Most People Fail To Reach Their Goals Because They Lose Motivation!
If you’re just getting started with a health and fitness program, one thing that you need to be concerned about is motivation. Lack of motivation is one of the biggest reasons that people fall off their workout and diet program so by taking the steps necessary to ensure that you keep your levels on high at all times, you can ensure that you move forward to see the results that you’re looking for.
One really important thing that you must keep in mind when thinking about maintaining higher motivational levels however is that this is one factor that will vary considerably from person to person.
What motivates one person very well may not do so for another, so you really do need to personalize your approach as you learn what works and what doesn’t for you.
Each person is unique in what gets them up in the morning to eat a healthy breakfast and squeeze that workout in. This is a big reason why it’s vital that you test a few different motivation boosting techniques out as you go about your program plan.
That way, you can pinpoint the exact strategies that are going to bring you nothing but top notch success.
Let’s have a look at some of the best motivational strategies that you should be utilizing right now.
The Top 10 Tips For Increasing Your Motivation
Below you’ll find ten tips that you can use to enhance your motivation and get better results from your workout and diet plan. Any time you feel as though your desire to continue is starting to lag, make sure that you implement one of these immediately.
1) Write A ‘Reasons’ List
The very first thing that everyone should be doing before they even begin their program to ensure that motivation stays on high at all times is to write down a reasons list.
What this list essentially will be is a simple statement of all the many different reasons why you want to partake in a health and fitness program.
Are you hoping to get down to a certain pant size?
Do you want to have more energy throughout the day?
Are you hoping to bring down your blood pressure, cholesterol level, and reduce your risk of a wide variety of different diseases?
Or perhaps you just want more body confidence?
Whatever your reason, get it down on paper. The more you can write down, the better. This list should then be referred to at least once per day, twice if you can manage. Try reading it over first thing upon waking to get the reasons forthright in your mind as you begin your day and then read it once again (or more often) any time you’re struggling.
Sometimes when difficult times arise we forget why we’re doing this all in the first place so going over this list once again can help put things back into perspective for you.
Never lose sight of the real reasons you’re chasing after the goals you have set!
2) Journal Your Food Choices and Workout Progress
Second, keeping a good journal is an excellent way to boost your motivation and see just how far you’ve come.
Ideally for maximum success you should be tracking not only what you’re eating each and every day, but what you’re doing in the gym as well.
At times when the scale may not be moving or you may not seem like you’re gaining much muscle definition, noting that you are lifting five pounds more on a certain lift you’re doing in the gym could be enough to get you going back for more and feeling like at least you’re making some progress in some regard.
That feeling of accomplishment is huge when it comes to keeping your motivation levels higher at all times, so you must be sure you’re not neglecting this. Seeing small miniscule changes reported in your journal will give you that feeling extremely well.
Track the amount of weight you’re lifting, how many reps and sets you’re performing, as well as how much rest you’re taking in between. These are all variables that can be altered on any workout program and can help you gain confident in your progress, boosting your level of motivation.
3) Get A Get-Fit Buddy
Moving along, one of the top motivation techniques that you should never overlook is having a get-fit buddy.
Ideally this buddy would be someone who plans to attend the gym with you as then you can workout in partnership, encouraging each other along.
If for whatever reason you actually prefer to workout alone however or you can’t meet up with anyone due to the selected times you’re going, then at the very least find a supportive friend, co-worker, or spouse (or partner) to stick with you during the difficult times.
Simply having someone there that you can talk to when you are struggling who will provide support and encouragement can go a long way towards keeping you pushing onwards and not dwelling on any mistakes that you may have made.
If you can, also try and find a ‘mentor’ type of person who is already leading the fit and healthy lifestyle that you want to lead who can offer words of support and wisdom when you do falter.
This can also play a key role in maintaining higher motivation levels and give you someone to look up to.
4) Set Daily and Weekly Mini-Goals
Making sure that you’re doing regular goal setting is the next vital thing that you should be doing to see top notch results.
Goal setting is something that many people do when they first start out with their workout program, but then never think about again.
While it’s great to set those big long-term goals that you want to reach over the course of time, don’t overlook the motivation boosting benefits of having mini goals in place as well.
Start setting a small goal that you want to accomplish for each and every gym session you plan to attend.
By doing so, you’ll give that gym session a purpose. When you have a clear purpose for doing something and it’s not just something that will hopefully help you in the long-term, you’ll be that much more likely to do it.
This could be as simple as performing 10 reps of squats, four times during the workout or running a mile 10 seconds faster than you normally would.
Tiny goals like this can really get you pumped to hit the gym and gain that feeling of accomplishment that we’re all looking for in life.
With your diet as well, set small weekly or even daily goals. Perhaps you’ll set a goal to make sure that you eat that mid-morning snack that you always seem to push off.
Or, maybe your goal is to try one new vegetable each week this coming month.
Whatever it is, just set something that gets you excited about the plan ahead. Whenever your program starts to feel like it’s dragging on and you’ll never reach the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, that’s when you know motivational problems are abound.
These mini-goals will put a stop to this instantly.
5) Incorporate Variety Often
The next must-do to keep high motivation levels is to incorporate variety into your routine frequently throughout time.
Don’t let yourself get stuck in a rut of doing the same old cardio workout time after time. Change it up. Try a boot camp class, a Zumba dance class, or some other form of cardio class that will challenge the body and mind in new ways.
Those who incorporate more variety into their workout routine tend to see better results overall anyway simply because they’re working new muscles in different ways.
6) Get Into A New ‘Routine’
Another smart move if you want to keep your motivation levels higher is to get yourself into a routine. This means that rather than leaving your workouts up to chance throughout the day, aiming to fit them in ‘whenever you have time’, set a time to do them and try and make this time constant throughout the week.
When you feel like that workout has just become a normal part of your day, you’ll find you have to work a lot less hard at maintaining motivation levels.
You just do it – no thought required.
This is especially the case when it comes to morning workouts for most people, so if you can, really start making an effort to get up early and get the workout done with before you start your day.
It may be difficult during those first few weeks, but if you keep at it, you’ll have no problem sticking with it for the long haul.
7) Seek Help When Needed
Getting the help you need when you need it is also very important for maintaining your motivational levels. If you’re stuck with your workout and don’t know why you aren’t seeing results when you’re trying your very best, get a session with a trainer.
Or, if you’re eating right but the weight isn’t coming off, maybe there just one or two tweaks that need to be put into place that could get you moving onwards once again.
See a nutritionist or dietician and they might be able to help remedy the situation for you.
Those who seek out the help they require are going to maintain higher motivation levels due to the fact that they feel more confident that if they do follow through, they will see success.
When you’re uncertain about whether what you’re doing is going to work and payoff, it’s hard to maintain high motivation because of this.
8) Get Online Support
If you’re someone who doesn’t have a lot of support in ‘real life’ as you go about your goals, consider turning online for this. There are plenty of different fitness forums available online where you can discuss your program and experiences with others.
Sometimes all it takes to get you maintaining your motivation is talking about your struggles and realizing that you aren’t alone.
Some people also find that they connect even better to these online sources than they do to real life sources simply because they open up about their problems more easily.
Give it a try and see if it works for you.
9) Know The Importance of Rest
Moving along, also make sure that you are getting enough rest each week as well. So many people underestimate the importance of proper rest, especially when first starting out with their workout and diet plan.
Rest is vital to success. If you aren’t resting enough, it’s only normal for motivation to fall as you’ll simply become too tired and burnt out to continue.
Aim to take at least one day off each week from your workouts and plan in regular cheat meals with your diet plan as well.
As long as you’re eating healthy 90% of the time, the odd cheat meal added here or there really won’t make that large of a difference on your overall progress – in fact, it might just help you out further.
Cheat meals and days off work wonders to refresh your mind and get you mentally motivated to continue on.
10) Enjoy The Process!
Finally, last but not least, one great tip for keeping your motivation on high is to make sure that you enjoy the process.
Don’t ever put yourself onto a diet that you absolutely hate or force yourself to the gym for workouts that feel almost unbearable.
If you do this, you’re just headed for disaster.
Instead, seek out a diet and workout that you do actually enjoy. Then you can teach yourself that leading a healthy lifestyle, eating right, and being active really doesn’t have to be something that you dread and instead, can be something that you really truly enjoy.
So there you have ten great tips for maintaining your motivation. Use a few of these next time you’re struggling and you’ll be right back on track where you need to be.
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