Staying Motivated
Last week we spoke about the idea of Blue Monday, the 3rd Monday of January, being the most depressing of the year. High five for thriving through that, and now we’re nearly at the end of the month! The flip side of Blue Monday was to reset and refocus on the year ahead, the goals or resolutions you made for yourself and how to make it successful for you.
So how do you keep pushing through when motivation begins to wane and the novelty of what you want to achieve is replaced by the drudgery of the daily actions we have to take to stay on track?
Discipline > Motivation
When you set your mind to an achievable goal, the uniquely personal reasons this achievement is so important to you will get you started and provide an initial surge of motivation.
However, the actual effort and daily tasks you complete to make this goal a reality within your routine come from being disciplined.
Initial internal motivation, motivational quotes, vision boards, and inspirational figures in your life can all serve as reminders as to why you hope to achieve the thing you desire so much. But motivation won’t stick around forever, and when the day-to-day repetitiveness of pushing yourself to change and improve becomes a reality, things can get tough.
Being consistent in your actions in the face of hardships and boredom will serve you far better as you master the daily discipline required to maintain the productivity and output that will truly move the needle.
Having reminders around to spur on bursts of motivation can still be handy, have your goal somewhere visible to you so it’s always at the front of your mind, whether this is in the form of a phone wallpaper or a sticky note on your desk.
How to find that extra push on hard days
Identify what works for you and what doesn’t, and act quickly to remove the roadblock. If your goal is to exercise more consistently but you struggle to get out of bed early to train, switch your sessions to the evening. If you’re trying to save more money but keep dipping into your savings account, have a chat with your bank and see if you can deactivate withdrawals from the account. Can’t stop yourself from eating a whole block of chocolate instead of a couple of squares? Buy some bags of mini bars instead! Or if you’re struggling to commit to a lengthy workout every day, jump onto the Beforeyouspeak Coffee Instagram (@beforeyouspeakcoffee) and join the team for our 10 for 10 movement challenge with our super coach and mentor, Commando Steve. We’ll guide you through 10 minutes of movement for 10 days to help get you moving (pun intended) in the right direction.
Get an accountability buddy, give a trusted friend or family member the rundown on what you want to achieve, the steps you’re taking, and where you’re falling down. Ask them to help keep you accountable in a way that will keep you on track and ask them to check in with you regularly. You could even let us be your accountability buddy! We’d love to see you tag us in your 10 for 10 movement workouts, and we’ll be doing them right alongside you.
And most importantly don’t forget your why and just do the damn thing! The more you defeat the urge to give up, the easier it gets each time. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and remember, you already know what giving up looks like, so let's see what happens when you don’t 💪