Motivation usually runs rampant when starting something new. Think New Years resolutions. For the vast majority of us we set those goals for the new year and we go all out to achieve them. We buy new clothes, new programs, new equipment, whatever it may be that we hope is going to set us up to achieve our goals. This all lasts about 3-4 weeks. How is this so when our popular saying is, “It takes 21 days to form new habits”? This so called knowledge became so popular that programs like “21 Day Fix,” by Beach Body came about because again “it takes 21 days”. Interestingly enough though further research has proven otherwise. According to Forbes researchers say it actually takes about 66 days for a new habit to become automatic. That’s over 3 times as long as we thought. Due to the instant gratification society we’ve run out of patience and motivation to work for something we claim we want. When you look at it from an empathetic perspective it is easy to see why people begin to set back to their old habits over and over again, I mean the stresses of the day to day life begin to wear one down and it feels arduous to continue on a new uncomfortable path. There begins the losing of that kickass motivation. We fall back into the off cycle of things. We feel as though discomfort is something we should never feel. A slight feeling of hunger, and we think, “Oh I’m starving myself,” we get a little sore from working out for the first time in ages, and we think, “my bad knees mean I shouldn’t be doing this,” where do the excuses end? We feel we should be motivated to workout all the time, but the truth is that motivation runs out. This is when discipline comes into the game, and the best friend of discipline is consistency. If ya don’t believe me, watch this little clip I’ve linked below!
Motivation as we discussed will eventually fade and become less existent, sprouting up only from time to time. Training yourself to be consistent and disciplined will get you a lot further, not only in your pursuits of fitness but throughout life. If you can consistently get yourself to eat well and move your body even on, no especially on those days where you feel like throwing in the towel and eating skittles, pizza, fast food and chips and vegging it out on the couch, you’ll see greater results in the long run. Consistency is key. Consistently showing up for yourself will train you to be and instill in you this discipline. Progress will begin to make itself evident and those feelings of winning over your mind will be greater than any other and you’ll take pride in becoming mentally strong. Is all this to say you should never have the ice cream or the Netflix marathon from sun up to sun down? Of course not. If you are sick or feeling unwell, you would be better off not training, and just taking a day to recover. If you have a birthday of an immediate family member (if I say of a friend or coworker that comes up entirely too much, you’d have to have the cake almost daily) but if you have a special occasion in life to celebrate and you want the have the cake, eat the damn cake, lay on the couch all day, be present in the moment with your celebration. Celebrations don’t happen so often that they derail us.
Inner strength isn’t “found” it is created. -David Goggins
How do you get to this point of discipline and consistency?
You set small goals. So many of us especially in the beginnings are so overzealous with our goals, and once we realize we won’t achieve them we give up. Humans. We thrive on rewards and winning. So instead of saying, “I want to lose 30 pounds in a month,” think about it realistically, it takes about 12-15 weeks to lose that amount of weight. Trying to speed up the process will stress you out and frustrate you to no avail. So set smaller goals that you can achieve. Those small victories will lead to a desire to continue on and will get you coming back for more, alas consistency is born. Instilling discipline.
Aside from setting smaller goals, set training time for yourself. See it as an appointment with an important CEO, after all it is YOUR body, you run this show. You wouldn’t cancel a meeting with the president or with a CEO, so respect yourself enough not to cancel on you. For me I’ve found that an early morning workout isn’t for me, I don’t enjoy 5 am mornings or workouts that early, so afternoon it is for me. Find your prime time and go then, at the point of the day when you feel more inclined to go or feel your best. A Chronotype quiz can assist in helping you understand your internal clock and the times of day you should be doing what. They’re pretty spot on! Try it out.
In all taking small steps to consistency will lead to achieving that discipline which both need to kick in for those times that motivation is out the window. A routine and being in a routine will ultimately get you much further than that initial boost of “I’m ready!” Anyone else picture Spongebob right then? No? Just me? K. Cool. I’ll wrap it up here, do this for you, you are just as important as all of your other obligations. Training is 1 hour of your whole day, meal prepping can be part of Sunday funday with the fam. It just needs to be a habit, it needs to be paved with consistency.
MadomFitness 