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Don't lose your motivation on the road!
There are two moments during the year in which there are the peaks of enrollments in the gym: in autumn and with the beginning of the new year. These are the moments in which good intentions about our physical form reach their peak. Usually it works like this: let's go, we buy everything we need for our physical activity, we do or we do a program of activities and then we start headlong. The first few weeks we dedicate to our physical well-being 4 or 5 workouts, even more than what was recommended or what we set ourselves; then, with the passage of time, we begin to limit the number of times and a series of problems start to appear that seem to be delayed and force us to skip and / or postpone our training session. Most of us soon find ourselves sadly looking at our new shoes and clothes only a few months before and, more importantly, looking at each other with the air of someone who once again failed to meet the good purpose he had given himself.
1. Focus on sub-goals
First, whatever your goal in terms of physical well-being, learn to focus on small improvements rather than staying focused solely on the final goal. If you need months of training to reach a specific weight or performance, it will be easy to lose motivation. However, setting intermediate goals will help you keep your motivation up and give you the chance to celebrate your results (see point 4).
2. Measure and recognize your progress
Keeping track of your workouts and results in terms of time, weight, endurance and feelings is a good way to be constantly aware of what we have done and what we still have to do. Depending on your predisposition you can use a diary or one of the many free online services (my favorite is //dailyburn.com/) to keep track of your improvements. In addition to measuring, it is important to recognize one's progress, or take the time to "touch" the path taken and review what remains to be done. Furthermore, to keep motivation high, it is useful to stop and see the positive changes that can be registered. For example, if the goal is to lose weight, stopping to enjoy the pants that are loose or the belt hole less can give you renewed energy to continue towards our goal.
3. Reward yourself
Celebrating your results by giving yourself a gift (a new pair of shoes, trousers, or a massage, a sauna, ...) or giving yourself a different day can be very important. To be rewarded means to love oneself and to reiterate that the search for physical well-being is above all for us. Moreover, the awards and celebrations help break the routine and remove the monotony, which is one of the main enemies of motivation.
4. Share your goals
Share your goals with friends and family, talk to them or write to them on Facebook or Twitter. In this way, we will be careful - as well as not disappointing ourselves - not to disappoint our friends. Also according to Aristotle who said "what is expressed remains imprinted" sharing our goals publicly allows us to give greater strength to our motivation. Finally, if money is an important source of motivation for you, I suggest you try Stickk (// www.stickk.com/) which allows you to make a contract with yourself with a penalty in case of non-compliance.
5. Find a group or training partner
Training on your own can become boring and the risk of running into bad days is certainly higher than training with other people, thus enjoying mutual support.
6. Always try to have fun
The lowering of motivation or the postponement of training time and day are a sign that we are bored. If the goal we set ourselves will make us rejoice, the secret to reach it as quickly as possible is to enjoy every single step of the way. The next time you find yourself accusing yourself of skipping training in the gym, stop and take the time to think about what could make your training session more fun or what you could do as an alternative. Enjoying and rejoicing in the pursuit of physical well-being is of fundamental importance to keep our conviction high, so let us respect the programs we have made.
7. No to black and white
You only have half an hour and don't go running because according to the program you should do an hour or you blame yourself because instead of 3 series of abs you have done 2? If the answer is yes, you are suffering from black and white vision. When we are focused on one goal the risk is to adopt a vision of the type or all or nothing. The adoption of this attitude can represent an obstacle to maintaining our motivation at high levels. Clearly and objectively the difference is there, but often it is not so great; furthermore we can choose to focus on the fact that even though we were tired or had little time we were nevertheless able to be part of the training rather than skip it in full or reproach ourselves.
8. Accept the days off no
The unexpected exist, accept it. No one is 100% motivated every day. When unforeseen events occur or you simply feel that it is not a day, there is nothing left but to dedicate some time to yourself. The risk is to take oneself too seriously and start processing and saying how bad and unsuitable we are: stop these rumors in the bud and don't allow yourself to demolish your self-esteem. The faster you accept the "no days" the faster they will pass and you can return to seek your physical well-being with the motivation of the first and with your self-esteem intact, if not increased. Personally, I believe that skipping a workout or breaking the diet and then resuming with regularity is a sign of great mental strength and motivation, in the face of the normal contingencies of life. One of the keys to motivation is the serene acceptance of the difficulties.
9. Don't be afraid to change approach
On the way to our goal it may happen that we feel the need to change our approach. It may be that you are following your program to the letter but that it gives you neither satisfaction nor fun; in this case do not be afraid to experiment. Changing approach to find a more stimulating and entertaining one does not mean to fail, on the contrary, in most cases it means just the opposite. Some examples of new approaches are: interspersing a sport with another (running with spinning, swimming with steps, ...), changing gym or lap, or simply days of the week or training methodology.
10. Keep in mind your initial goal
If you feel that your motivation is going down, try to recall the initial reasons for your goal. If your goal was aligned with your values and was placed in the right way you will see that you will easily be able to ignore the problems and difficulties of the moment and focus on the true goal.
Conclusion
Now that I have illustrated these ten ways to stay motivated, feel free to take the ones you like best and adapt them to your reality and your goal. The last piece of advice I give you is this: if what you are doing is not your thing and you feel it is your duty and none of the previous tricks have helped you, do not be afraid to change it. Looking for physical well-being through something we don't like is not heroic, it's stupid! Surely you can get more and better results by doing something you like best and that excites you.
