At this point, everyone is pretty much aware of the huge upside to exercising regularly. The reason that there aren’t more people doing it, is the sheer lack of motivation. There is nothing that pushes them enough to go out there and exercise. Fortunately, there are some very useful ways which you can use to motivate yourself to become a more active individual. Let me elaborate on each one of them a bit more:
Change from a “maybe” to a “must”
The first thing you need to do is to categorically include exercise into your lifestyle without any maybe’s or but’s. Exercising should be a must within your daily routine. Within your time management, there should always be time allocated to exercising. I can’t stress enough how important this is. For example, a few years ago I decided to go for a bike ride every day and allocated 1 hour of my time to it per day. Before I did that, I was always putting everything else before it, and I never could find the time for it. So instead of trying to fit exercise into your tight schedule, make it a permanent part of it which is non-negotiable, and make other non-productive activities such as watching television secondary to it.
Surround yourself with fitness-oriented people
If you are not exercising, have a look at your close unit of acquaintances. Chances are that most if not all of them are just as non-active as you are. If you want to be successful at not only starting but staying active over time, you definitely need to have friends that share this same goal with you. Having a training partner is one of the best ways to get yourself the proper motivation to keep at it day in and day out. Someone with whom you can discuss the good and the bad, the positive and the negative, and that understands you fully is extremely important to your success at staying active. The bottom line is, if you are trying to be active, your non-active friends will never understand what you are going through and they are certainly not the right people that will motivate you to keep going.
Want to be better looking?
I have found that most people will pretty much do anything to become more attractive and more desirable. The good news is that you do not have to subject yourself to grueling & potentially dangerous plastic surgery to get the job done. With a little patience and a strong will, you can literally reshape your entire body via exercise. Use this desire of seeking to be more attractive to your advantage and turn it into pure motivation to exercise. Sure, there are tons of reasons why people exercise, but I am certain that 100% do it partly to be more attractive. Looks matter in our current society, and we associate looks with success. Play that card to your own benefit and you will see that you will possess plenty of motivation to keep exercising over time. To motivate you even more, take pictures of yourself on a weekly basis. I guarantee you that the change you will notice in the pictures over a few months will make you want to keep exercising for the rest of your life!
Think long term health benefits
As I mentioned in my previous point, physical appearance is a huge motivating factor, but your health should be an even bigger one. The thing with health, is that we do not “see” it. It’s hidden, and thus in a very visual and superficial society such as our current one, it becomes secondary to looks. Luckily, people are becoming more and more concerned with being healthy and living a better quality of life as they get older. Use this to your advantage as well to motivate yourself to exercise. The list of health benefits that exercising provides you with is just enormous. By thinking about maintaining a high quality of life for years to come, you are thinking long term and thus you can find the proper amount of motivation to stay active even during times that you feel like giving up. We all want to be healthy, and going through health concerns brings about much stress to our life as well as to those that we love. When I hear of fathers or grandparents that are changing their lifestyle and becoming more active to be around to see their children grow up, I am so proud of them. That’s one of the strongest motivation you could ever have to turn your life around with exercise.
Work towards a goal
Do you have a reunion to go to in a few months and you want to look your best? Do you have a vacation planned and you want to look fantastic in a bathing suit? Do you idolize a certain person and want to look just like them? These types of goals are extremely powerful, and can provide unrelenting motivation that can then carry you towards those very goals. The key is to always have such a goal, because you don’t want to go back to your old ways once you have reached that goal. I’m sure you’ve seen people flip flop over and over again with their fitness, and this is due to the fact that once they reach their goal, they do not have another one to aim for. Always have something to work towards, and every time you reach one, create a new one. You will not only be amazed at the amount of motivation this creates, but you will astound yourself at how much you can accomplish that you never thought possible before.
Simply start
As hard as it is to get yourself to start, you will be happy to know that things get much better as you keep going. The steepest hill to climb over is to start. Once you start, you have conquered the biggest obstacle. This is something that you should be proud of, in and of itself. Once you start, you put the wheels in motion to create momentum, and this momentum is crucial to bring you towards the finish line. But for that to happen, you need to start. So stop finding excuses and ways to delay your start. Choose to start exercising today, and never look back. You will be thankful that you did 😉
Great share..
Tell yourself that working out is the perfect stress reliever. And it includes Running, cycling, jumping rope, or any cardio type of #exercise will help your body relieve stress and relax.
Having someone to encourage, motivate, and push you forward will keep you driving on when you feel like giving up or stopping. Many times, we are capable of pushing through another mile or another 10 minutes, we just need the encouragement.
Keep on sharing more.. 🙂
Really great post. It is use full for both ways one is physically and another is mentally, it reduces the stress and gives the peace of mind. Thanks for your motivational tips.
What else could I say? I liked to read it, but when it comes to the action And include the Must for few days and then give up. I just remember that before I was very active, I performed martial arts (as well as meditation arts such as Tai Chi) taught by my father (black belt in three disciplines) but after he got cancer I stopped. It’s a new story. It’s been 7 years since this and he no longer has cancer, but I stayed like this. I just don’t feel any motivation or whatsoever in doing this. I read your article and, I truly want to get out of this and I can’t. It was a nice and great article though. Thanks for your advices.
I have a friend of mine that is doing excercises and eating healthy. Medical school is too absorbing, but apparently she manages her time and workouts. I want to make a change, I suppose is the lack of will power.
I love these ideas!! Especially changing a maybe to a must. I learned that having a ‘want’ and making a ‘decision to achieve’ something are two very different things, and the difference between success and failure. You say it in a slightly different way. Indeed, if we hang out with others we will get there sooner and probably have a lot more fun!! Great post, thanks!
Motivation indeed. thats what we all need from time to time. When you have fitness goals to achieve it important to keep motivated. Its so easy to loose track of where your heading.
Excellent article and the fantastic quote of Nasheel .
The motivating factor to do exercise for me is the feel good factor. It is kind of spiritual. I become confident.I become comfortable with myself. World becomes beautiful. I become a better human being. What more should I say! Your article is really motivating. thanks.
In my experience the greatest motivating factor for exercising is the feel good effect. I feel confident.I become spontaneous and encouraging. In short I become a better human being. Life becomes smooth and poetic when I exercise.What more should I say! Your article was so good. thanks.
Been looking for this type of information. Everything I’ve read anywhere else hasn’t covered it very well, but your post did. Thanks
Thanks for the tips! Will start first thong tomorrow and post again pnce i’ve started, and that is truly the best advice: focus not on the workout, but on building the habbit:) will do!
Agree…absolute best quote ““focus not on the workout but on building the habit. Later the habit will build you”
“focus not on the workout but on building the habit. Later the habit will build you”
thats theeeee besttttt quote I have ever heard or read about exercise/workouts…
simply superb mann!!!
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I have to say that I think the biggest problem in the exercise world is the concept of “no-pain, no-gain” Perhaps that works for the pros, but for the rest of us, esp those trying to form a work out habit it is hugely destructive.
I have seen it for years at the martial arts school I attend. I newbie comes in and throws himself into it. A week into training he is hurting something fierce. He skips a few days because he is feeling the pain, and then he trys to come back in fits and starts never really getting his enthusiam back. Soon he is gone for good and the next gung-ho group comes in.
Do a little less I tell them, focus not on the workout but on building the habit. Later the habit will build you…
anyway…. sorry about climbing on my soapbox. I liked your article and hope you keep at it..
I have to say that I think the biggest problem in the exercise world is the concept of “no-pain, no-gain” Perhaps that works for the pros, but for the rest of us, esp those trying to form a work out habit it is hugely destructive.
I have seen it for years at the martial arts school I attend. I newbie comes in and throws himself into it. A week into training he is hurting something fierce. He skips a few days because he is feeling the pain, and then he trys to come back in fits and starts never really getting his enthusiam back. Soon he is gone for good and the next gung-ho group comes in.
Do a little less I tell them, focus not on the workout but on building the habit. Later the habit will build you…
anyway…. sorry about climbing on my soapbox. I liked your article and hope you keep at it..
yes…motivation is very important in our daily activity….thanks for tips
yes…motivation is very important in our daily activity….thanks for tips
Hi
I like your posts, It makes me think.
Hi
I like your posts, It makes me think.