Struggling With Motivation?

One of the top questions we receive as a weight-loss organization is, “How do I get motivated?” This is difficult to answer because the definition of motivation is different for everyone. One person may be pushed by numbers such as scale readings, blood pressure or cholesterol. Others may be more encouraged by praise from friends and family. Inevitably, the follow up inquiry then becomes, “How do I stay motivated?” No matter how devoted to a new exercise regimen or workout plan, everyone in their own right has had that feeling of, “I just don’t want to go to the gym today.”

So maybe the answer to how you can get and stay motivated is that there is no answer at all. It’s been said that we can act our way into right thinking faster than we can think our way into right acting. We need to stop thinking about all the reasons why we should go to the gym and instead make the conscious decision to just go.

We all know the benefits of daily exercise—an increase in energy level, a positive mood, burning calories, moving with ease and ultimately feeling great about yourself. To many of us, this isn’t new information. So on the days where we are “just not feeling it,” does that one excuse really outweigh all these other benefits?

Lately, I feel like I’ve been lacking any and all motivation to go to the gym. But, when I do go, I always feel so much better. I wish I could bottle that post-workout feeling and use it for “motivation” but instead, I have to repeat two simple, but effective, little words: JUST GO. That way, when that stubborn little voice in my head tells me that I can “always go tomorrow” I can quiet it with these two little words and just lace up my gym shoes—motivated or not.