Take a classic new years resolution. We all start off excited. Stoked because we've made the leap to join the gym (No joining fee in January... Tis the season). Stock up on active wear with inspirational quotes using those Christmas gift vouchers and a shiny new pair of kicks. I'm ready to become the next Wonder Woman (cue theme song)! For the first six weeks, the shine slowly wears off. Gym visits are less frequent. The active wear gets shoved up the back of the drawer. Those new runners still have all their tread in tact... By Valentines Day its all but over... Oh well. Try again next year. Right?
In the world of psychology, we view motivation as a process that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviour. Im particularly interested in the reasoning behind initiating lifestyle change and appropriate goal setting. In developing my business, I have been talking to heaps of people about their health. Are you happy with your body? What would you change? What have you tried? What are you willing to do? What are your main barriers?
The resounding feedback was that most just lacked motivation. Anyone can join a gym or go to a trainer. But the reasons WHY you choose to change your lifestyle is just as important of a variable in developing strong, sustainable motivation over time. Let me explain. There are two kinds of motivation, extrinsic and intrinsic. In a nutshell, extrinsic motivation is produced by an external source, like buying smaller clothes or people noticing you've lost weight. These are great initially, but doing things for recognition or for external validation is only satisfying for a finite period of time. Intrinsic motivation on the other hand is more about personal reward and gratification from an activity, such as exercise. By aiming to improve fitness and starting to see yourself achieve those goals you are rewarding yourself, creating a cycle of positive reinforcement and more importantly a desire to continue to grow and improve.
Setting practical and realistic goals is also a huge factor in keeping us motivated. I may want to be a bikini model, with super low body fat and great muscle tone after doing a six week weight loss program, but it just isn't going to happen like that. What's worse, if i don't achieve that goal, im likely to feel guilty, discouraged and am significantly more likely to give up. By setting healthy, realistic and attainable goals I can work hard, achieve some results and start a cycle of internally rewarding behaviour, in which my efforts are rewarded by increased strength, loss of body fat or whatever the goal may be . This doesn't mean I shouldn't push myself to get faster or stronger. But having realistic short and medium term goals allows room for developing competency, forming habits and learning to accept that exercise and good nutrition are not only important, but essential in both physical and mental health.
So, if you are struggling to get motivated here's a couple of things to consider:
- Make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. External motivation only works short-term. Remember the benefits of living a healthier lifestyle, how good you feel from all the pleasure chemicals post exercise and the impact it has on your physical and mental health.
- Aim to find ways of keeping active that you enjoy and that have some way of measuring your competency. If you feel like you are getting better, you increase motivation levels even more!
- Set realistic, attainable short and medium term goals (The long term goals can be as big as you want!). If you happen to reach them, set new ones. But dont let the goal be so huge that you end up discouraged.
Follow my personal and professional development of this community on @alifestyleproject
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