Motivation: How to get started and maintain your drive.
First things first, what does it mean to be motivated?
Motivation is the drive to achieve your goals or needs. How much or little motivation you have for something could be influenced by:
how much you want the goal
what you will gain when you reach the goal
your personal expectations
Motivation is important for everyone to have because it gives you goals to work towards, helps you to solve issues in your life, gets you out of old habits, and helps you to cope with any challenges and opportunities life throws at you.
A lot of people struggle to get motivation, especially those that suffer with mental health issues like depression or anxiety. So here are our tips on where to start if you are struggling:
Set yourself one specific, achievable goal, you can look at the SMART goals model if that helps you!
Look at how you can include that goal in your life, what you need do to make it happen, and then put a timeframe on it.
Break your goal into small, easy tasks and set regular reminders. This way, if you are doing something small each day that is in line with your goal, each day you are getting closer and closer to achieving it!
Family, friends, or coaches can help to support you! If you tell them your goals they can help to encourage you along the way to help keep your motivation high!
So, how can you make sure you keep on track?
Make your goal part of your daily routine. The more routine you have in your life, the easier this may be to implement. If your days are always completely different, make sure you find a way around it where you don’t forget such as using a diary or app to remind you!
Talking to yourself positively is important and effective in managing depression or anxiety. Instead of saying 'I can't', say 'I can try'.
Stay mindful to keep you relaxed and focused. There’s many mindfulness apps you can download, or even classes you can go to, to help with this!
Start a class or join a support group. At Patch we have a community of like-minded people that are all there to achieve their goals and keep each other motivated! Your coaches are always there to support you when you are struggling, because hard times along the way are inevitable!
Be kind to yourself, and reward yourself when you have completed a step or goal! You can keep reflecting on your journey and see how far you have come.
So, once you become motivated, sometimes the hard part comes trying to stay motivated… here are our tips:
Regularly review your goals and your progress. Seeing progress is a great motivator in itself, it also improves the way you see yourself.
Continue to set new goals. Get into the habit of thinking what you can achieve next over the course of the next week, month or year. These goals can be small so you can tackle one at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed and help you achieve your long-term goal!
Keep going! Developing a new habit can take up to 3 months. Keeping your routine strong can really help with setting these new habits. If goals were achieved overnight, they wouldn’t be as rewarding to achieve!
Find a mentor or a coach! These people are experienced with the new goal you are wanting to achieve. Finding someone that can relate to you and knows the steps you need to take and how challenging it can be is really beneficial!
Keep positive people around you! Surround yourself with positive people that believe in you and encourage you.
Use exercise as one of your daily goals! Exercise has so many positive benefits for every aspect of your life! It can also help you find those positive people to be in your life. Have a look at the benefits of exercise and strength training here!
Lost your motivation?
First of all, this is completely normal. There will always be challenges along the way, but building up your resilience will be a part of your journey. If this is where you are then here is what you can do:
Are your goals realistic in the timeframe you have set? Go and review if you can break that goal up into smaller, more achievable goals.
Remember why you wanted to get motivated or reach that goal in the first place.
Use others to motivate you! You can feel inspired by reading a book, talking to your coach or friends or family who have reached similar goals to the ones you have set.
Sometimes you just need to take a break and start afresh. You don’t want to burn yourself out. Remember, small steps everyday will lead you to your goal. No steps everyday will lead you to your current reality.
Please reach out to us if you are looking to set yourself some fitness goals and are not sure where to start. Our small-group personal training sessions may be just what you need to get your motivation burning!
