Your "why" matters...

One thing that many people struggle with when it comes to health and fitness is keeping their motivation over the long term.

Motivational quotes and inspirational YouTube videos can help, but often only in the short term.  Of course as Zig Ziglar said: 

One way to cement some form of long-term motivation is to dig a little deeper into the reasons for wanting to exercise or eat healthier.  You need to ask yourself "why?".

And not just once.

Keep asking until you dig right down to the root cause or reason for wanting to chase those goals that at times can seem so illusive.  

Here's an example that comes from one of my clients and a long-term mentor of mine.  He has been training with me for around 5 years - pretty much since I started 360 Degree Fitness.  We were talking about why he was keen to get up and get to the gym by 6:00 am twice a week to train with me.

He said that he wanted to keep fit.  I asked him why he wanted to keep fit.  His response was to live a longer life.  I said that's a great reason, but why do you want to live a longer life?  He said, because he wanted to see his grandson grow up and be a part of his life.  Now that is a truly awesome reason.

The best way to keep some sort of long term motivation is to tie the purpose of your training to an emotional reason rather than a superficial one.  I mean superficial in a non-derogatory sense by the way.  

An emotional reason will make you get up at the crack of dawn to hit the gym or get an early morning walk in when everyone else is asleep.  It will give you a reason to bypass the donut that is calling your name at 3:00 pm when you crave something sweet.  An emotional reason will get you to put in that extra set of squats when nobody but you will know if you skip out and head home for an early Netflix binge watching session.

And how do you get to your emotional trigger?  You need to keep asking yourself "why?".

It seems really simple and almost flippant to just say it like that, but it really is that simple.  The theory is simple at least, the practice can involve some serious soul searching.  Often we have tricked ourselves into thinking one way about things rather than digging down deep for the actual reason as the superficial reason is easier for us to rationalise.  

I want to lose a few kilograms for beach season is an easier thing to tell ourselves than those extra kilograms make me feel really uncomfortable wearing togs in front of other people.  I want to get fit to run a half marathon is an easier self-sell than I need to be able to have fun playing with my son because right now I'm exhausted after 2 minutes of kicking a ball round with him at the park.

You don't have to broadcast the deep personal reasons to anyone.  They can be kept just for you.  You can even keep telling people you just want to run that half marathon, but make sure that you are telling yourself the right things and reasons for doing what you are doing.  And tell yourself often.  Keep your "why" front and centre in your mind.  

It will help you get out of bed and chase those health and fitness goals, and hopefully keep you motivated along the journey.

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If you would like some help finding out what your "why" is, book a free initial consultation with me and start your own fitness journey today.