mo·ti·va·tion: The reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. The general desire or willingness of someone to do something.
hab·it: A settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. An automatic reaction to a specific situation.
Think about what motivates you to want to lose weight or to get in shape and think about the amount of time that this focus lasts. Also, think about the days that you’re feeling “unmotivated” to eat good food or make the trip to the gym. Herein lays the fallacy of motivation…It will only last you so long.
Remember back when you were a kid and had to go to school. There really wasn’t a way around it unless it snowed. If you’re from here I know for a fact that we all sat around and wished for those days! Usually they were filled with play time in the what little snow was actually on the ground, some junk food, and watching a movie or 3.
What if you treated your health like this? What if every day you HAD to go to the gym and you HAD to eat right, just like you HAD to go to school when you were a kid? Of course we can all be thankful for the occasional snow day, but it will only last for a short time and we are back at it, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
This is where creating a habit will allow you to be successful with your goals. This doesn’t just apply to health, but to other aspects of your life as well. Think about all the things in your life that are habits you’ve created over the years…
- How you dry off after getting out of the shower
- If you haven’t ever paid attention to this do it. It’s literally the same without ever even trying.
- How you get dressed in the morning
- The routine you have when you get in a car
- How you brush your teeth
There’s so many more that you can probably think of. What do they all have in common? They were learned over a period of time. Your health shouldn’t be any different and you shouldn’t have to make excuses for it. It should be treated as something that you just do, without thinking, over and over again.
So let’s approach the questions mentioned earlier and apply this logic:
What if you created a HABIT of going to the gym and another HABIT of eating right and every now and again you could have a snow day where things were a little more relaxed? If you approach your health like this, then there’s really no need for motivation every day, it’s just something that you do, like brushing your teeth.
Not sure where to start? Always start small and work up as you go along. Create small wins that turn into big wins that turn into lasting habits. Think about the current habits you have and how you got there and how you can apply that to creating a life of health. It’s easier than you think and will stick with you longer than motivation.