than none.