What to Do When You're Not Motivated
If January is the time people set goals, February is the time people lose sight of them. People get busy, life happens, and our fitness goals fall by the wayside. 2021 has an extra layer of chaos: We are almost one year into lockdown life. This comes with more uncertainty, anxiety, and stress and less routine, ritual, and motivation.
So, how can you stay on track when you aren't motivated? How can you focus on your goals when nothing is going as planned? Is it possible to be goal-oriented in a time of unpredictability?
Why Motivation Sucks
First things first: Motivation sucks.
Yep, that's right. Motivation can be a powerful tool at the start of your journey-- and intermittently throughout it-- but it is not reliable. You know the feeling of setting a new goal and feeling a surge of excitement and passion. You start off strong and go hard, only to slowly fizzle out. At the beginning of quarantine, maybe you set goals to read more, workout daily, or learn a new skill. Take an honest look at yourself now and ask, "Am I happy with where I'm at?"
Maybe the answer is yes, and if so, that's amazing! But if you have had a hard time sticking to those goals, there are a few questions to ask yourself:
1) Did I set SMART goals?
2) Did I create systems to support them?
3) Am I dealing with mental health issues, economic instability, or physical health concerns?
4) Am I relying on motivation?
We have talked about setting SMART goals and creating systems before, and the deeper issues of mental health and economic instability are beyond the scope of this blog. We encourage you to get additional support if you need it. For the purposes of our conversation today, we will focus on the problem of relying on motivation.
Motivation is inherently flaky and inconsistent. It comes and goes. It is not a reliable foundation for reaching any kind of goal, and if you rely on it you are bound to fail. To be completely transparent, we are not motivated most of the time. We don't always jump out of bed with energy and excitement, ready to get in our morning workout. Most professional athletes, competitors, and otherwise consistent and productive people are not motivated all the time, either. They have simply found other things to rely on to keep them going.
What To Do
There is no easy answer or simple solution. Staying on track when you aren't motivated requires work, and you won't always love it. But will it be worth it? Absolutely. If you want to be proactive, here's what you can do:
1. Focus on discipline.
Discipline is the thing that pulls you out of bed when you have no desire to get up, makes you put on your workout gear, and gets you moving. It's the thing that keeps you committed. It is self-control. There's no way around this part, and there's no sexy secret. At the end of the day, you have to decide to do the thing. Then you have to do it.
2. Embrace the suck.
Guess what? You aren't going to love every workout you do! While we encourage people to find ways of moving they love-- or at least in ways they hate the least-- you still won't love every workout. You will have good days and bad days. Some people just hate working out, no matter what. So, you need to embrace the suck. That's a phrase that started in the military that emphasizes the reality that, yes, this does sometimes suck! There's not always a mind game you can play to trick yourself into believing otherwise. So embrace it; lean into it. Bring a Buddhist mindset to those hard days, where you observe the suckiness and say, "okay!" Embrace the suffering of a workout now so that you don't have to suffer more later. Choose your suffering.
3. Remember your “why.“
The most important part of goal-setting is knowing your "why." Your "why" is your true motivation, beyond the superficial, surface-level goals. When we lose track of our "why," we fall off track. Remind yourself daily of why you are staying disciplined and embracing the suck. It's easier to stay on track when you know the deeper reason for those early morning workouts.
4. Re-evaluate your goals.
At the same time, maybe a goal you set no longer connects to your why. That's ok! It's important to re-evaluate our goals from time to time to make sure that we actually still care about them. If a goal is no longer important to you or relevant to your life, then drop it. There's no reason to hold onto it, just to make a point. Get in the habit of re-evaluating your goals on a monthly basis to check in with yourself and adjust as needed. You'll be more likely to stick to a goal and stay on track if you actually care about it.
5. Reward yourself.
You got up early and went for your morning run? Watch your favorite movie that night. You crushed all of your workouts that week? Take yourself out to a delicious dinner, and don't count the calories. You've consistently hit your calorie goals? Give yourself a self-care day. Life is meant to be enjoyed, and it's easier to convince yourself to do the things that suck when you know you can still enjoy the things you love.
Conclusion
Relying on motivation is setting yourself up for failure. Once you've set SMART goals and created systems to support them in your daily life, start to wean yourself off of motivation. It's necessary to create and sustain healthy habits, whether you love it in the moment or not. Focusing on discipline, embracing the suck, remembering your "why," re-evaluating your goals, and rewarding yourself can keep you on track when motivation fails and in times of uncertainty.
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Fire + Voice helps people overcome fitness fads and restrictions in order to move well, feel good, and create a sustainable movement routine for life. Through personal training, yoga, and global retreats, you can live fit AND free.