Nobody wants to hear about how to eat correct portions, lose weight, or go for your dream job during this time. Everyone just wants to eat pumpkin pie, loosen their pants and eat their way up to the New Year.
But let's face it: the day after Christmas we start to realize we've overdone it yet again, that we need to get serious (again) - then we are back to the same old New Years Resolution to lose weight again, and the cycle starts again!
If you have been waiting for motivation to just hit you to:
- start working out
- start the groundwork to follow your dreams, or
- just start taking care of yourself better.....
Every day, millions of people wait for the same thing. We trudge to work, knowing we will probably be doing what we hate for the rest of our lives if we don't take action. We watch infomercials on TV, and eat ice cream, overwhelmed with how far we have to go - so we never start.
So what can we do? Take these four simple tips to heart, apply them, and watch your life change!
#1: Realize that motivation will NOT just hit you.
I LOVE this quote by psychologist William James:
"Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not."
Translation? If you wait for a FEELING - for motivation to hit you - it will never happen. Action FUELS feeling and motivation!
This subject reminds me of the first personal development book I ever cracked open - The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth. In this book, John Maxwell quotes an article in a medical journal:
"Motivation is not going to strike you like lightning. And motivation is not something that someone else - nurse, doctor, family member - can bestow or force on you. The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it"
See the pattern here? If you WAIT for the motivation to happen, it will never come. Period! So lose that thought and follow me to tip number two!
#2: Take action.
Action fuels emotions. Think about the time when you put off doing something you DREADED doing. Making that phone call. Pressing play on a workout video. What happened when you finally just did it? You felt free - you felt amazing! Proud of yourself! Those emotions FUEL motivation.
And the great thing? Action breeds MORE action - so the MORE you do it, the more you WANT to do it. Getting yourself to take action every single day will get you to the place where it becomes HABIT. And that brings us to tip number three!
#3: Make it a Habit
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Sure, we can start out and feel great. But the key isn't just in starting out - it's in being CONSISTENT. Showing up every day, pressing play on your workout - choosing the right foods to fuel your body. Or pursuing that dream by doing your research, learning about that company, and investing in yourself through training to be a better candidate for that job.
Action breeds more action, and staying consistent over time, creates a habit!
#4: Lose the Excuses
Nobody likes this one ;) But seriously - you can do all of the above and still fall off the motivation wagon if you allow those excuses to take over!
There are different types of excuses I'll go over real quick. And believe me, these are just a few of MANY - I can honestly say I have heard them ALL!
First, there are Internal Excuses (self-talk), such as:
"I'm too tired"
"I'm just not meant to be skinny"
"It's too hard"
"I don't really need this"
"I have been trying so hard and not seeing any changes, I may as well give up"
"I have been trying so hard and not seeing any changes, I may as well give up"
External Excuses, such as:
- The kids won't let you work out
- Your schedule is too packed
I could go on and on with these excuses - and remember, that's just what they are: EXCUSES. You can control them. You can work with your schedule. You can wake up earlier, go to bed later, work out on your lunch break. You can pursue those big goals on the weekends. There are people who are WAY busier than you and I who are ignoring internal and external excuses and STILL doing more than us!
Think of WHY you need this. Dig deep and find your whypower. Commit to taking action. Make it a daily habit, stay consistent with it! Make a CONSCIOUS decision, every single day to throw those excuses out the window.
You can get motivated and STAY motivated by remembering these four steps - and STICKING with them. Realize that motivation will not just hit you. Take action. Make it a habit. And LOSE those excuses!
Did these four steps help you? Send me a message, or add me on facebook, and let's start (& stay) motivated together! :)
- Your schedule is too packed
I could go on and on with these excuses - and remember, that's just what they are: EXCUSES. You can control them. You can work with your schedule. You can wake up earlier, go to bed later, work out on your lunch break. You can pursue those big goals on the weekends. There are people who are WAY busier than you and I who are ignoring internal and external excuses and STILL doing more than us!
Think of WHY you need this. Dig deep and find your whypower. Commit to taking action. Make it a daily habit, stay consistent with it! Make a CONSCIOUS decision, every single day to throw those excuses out the window.
You can get motivated and STAY motivated by remembering these four steps - and STICKING with them. Realize that motivation will not just hit you. Take action. Make it a habit. And LOSE those excuses!
Did these four steps help you? Send me a message, or add me on facebook, and let's start (& stay) motivated together! :)
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