Beyond the Challenge – Motivation for the Rest of the Year

February 17, 2009

Is motivation created or is it an inherent trait?  Certain events in our life can motivate us – maybe it’s an upcoming wedding or reunion, a New Year’s Resolution, or maybe it’s the National Body Challenge.  But each of those comes and goes.  How do you then keep your motivation beyond your particular event? 

Here are 4 strategies that will help you reignite that burning desire to get in the best shape of your life!

1.    Realize it is not that easy.  The initial motivation is powerful, but that’s often short lived.  Small steps each day mean big changes in the long run; nothing will happen overnight and it’s important to continually encourage yourself.  Habits weren’t created overnight and they won’t be broken overnight.  Changing behaviors is difficult, but it can be done.

2.    Understand Motivation.  Why do you want to lose weight?  People often give very superficial, general reasons why they want to lose weight—lose a few pounds, improve health, etc.  These are not specific enough.  If you ultimately want to change behavior, you need to dig a bit deeper so you can determine what will really help you commit.  “Lose weight”, for example, is very general and is not likely to keep people motivated to continue for the long haul.  These same folks were likely motivated when they purchased a fad diet book, supplement off an infomercial, or what have you.  Remember, you need to find the underlying issue(s) and help change those. 

3.    Self-Monitor.  One of the most valuable tools you have at your fingertips is to self-monitor behaviors.  Self-monitoring is the observation and recording of a specific behavior.  Self-monitoring can be as detailed as writing everything down regarding that behavior (i.e. specific details, date, time, location, emotions, etc) to as little as placing a checkmark on a calendar indicating that a desired behavior was achieved. 

Many times individuals are not aware of their own behaviors.  Self-monitoring can help increase awareness.  Self-monitoring can be useful to gather a baseline for behaviors or as an ‘as needed’ measure when struggling.

4.    Work in groups.  Social support has been shown to improve the ability to lose and maintain weight loss.  Use this to your advantage.  Get a group of friends, family members, or co-workers together to get on a plan and work towards a goal.  It’s much more likely that you make time for exercise if you know you are meeting other people; it is just another way to be held accountable. 

These 4 strategies can reignite that motivational flame – remember, baby steps will go a long way to permanent success!

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Related Links:

Join the National Body Challenge FREE today! 

Use our National Body Challenge Community to stay motivated!

Comments

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[Ms.Xi]

So you're motivated and things are going well. Suddenly, it snows or the weather is too cold for you to venture outside for your usual routine (outside includes driving to the gym).

You can do calisthenics inside your home to burn calories but should you also cut how much food you eat when you're indoors and confined, compared to what you would normally eat when you're out and about on your regular routine? Is that healthy?

I find the cold weather to be a big demotivator.