Do you struggle to get motivated?
Do you have thoughts of creating changes in your life, but they stay just that…thoughts?
We often wait for motivation to turn thoughts to actions, as if we will wake up one morning with an abundance of energy to get going.
We often put our actions on hold, waiting for the time to be right or our lives to become less hectic so we can harness the motivation to make it happen.
I have some news.
Motivation is not likely to come while you are waiting for the time to be right or for your circumstances to be different.
Motivation comes from doing.
To create motivation, we need to take action.
Actions lead to results and results motivate us to keep going, to achieve more.
To become motivated, you need to start a chain of motion.
Its a bit like pushing a swing, unless you push it it’s not going to move, but once you do, momentum and continued effort makes it go higher and higher.
Push the swing
There is only one way to do that.
Get up and put in that first bit of effort to get things moving.
This might not be a big push, just a little push will do. A little push gets things going.
In exercise terms, this might be standing up, putting on your shoes and leaving the house for a walk or putting on some exercise clothes and doing some squats.
Don’t think about it.
Don’t give yourself chance to create reasons or even excuses not to do it.
Get up and do it.
Even something as simple as leaving the house or changing into exercise clothes creates momentum.
I’m here now, I may as well go for a walk or do a workout.
Once you make effort to place yourself in a position to start, then you are less likely to undo your actions without making it worthwhile first.
Momentum creates energy.
Have you noticed that motivated people get up and get going with seemingly very little effort?
How many times have you looked at a motivated person and wished you had the energy to get up and go like they do?
They are not super-human.
They are no different to everyone else.
The difference is, they started with a little push of the swing.
What you see now is the motivation to keep it going.
They created momentum which created results which gave them the energy to keep pushing.
The momentum they created enables them to be more motivated with less effort.
You can do that too.
You can do this whenever you want and as many times as you like.
Once you realise how far one little push can take you, you begin to realise that you can do this whenever you like.
It is freeing.
You can apply this to virtually any change you want to make in your life.
That’s especially good to know when you face a set back.
Lets say you’ve been ill for a couple of weeks and couldn’t exercise.
You know that all it takes is that little push to begin to create momentum again and this time around, the path is familiar territory, just the thought of venturing down it creates the motivation to get going.
Lets say things haven’t worked out as you planned – stop pushing that swing and give another one a little push instead.
See where it can take you.
Always be sure to check with your GP or health care professional before starting a new exercise or nutrition program and seek support from an exercise professional to ensure you are exercising correctly.