Movement
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Mindset
This ONE thing is the secret to staying motivated!
Throughout my experience on my own weight loss journey and as a coach, I have found this ONE THING that has helped me and hundreds of other women to find and stay motivated.
Did you jump out of bed this morning, ready to tackle the day with bounding energy to smash out your workout, eat only the healthiest foods alongside your hydration goals and get all of your steps in?
No? Me neither!
In my experience and something I hear so often from my clients and online community is that finding the motivation to sometimes do just one of those listed things, can feel like such a chore!
Now tough coach Gina here for a second. The truth is, if we wait for the little motivation elf to come and walk you through your workout or hold your hand to the salad bar or pour your glass of water, we might as well wait to see a unicorn. You’ll be waiting a long time because let’s just be real, it doesn’t work like that.
In fact you need to be the one to somehow find motivation yourself, instead of waiting for it to find you.
Now here is the good part. Throughout my experience on my own weight loss journey and as a coach, I have found ONE THING that has helped me and hundreds of other women to find and stay motivated.
But before we get into that it is super important to first find your why. Why are you on this journey? Why is it that you want to change? Your kids, to feel better, because you know what it feels like to be on the other end of the spectrum?
Whatever the reason, your why is going to be the overarching ruler that you will always come back to when you hit a lull. It is the point to re-launch ourselves to get back into it and spark the flame for motivation.
What else enables that fire to keep going?
It is one of my mantras and how I coach all of my clients to success….
Small steps.
The ‘Why’ is the spark and the small steps are the tinder for the fire of motivation. The little sticks and bits that keep it lit and firing strong!
It is a game changer to do the small steps to get small wins towards a greater end goal and the great thing about this?
The small things usually feel big enough to feel like you are ticking off the boxes and keep going.
So, back to the ‘how to’ on finding motivation. Here is the equation to break through and create your own motivation:
Motivation starts with willingness + determination
I look at motivation as more of a sense of willingness. An internal question, and from there, the indication of what I am willing to do.
Now, the secret to get this ball rolling is still to come. What we have to first determine is your willingness percentage to do the small things first and test that water. Whatever you can see yourself being willing and determined to get done in that moment, just one small task, allows you to begin accumulating small wins to maintain momentum. This adds up to create movement towards your greater outcome. These actions pinball momentum, eliciting the motivation ball to get rolling.
The ONE thing you need to do to put all of this together to create your own, long-lasting motivation is a simple question. Here it is…
“CAN I JUST?”
The ultimate statement!
- Can I just get up and drink one glass of water
- Can I just walk around the house or on the spot for 5 minutes
- Can I just leave my gym bag in the back of the car for after work
- Can I just put my active wear on so I at least have my clothes on ready to do a workout
- Can I just cut up some vegetables and have them sitting in the fridge
The big key to motivation are these small things! Motivation does not fall in your lap, so you need to know, with each big goal that you have, what are the small tasks that you feel willing and determined to “just do”.
This is the magic, the percentage of what you feel comfortable or willing to do today to get you one step closer to your greater outcome. I might not be quote on quote motivated, but what I am is determined to obtain a certain outcome. So, I compromise with myself to determine what I am willing to do that will be conducive to my bigger goal.
Maybe it’s not a full workout but it’s a 10 minute stretch. It’s all about MOMENTUM…The more momentum you get, the more little boxes you will continue to tick off and in turn become motivated to do more.
Focus on the small steps that feel good for you and feel achievable! Every time you go to do it again you are one step closer to your big goal. This consistency and forming your willingness is the driving force to get to the point of not even having to think about it anymore.
You are the creator of your own motivation, go get it!
Gina, you have become my favorite u-tube exercise person! I exercise with you several days per week, love the variety. I also love Zumba on utube and other dance videos. Thank you. I’m 77 from California ( Los Angeles area)!