Have you ever looked at someone in the gym or on social media and thought to yourself, “Wow they’re really motivated!”
I think this all the time when I see The Rock on Instagram showing off his early morning workouts amidst his various projects he’s working on and all while achieving massive success.
While we can’t all be The Rock, we should acknowledge that what we are seeing – especially on social media – is a lot more than just plain motivation.
What most people don’t recognize is that the people you see in the gym day in and day out, eating clean, and meeting their goals aren’t relying on motivation 100% of the time.
It’s also a healthy dose of DISCIPLINE.
Oftentimes, you’re not seeing their bad days and whether or not they made it to the gym, how hard they pushed in their workouts, or whether they treated themself to ice cream when they were feeling low. After all, we are human and we aren’t going to feel motivated all the time.
So how do you transition from searching for motivation to digging into your discipline? Here are a few tips to get you there:
Understand your WHY
No matter what, you need to be connected to the reason why you’re chasing after a specific goal or action in order to follow through in the long-term. Connecting to our why helps us to develop intrinsic motivation which is stronger than extrinsic motivation. That way, when our motivation is running low we can remind ourselves of the bigger picture which can help us find the drive to follow through and get it done, even if we don’t want to.
Hold yourself accountable
Use methods more permanent than simply saying so – block it off in your calendar, check in with a friend or a coach, or write it down. When we say we are going to do something, it’s a lofty commitment that can easily be forgotten or waived away. When we physically write it down we make a deeper connection to the goal because it feels permanent. When we schedule it in our calendar we have created the time and space to get it done, which makes it easier to follow through even on days when motivation is low. When we don’t want to disappoint others by telling them we failed, we are more likely to follow through. These tactics WORK.
Get out of your head
Stop thinking about how you don’t want to get out of bed and workout – start setting your body in motion and take each step forward to get it done. A lot of the time you’ll find once you complete the task at hand, you’ll feel HAPPY that you did it!
Take this one a step further and journal or reflect on the positives you experienced as a result of following through on your goal or habit. By acknowledging the rewards you got from the specific task, you’re reinforcing the habit and making it easier to do the next time.
Do you have a topic you want covered in next week’s Wellness Wednesday? Ask me here.
Coach Diana Leigh is a Precision Nutrition certified coach who uses habit-based coaching to help her clients get stronger and feel amazing in their bodies without the restriction and overwhelm of dieting. For more helpful tips, follow her on Instagram @coachdianaleigh.
How you can work with Coach Diana:
1:1 Nutrition Coaching: I take you from being dependent on diets to independently intuitive through building foundational nutrition habits and with personalized guidance on portion intake based on your goals for a stronger, leaner, or in general overall healthier body.
Nourish With Confidence Group Coaching: An 8-week group coaching program that helps active individuals create a healthy relationship with food + ditch dieting for good through foundational nutrition habits, balanced strategies, and high-level support.