The right amount of motivation is not only crucial for getting yourself to the gym or starting an exercise program, but also to hitting the right volume and intensity of training to attain your goals. There are two types of motivation; extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside sources, for example, a personal trainer, training partner, or an award of some sort. On the other hand, intrinsic motivation comes from within, for example, increased self-esteem, satisfaction of mastering a skill, etc. Although both types of motivation are important, ultimately, it is intrinsic motivation that is crucial to success. One key thing to note is that motivation always needs to stay POSITIVE J
Here are a few ways to help improve and keep us motivated:
Self-Talk
One way to help improve motivation is through becoming aware of your “Self-talk”. Self-talk is the talking you do in your own head, often happening automatically and we are unaware of it. When self-talk is negative it not only produces negative feelings but results in physical tension and decreased athletic performance. However, positive self-talk can be very beneficial to our performance. If we are able to control such talk, it can be encouraging, confidence boosting, and motivating. One of the first steps towards improving our self-talk is becoming aware of it. When you start to become aware, identify negative self-talk and stop those thoughts. When you are able to stop negative self-talk in its tracks start replacing these thoughts with a more positive outlook. A few tips for positive self talk; use first person, develop positive phrases and repeat them often, keep phrases short, and say phrases with meaning. We all talk to ourselves, so use it to your advantage!
Goal Setting
Another way to help boost motivation is thought goal setting. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are goal setting to ensure continual motivation and attainability. The acronym I’m going to use is ‘SMART’, and some of you may have heard of this before. ‘S’ is for specific goals; setting goals that have a specific focus. Something too broad may seem unattainable or not as appealing. ‘M’ is for measurable; ensure that you are able to measure your goal in some sort of manner. This helps when tracking the progress in your goals. In order to see improvement and progress you have to have a measuring tool. ‘A’ is for adjustable; make sure your goals aren’t set in stone so that not attaining them becomes negative. As life situations or circumstances change we may have to periodically adjust our goals, and this is okay, we can adjust for it. ‘R’ is for realistic; setting goals that are attainable. Setting a goal that is so far-fetched will only hurt out motivation because we will likely not achieve it; so set smaller goals in increments to work your way up to the bigger long-term goal. Finally, ‘T’ is for time-based; putting a time-line on your goals. By setting a time line you are motivated to achieve a certain goal by a certain point. Without a time goal it is easier to procrastinate and push-off working toward our goals.
Recording
Going along with goal setting, it is incredibly important to keep track and record of these goals. Go out and buy yourself a notebook. In your notebook you can write down your specific goals and go back to them every once in a while to track the progress you are making. In addition, keep track of your workouts as this can also be motivating. If you are able to see improvements in time, distance, or weight lifted it is a very positive reinforcement. After recording each workout also note how you are feeling that day and how you felt your workout went. This way, you are able to go back and reflect on when your best workouts were and the ones you seemed to enjoy the most.
Rewards
It is of course important to reward yourself. Although I did mention that intrinsic motivation is crucial to success, extrinsic things keep us going along the way. These rewards do not have to be food based (which most tend to think). They can be things such as buying yourself flowers, going to a movie, or buying yourself a new outfit. It is not only nice to treat ourselves every once in a while, but is keeps us happy!
Mix It Up
Finally, keep your workouts fresh and fun. It is easy to get bored of the same routine over and over again so switch it up as this will help to keep you motivated. Exercising doesn’t always have to be done at the gym or inside for that matter. If it’s a nice day go outside for a walk, or take your workout to the backyard. If you’ve got a free evening think about joining a sports league or get involved in a group fitness class (E.g. yoga). Finding ways to help you enjoy your workouts is so important. If we don’t enjoy what we’re doing, we definitely aren’t going to stick with it.
That is it for my thoughts and tips about keeping yourself motivated. I hope you enjoyed the read J
“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
-- Lou Holtz
Cheers,
Lindsay
