How to Rely Less on Motivation
How to rely less on motivation.
That’s right.
This post is NOT about to to find/create more motivation for yourself.
It is, however, a reminder that motivation can wane over time, and that there is benefit to using more than just motivation to our advantage in accomplishing our goals.
Motivation is defined as: the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way; the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.
Cool. Definitely useful.
Have you ever started a new food plan and felt like you were crushing it for the first few weeks?
Have you ever joined a new gym and LOVED the soreness and workouts of the first few classes?
Have you ever decided to train for a half marathon, and consistently got out for the first bunch of runs?
Yes. That’s motivation! And it’s great and can be super useful in getting us started…. but then what?!
Typically, at about the 2 month mark, things get harder.
Motivation wanes. You feel less inclined to jump out of bed in the morning to get to the gym. Or less inclined to plan your food out for the week. You get it.
So, while we should absolutely ride the wave of motivation as we start working towards our goals, we should also EXPECT motivation to decline, and prepare for that in advance. (And if you’re always motivated, lucky you!, and now you’ll just be a little bit more prepared!)
That preparation mentioned above?? Those are your HABITS!
There is value in creating non-negotiable habits and routines that speak towards the goals you’re trying to establish.
The “non-negotiable” element of this is critical. These are things that you JUST DO, without question, consistently over time, in a fashion that FITS YOUR LIFESTYLE. You do these things regardless of whether you “feel like it” or not.
(Certainly, the “non-negotiable” nature of this is barring any legitimate emergencies or illnesses, etc. Of course if real, serious matters arise, then you adjust as needed.)
Non-Negotiable Habits and Routines In Real Life
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been sitting on the couch, knowing you should workout/meal prep/cook dinner, just WAITING for motivation to strike.
Me too.
Sometimes we're motivated to eat high quality foods.
Sometimes we're motivated to exercise.
And sometimes we're not motivated at all and end up binge watching “Squid Game”, and wanting to eat all the treats.
And, as stated, here's the reality about motivation:
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO FEEL POSITIVELY MOTIVATED ALL THE TIME.
You just aren't. None of us are. Our motivation to act wanes daily.
So what do we do about it?
This is where consistency and habits come into play. For example, even if we're not super pumped to prep food on Sundays, it's just what we do, so we do it, and then we're grateful for that food over the course of the week.
Equally, we don't necessarily feel super excited to go to the gym/exercise 3-5x per week, but it's the habit that we've built, we understand why it's a value in our lives, so we do it and probably feel better after!
The point here is that sometimes it's a matter of working to establish the most helpful habits for ourselves, one at a time, reminding us why we are working to establish them (maybe through mantras or reminders of goals) and then finding a way to stick with them.
In addition to those mentioned above, here are some suggestions on non-negotiable habits/routines you may consider adding:
Start each day with a glass of water. Or, even better, make it a Morning Margarita!
Aim to get to 7000+ steps per day.
Set a bedtime of 10pm to ensure you get 8 hours of sleep.
Create a 10 minute morning routine for yourself.
Block off time in your calendar each week to ensure 3 days of exercise.
Block time in your schedule to go food shopping each week.
Create a plan for the dinners you want to make/serve/eat this week and food shop appropriately.
Do you need to do all of these to be successful? Absolutely not, these are simply suggestions. But, noticing your own needs in connection to your personal goals, and then putting the non-negotiable habits into place is KEY!
Stop waiting to feel motivated. Create the motivation for yourself with your habits.
And keep going.
Consistency and habits take time to build. And it’s not magic. It will take effort. Aim not to rely on motivation. Build it yourself.
Need assistance with building your habits or deciding where to focus? Please reach out. I’d be happy to help. (Sara@nutritionforlifeproject.com)
Please feel free to add your thoughts on this topic in the comments!
And share this post with anyone who might benefit!
xoxo,
Sara