Knock, knock. It's motivation.

"I have no motivation", "I've lost my motivation", "I do ok for a few days with- x, y, z- then my motivation fizzles", "I know once I have -blah, blah-, I'll be more motivated"...do any of these sound familiar? I know I've heard 'em and a few more. Question is how does one stay motivated to do anything?

Answer: THINGS do not motivate you. The right academic planner won't keep you true to your appointments. The right sneakers won't keep you on track to sticking with your fitness plan. One healthy meal won't turn you into a gourmet chef overnight. If you want to be motivated, you need ACTION first and foremost. Without the drive to do the thing, to set forth ACTION- whether it be to lose weight, gain muscle, get lean, eat an apple a day, take a walk around the block or keep better track of your finances- YOU. NEED. TO. ACT.

The relationship between motivation and action is so insanely symbiotic it hurts. Likeforrealthough. It's cyclical. For the sake of argument, let's say you want to get your finances situated yet you lack the motivation to even look at your checkbook. So, where do you begin? You could wait until you're in the negative and paying those overdraft fees or you can bite the bullet, look at your checkbook and start by jotting a few things down. Then you jot a few more things down. After carefully looking things over, you've discovered where the problem was! Well this little action-packed victory has you...motivated! Oh. Em. Gee! Look who showed up! Motivation! So, you keep at it. Before you know it, you've made a budgeting spreadsheet and by golly, next month you even have a little to put into savings! By just the simple desire to look something over, you acted and had a few wins.

The same thing applies to getting healthy. "I want to lose weight. I want to eat healthier. I'm just not motivated to do it". Well, you kinda have to take the first step. There ya go...get off the couch and maybe take the dog for a walk. While you're at it, go buy an apple. Feelin' good? Good! KEEP. AT. IT. And I promise you, motivation will show up. It's cyclical: Action= Motivation= Action (again)= Habit= Healthy. It's simple, really. Motivation NEVER shows up before action does. It's just not how the relationship works.

If you need some ways to help you get motivated to act, try these 5 simple things:

1- Write (or type if you prefer) your plan. E.g: "I want to walk a mile 3 times a week."

2- Assign a TIME to do this and MAKE the time. E.g: "I will walk when I get home from work."

3- Assign a PLACE for said activity. E.g: "I will walk around my apt complex 4 times, that will be about a mile."

4- Don't make excuses or compromise the promise you made to yourself. E.g: "So-and-so invited me to happy hour during my normal walking time." Tell so-and-so you have plans, maybe so-and-so would like to join you.

5- Keep at this routine for at least 21 days and do you know what you have? A habit. Know what good habits get you? Healthy.

Action= Motivation= Action (again)= Habit= Healthy

It's like Jim Rohn said: "Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced everyday and failure is simply a few errors in judgment repeated everyday. You can be the example or be the warning label."

You choose. Done reading? Ok, go take a hike and pack a few apples. :)

#motivation #goals #fitness #action #habits #workout