One of the hardest parts of our fitness journey is staying motivated the whole time. Truth be told, motivation isn’t meant to be there forever. It’s meant to get you on your feet and help you take action, but it is not solely something you should rely on. And if you purely rely on motivation, you will notice your progress will fluctuate a lot.
Motivation isn’t the answer to getting to your goal, and the tough answer is just committing to your goal, not giving up, and knowing that if you continue while it’s difficult, it will get easier.
Don’t worry, I’ll share with you what I share with my clients when they lack motivation with a step-by-step action plan.
Reassessing your Goal
The first and most important step is to remind yourself of your goal, and in fact, even reassess and make sure that the goal you maybe set months ago, is still suitable for you.
Sometimes we get caught up in pushing ourselves to accomplish a goal that is no longer suitable for us. Maybe we initially thought it was something that we wanted, but as we started working towards it, we realized that it wasn’t. This is where reassessing, and going back to the drawing board to create a better-suited goal might be more beneficial.
Sometimes though, all we need is a reminder of what our goal is and WHY we are doing it. Write up your goal again, and have it in your visuals daily to serve as a reminder to keep going. The reminder could be on your computer, a sticky note on a wall or mirror, in your journal, or on your phone as a lock screen.
Break up your Goal Into Milestones
You may know your goal, and reminding yourself of your goal might not necessarily help. Sometimes the issue is that the goal feels too far away. It could be a long-term goal and sometimes you might not accomplish it a year from now. This can feel defeating at times, bring doubt into accomplishing your goal, and can cause overwhelm, which will lead to not taking action and further result in you not accomplishing your goal.
In this case, it’s important to break apart your bigger goal into smaller milestones that you can accomplish along the way. These milestones will signify the progress you are making toward your goal. They also help eliminate feeling overwhelmed and make it clearer for you to see the action steps that will lead you to your goal.
I personally love creating my milestones into a checklist, and then breaking them down further. Every little thing I accomplish, it leads me to accomplish my milestones, and that then ensures I am in fact moving forward and not stuck in the same spot I was 3 months ago.
Remember, it’s crucial to feel like you’re winning throughout your journey, and by setting smaller milestones you allow yourself to win more often.
Create and FOLLOW a Plan
Now in order to actually accomplish those milestones, and eventually your goal, you need a PLAN. Without a plan, you will in no way get to your goal.
The plan will help support your actions which will lead you to accomplish your milestones, and it helps ensure you are more confident that each step you’re taking is leading you to your goal.
Now you might have a plan already, and the last most important part that comes with the plan is taking ACTION. Action is what will move the needle forward. I can’t tell you the countless amount of people that I spoke to that KNEW the answers, and created plans, but didn’t accomplish their goals because they didn’t follow through by acting on the plan.
With a plan, and taking action, you’ll be well on your way towards accomplishing your goal.
Account for your Wins Every Week
If you have a long-term goal, you know that accomplishing that goal might take 6 months, a year, and sometimes even more. Accounting for your wins along the way will ensure you stay motivated enough, and don’t get discouraged along the way.
One of the most common flaws I’ve noticed amongst my clients is that inability to recognize their wins. This characteristic can hold you back because instead of recognizing your wins, you are looking at what you “didn’t yet accomplish” or how your “goal is so far away”, leading you to feel discouraged, and more likely to quit. This is where that feeling of being “unmotivated” comes from.
Recognizing your wins is an effective way to practice positive thinking, and will more likely motivate you along the way.
Now how do we get to recognizing our wins? PRACTICE. I’m all for making a list of 2-3 wins weekly or daily. The more often you practice writing out the list, your brain will eventually begin to do it subconsciously.
As you start to recognize more wins, you will naturally create more wins, and you can see how this cycle will continue.
Have an Accountability Partner
Last but not least, having an accountability partner can be a game changer for your fitness journey. The day you don’t feel like going, they will want to go. Days when you’re putting yourself down, they will be there to lift you up. And visa versa.
Knowing you have someone who’s going will naturally pull you into going as well without them saying anything. Sharing the experiences together will not only be motivating but also fun. Lastly, there’s nothing greater than seeing each other win.
Now an accountability partner can be anyone from a family member, friend, or even a coach. Having a friend or family member to go to the gym with is a great start, having a class to commit to is yet another extra accountability and the greatest accountability will come from your coach. Hiring a coach 1-1 will allow the coach to not only encourage you but also point out any roadblocks you may have that could be currently holding you back from accomplishing your goal.
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