Motivation: Your Faithful Ally
Author: Shannon Miller
Although we know how important it is to do certain things, sometimes it’s hard to keep our motivation high.
For instance, we all know how important it is to exercise and stay fit, but between work, homework, soccer practice, dinner, and that stranger known as a social life, motivation can easily get lost! So, the question then becomes: how do we find our faithful ally, motivation? Keep the answers to a few questions in mind…or, better yet, write them down and keep this list where you’ll see it every day.
Goooooaaaal!
Define your goal (i.e. to workout 3 days/week for at least 1 hour; to run 2 days/week and walk 3 days/week, etc.). If you know your goal, you know your progress. And progress can act as a motivator in itself (“I’ve come this far and feel great, I wonder what I will feel like a month from now.”)
Hi Goal, my name is Priority – I think we’re going to be great friends!
If you don’t know why you are doing something, it becomes that much harder to stay motivated and stick with it. But if you know why some particular goal is a priority to you, you can continuously remind yourself of this. Maybe exercise is important to you because you feel better physically and mentally once finished. If you know this, then you can remind yourself of that feeling whenever you feel like ditching your work out.
And don’t forget Accountability…
Sometimes motivation is easy to find when someone else is helping you look for it. If possible, try to find someone to run, walk, go to the gym with, etc. But continuously work towards a point where you are the one holding yourself accountable (“I plan to go to the gym in the morning, so I’m going to make sure to get myself up early”).
Plan, plan, plan!
Just like a football team needs a plan to score that winning touchdown, you need a plan for making your goal a reality! Think about things like: What days of the week will be best to exercise? What times of the day? What type of exercise should I do? Should I talk to a trainer at the gym about creating a good workout plan? Are there some exercises I can do at home if I can’t make it to the gym?