Why do we struggle with motivation?
Struggling with motivation? Finding it hard to stick to your health and fitness tasks?
Whether it’s trying to take up a new routine of running, going to the gym, or you are finding it hard to get in your 5 a day, motivation levels being low can really hinder your progress and sometimes stop you dead in your tracks.
It’s been a tough old year, the virus that shall not be named, and the reoccurring lockdowns that were sometimes imposed on us the very day that they were set up.
So first off, I wanted to start this blog by telling you not to beat yourself up. No one comes out of the last year with a medal for home many home workouts they did, or how many loops of the mountain they reached up on Strava.. What if I told you you won’t even get one for setting up your own cake making business? I know, I know, madness.
But even though the last year hasn’t gone to plan, that doesn’t mean you should give up.
We have a lot to look forward to over the coming years and the rest of our lives, and if the last year has taught us anything it’s that having things to look forward to is something to celebrate.
On the journey to find our motivation, the first question we should ask ourselves is “Why are my motivation levels low?”, because once we answer this we can start working on a plan.
Is there something happening in your life that demands all of your attention at the moment? How busy is your work schedule? Maybe it’s something to do with the kids that you just can’t seem to find time for yourself.
All valid reasons for you not feeling like doing something, but this shouldn’t be something that continues to keep you down and not on track with the things that you want to achieve in the future.
They can be worked around, and with a little bit of thought and effort, they can fit into your lifestyle without sacrificing all those other things that you need to spend a lot of time on.
But how do you fit it in, enjoy it, and make sure you can still do everything else life demands of you? Well here’s a few reasons you may not be able to stick to a routine, and also a few ways to finally start that routine you’ve been trying to for far too long.
You are doing things you don’t enjoy
This is all too common in the fitness world. People trying to start routines that they do not enjoy, like taking up running or heading to the gym and going on the spin bike for an hour.
Sometimes even with the best intentions, we lose ourselves in thinking that what others are doing will be the best for us and our lives when in reality, we have to figure out what we actually like.
Don’t like running but love a daily walk? Do more of that.
Don’t like the gym but feel happy working out at home? Stick with the home workouts.
Jumping around your living room doing squat jumps to Joe Wicks, but feel yourself needing 2 hours to recover from the dizziness? Maybe you’d be better off finding an actual coach that will take your goals, likes and dislikes into consideration.
We get in the mindset that to get results we have to do things that we don’t enjoy, and that simply isn’t true.
Finding a sport you like that you can do week in week out and not hate yourself.
Maybe it’s a martial art.
What about swimming? Biking? Classes? So many different options when it comes to exercise, but we always resort back to running and hating our journey.
It’s time to change that.
Find what you enjoy, and repeat it over and over again.
Get rid of what you don’t enjoy, and never look back.
2. You haven’t done it enough yet
To make something part of your daily routine, it has to be repeated. A lot.
I’m talking about building habits.
Now I know that sounds daunting if it’s new to you, but if you add in the advice from point 1 (enjoying it) then it really doesn’t take too long for it to become just one of those things that you do.
So how do you create a good habit? Let’s take a look at what Atomic habits by James Clear has to say.
Make it obvious
Design your environment. Make the cues of good habits obvious and visible.
Not taking your vitamins? Place them right by the tap in the sink so that when you go to wash your hands in the morning the reminder is there.
Make it attractive
Use temptation bundling where you pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do.
Don’t want to go for a walk but really want to see your friend? Why not go for a walk with them to make it more enjoyable?
Make it easy
Reduce friction and decrease the number of steps between you and your good habits.
Want to head to the gym straight after work? Lay your gym clothes out ready and have your trainers right by the door.
You could also use the two-minute rule here. Downscale the habit so it can be done in two minutes or less.
In the example of the gym, tell yourself you’ll go to the gym for two minutes and when that time is up you will allow yourself to leave. You could spend it on the treadmill or bike to just get a feel for the environment and leave when your timer goes off..
You’ll usually find that you’ll stay a little longer than you planned, but if you don’t, that’s ok too. You did what you said you would.
Make it satisfying
Use reinforcement and give yourself an immediate reward when you complete your habit.
Whether is making a coffee straight after taking your vitamins, or a good tasting protein bar after your two minutes at the gym. Find what makes you want to do the habit and build on that.
From James Clear: Atomic Habits
The bottom line is to find something you enjoy, and something that you can do week in, week out without it feeling like a daunting task.
Repeat that over the days/weeks/months/years, and when you look back you’ll see that you don’t even have to think about it any more.
There was never such a thing as motivation. It doesn’t exist.
You just repeat a habit over and over again until it becomes a part of you and your daily routine.
You don’t have to hype yourself up to do it, it’s already done by the time you think about that.
Motivation is just a word created by people who haven’t repeated a habit for long enough and/or not figured out how much that task improves their life… It’s an unseen power the think looms over them.
Ever had the motivation to brush your teeth? Nope, it’s a habit you do so that your breath doesn't smell all day and your teeth don’t rot. We don’t need the motivation to do it because it improves our lives in everyway and we made it a habit to do it first thing in the morning and last thing before bed.
So the next time you tell yourself you don’t have the motivation, have a think about how it would improve your life, and if you could break it up into smaller chunks to make it more bearable.
Once you’ve done that for a while, you’ll figure out the motivation part for yourself.
The un-motivating, motivation.
