How many times did you hit the snooze button this morning? I bet you could name, easily, 5 things you’ve been putting off. You know, those things you “have to get done” but never seem to find a way to make it happen. There’s always some convenient excuse for not doing what you “should” be doing. It doesn’t matter if its exercise, housework, laundry, getting a head start on some project. You just don’t have the motivation to follow through! Does that make you lazy? Absolutely not! It makes you human, instead.
Doing something for no good reason. If you’re a chronic procrastinator, you most likely check things off your list, albeit at a later date. Perhaps you’re the type of person who works better under the stress. And there’s nothing more stressful than starting something at the last.possible.minute.
What I’m referring to, here, is not doing the thing. At all, for any reason whatsoever. Even though you know doing the thing would benefit you. Therein lies the subtlety. What you’re lacking is the motivation to get started doing something you don’t “have” to do, but something you “should do”.
Can you relate? This is a topic that I’ve heard several times over, from people of all ages and fitness levels. You know you want (or need) to exercise. Cardio, weights, stretching, whatever. Be honest here, you (already) know, when it comes time to actually doing the thing, you find a million different ways out of it.
“The kids, my job, no time, no equipment.” It all boils down to “I’m really not motivated to move my body.” I get it. I’ve been there. Blah, blah and more blah! You’re not procrastinating until the last minute- squeezing in a quick cardio burst before starting dinner- you’re just
Reminder, for the purpose of this post, we’ll focus on exercise, but use these tips for anything you need help actually doing.
Exercise is the easiest life habit to break. So to combat the lack of desire to do the thing, we start with the basics of goal setting:
We unintentionally set ourselves up to fail by trying to do too much too fast. Furthermore, we trick ourselves into doing something we don’t enjoy, for the sake of doing it. Inevitably, we fail, because we do something that doesn’t work for us. Setting a goal toward doing something we really don’t enjoy isn’t noble, for the sake of the thing, it’s martyring yourself, for the sake of the thing. It’s not realistic for who you are in this moment, so be honest with yourself!
Yes, everyone knows exercise is important for your heart health and helps you lose weight. To be honest, the “why” isn’t really that important. The most important part of setting your goal is to take a good hard look at your beginning point, and be real with yourself about who you are, and where your level of motivation is. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel here. Your realistic goal would look something like this:
Pick a day and time that you’re confident you can keep. Consider it a health appointment with yourself. And that’s it. Keep it simple and doable. You’re the one who knows what you’re capable of, so set yourself up for success! Remember, slow and steady wins the race. Once you’ve shifted your goal into a habit, you’ll become motivated to go to the next level. That’s how you find success.
Reward yourself! You set a goal that was realistic, and you crushed it! There’s no stopping you! Now, you’re seeing results, and you’re motivated to do the thing. You’ve made the thing a habit, and changed your life for the better.
So give yourself an atta girl (or boy)! You deserve it! Once you’ve set your goal, decide on a reward, preferably one that has nothing to do with the goal itself. For example:
By making your reward totally different than the thing itself, you’re giving yourself an external motivator. Think about it this way: if you say, “once I’ve done my cardio, I’m going to eat a cheesecake”, you’re setting yourself up to dump the motivation you’ve just worked so hard to get. Because, if you’re doing cardio for weight loss, then eating a cheesecake is not forward progress. But gifting yourself something that has zero to do with your weight loss is intrinsically motivating. Not only do you feel good, but you’ve got a tangible object to prove to yourself that you did it. Make sense?
What you’ve done is given yourself a good old fashion dose of dopamine. And there’s no better motivator than what you can produce yourself.
Meditate on how you’ll feel after doing the thing. We’ve already determined you need some motivation for the actual follow through. So…
Close your eyes and focus so intently on the image your mind creates for doing the thing, that you feel like you’ve already done it.
Feel? Concentrate on this as many times throughout the day as you need. If you want some solid proof, check out this guy. He’s got the goods to back up the theory.
You can follow any amount of advice, learn to follow steps til the cows come home, but if you don’t shift you’re thinking you’re not gonna go anywhere. Ultimately, it must come from you. You must be the main motivator, and your desire to change needs to be greater than more of the same.
This 2 Week Ayurvedic Cleanse Will Change Your Life.In just 14 days, this 3 part cleanse will detox and reset your digestive and lymphatic system, while teaching you how to live a more…
As a homeowner, you need to understand what your insurance policy covers- and doesn’t cover.I’ve had countless conversations with policy holders, trying to explain to them why certain repairs aren’t covered. Unfortunately, by the…
Hurricane Season Is Here. Follow These 5 Steps To Prepare, Before It’s Too Late.Take action now to ensure your claims process doesn’t get held up later.
10 Seconds That Ended My 20 Year MarriageIt’s August in Northern Virginia, hot and humid. I still haven’t showered from my morning trail run. I’m wearing my stay-at-home mom…
If You Want to Be a Creator, Delete All (But Two) Social Media PlatformsIn October 2022, during the whole Elon Musk debacle, I finally deleted Twitter from my phone. Around the same time, I also logged out of…Yes, you heard that right. A social media website dedicated to sharing videos and photos was able to help me discover my soulmate.
A few years ago, I went to a youth camp; I remember the speaker sharing a story on how he met his wife. Guess where? Facebook. She messaged him, they went on a date, and a year later they were married.
I remember scoffing at that, who on earth meets people online? No way. Not for me, I was old-fashioned. I preferred the classy way of things; perhaps my dream guy would bump into me at the grocery store — maybe we would reach for the same chocolate-filled but
Or, perhaps we would meet at a book store or cafe, my ultimate dream come true. I would be sitting very elegantly on a chair; my hair would be perfect. I’d look like the most graceful lady on the planet, as I read through “
According to TechCrunch, 30% of U.S. adults have used online dating apps, and only 12% of U.S. adults said they found a committed relationship or got married as a result of that usage.
I was honestly pretty surprised by these numbers; I ended up researching how many people utilize the app “Tinder, ” and according to an article on techjury, it’s estimated that there’s a total of 50 million active Tinder profiles. The app has been downloaded more than 100 million times on Android’s Play Store alone.
I’ve never used Tinder before, but I have a lot of friends that have had great success with it. If they didn’t end up in a committed relationship — they at least had a good night out.
I don’t know anybody who had dating success using Instagram, but when I did some research, I found a piece published in The New York Times sharing stories similar to mine.
Mastering The Art of Conversation: Tips for Men on How To Talk To WomenHow to go from being left on read, to going on dates.
How To Give Head Like A ProIf you believe giving head is “degrading” for women, save yourself the stress and stop reading now because this article is clearly not for…
Love Never Fails — Even When We Do: How I Learned My Best Attempt at Love Was Always Good EnoughHere’s to perfect love by imperfect peopleThe content on is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. References to products, offers, and rates from third party sites often change. While we do our best to keep these updated, numbers stated on this site may differ from actual numbers. We may have financial relationships with some of the
Post a Comment
Post a Comment