Need Motivation?

Posted by Elizabeth Dowell on Sunday, July 05, 2015
Elizabeth Dowell

Check out Chelsea's (one of our amazing trainers!) 9 tips for finding that necessary motivation to keep going! 

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Every one of us in some aspect of our lives has set a goal. It’s easy to say what we want to achieve, but another thing to actually get there successfully. When joining a gym, you may have a rehab or strengthening goal, a wedding to “tone-up” for, medication you want to come off of, weight to lose, a race to train for, or just to create a healthier lifestyle for yourself. Whatever your goal may be, I have some tips and tricks to help you get there successfully!

  1.  WHY.  Why do you want to achieve your goal? You must have some reason or intrinsic desire on the goal you have set for yourself.

  2. WRITE IT. Write down your goal! Post it somewhere where you can look at it daily. The more you look at it and read it for yourself, the more you are reminded of the work it requires to get there.

  3. AM I THERE YET? Accept that it won’t happen overnight. It’s like the famous quote from A League of Their Own, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” It may not be physically hard on you all of the time, but managing time, emotions, and stress may be. Little things make big differences. There is no substitute for consistency.

  4. PLAN. Come up with an action plan. Meet with a fitness coach and a trainer to help you start off on the right track. Set up smaller goals to get you to your big goal. For my own marathon training, it’s broken down week by week. 26.2 miles doesn’t just happen after two weeks. Its days and weeks of planning, preparation, and hard work.

  5. BREAK IT DOWN. Plan out your entire week ahead of time. Every Sunday night I write down my workouts in my planner for each day and each time I can get it done. I pack my snacks and lunches for the day the night before because 5 am is too early to make a sandwich. It creates less stress to already have a plan in place. You won’t be as tempted to run through a drive-thru or grab a donut someone brings in to work, because you already have your healthy snack in place.

  6. IT’S NOT ALL SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS.  Setbacks happen. Not every day, meal, or workout goes according to plan. Some days or workouts are harder than others and you start to question whether you will make it to your goal. You will. One day at a time. No one counts the number of times you fall, just the number of times you get back up.

  7. CREATE A SUPPORT GROUP. It is much easier to be held accountable if you have family and friends supporting you along your journey! They can shower you with encouraging words or remind you of how awesome you are and to keep fighting.

  8. CONSISTENCY IS KEY. “Progress is progress, no matter how small.” Just because you can’t see or feel a result all of a sudden, does not mean little changes inside of you aren’t happening. Just think, two weeks ago, your body couldn’t do some of the things you are doing now! Not to mention your mentality, you are now more positive and stronger now than when you started.

  9. SUCCESS! You did it. You have achieved your first goal. Now what? SET A NEW ONE. Try a new skill, a new race or distance, challenge yourself in a different way. Help someone else on their own path. Never stop pushing the limits for yourself. In the great words of Walt Disney, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

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