Stop Relying on Motivation
Motivation is what may get you started, but habits are what keep you going. If you've been following me for awhile now, you know I am a firm believer in discipline. Experiencing a surge in motivation feels great, however it often comes with an expiration date.
A lot of times, motivation may get you started in the right direction, but the key to achieving and sustaining YOUR goals, relies on creating heathy habits, developing discipline, being ambitious and developing mental toughness. That is how you will keep showing up when live gets tough, when the days seem against you, when you just don't feel like it.
How can you develop discipline and build habits needed to achieve your goals? Here are some top tips.
Treat your gym sessions like important appointments. You wouldn't cancel on an important meeting or doctors appointment? So why cancel on yourself. Your health IS precious and movement should be a priority. Schedule your workouts in your planner at the start of the week, make them part of your to-do list. When you make a commitment like that, you are more likely to stick with it.
Celebrate the smalls wins. Think about the little things you do each days that get you closer to your goal, those should be celebrated as wins as well! Did you drink your water in-take today? Hit your step count? Complete your workout? Eat enough protein? Celebrate yourself daily, you deserve to be your biggest advocate. And all of these daily seemingly "small" wins will have a flow effect into other areas, and will help you continue to build momentum, build healthy routine, develop discipline and reach long-term goals.
Have a structured plan. Having a structured training program will make showing up for your workout so much easier! If you know exactly what you are doing and why, it will take all of the guess work out of your training. And you must find a plan that you ENJOY. The best program is simple the one that works for you and your lifestyle. If you hate your training, then it is going to be very hard to stick with it long-term.
Keep things simple. Try not to overcomplicate the process with obsessing over every detail such as being exact with macros, having the 'all or nothing' approach, not being flexible, being so rigid you don't enjoy life. Focus on the foundation: sleep, protein intake, your training program that fits into your schedule, quality nutrients, recovery.
Think long-term. Constantly remind yourself that by doing the things that you don't want to do, but you know will benefit you long-term, will help create the future you enjoy and feel good in. Example, we don't always want to brush our teeth, but we do it because we know its good for us and the reward of nice teeth is enjoyable. So, rather than letting motivation, this unreliable driving force, dictate your actions, being disciplined, ambitious, and habitual is more likely to result in long-term success. We want to build healthy sustainable habits for life.
Xox, Melissa
