Identifying and cultivating your motivation towards fitness
Commitment is the bridge that links ideas and action, helping you cross the divide between dreaming about something and achieving it. This is why the first part of your fitness formula is mastering your mind.
“Create a vision of who you want to be, then live into that picture as if it were already true.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
It’s often said that to move toward a better version of yourself, you need to be powered by the charge of a big, important why. You need to be clear on your work’s value and feel excited about the goal you’re working toward — especially when you’re starting a process that will be tough at times and that will test your edges. You have to ask yourself, “what do I get out of this?” “What will it mean in the long run?” That’s where identifying and cultivating your drive comes in. Drive is the force of all your “whys” put together. If you can tap into your drive before taking action, your efforts will be more focused and stronger and more likely to reach their target. There are two components to drive:
- Reason
- Passion
Consider your reason and activate your passion to successfully stay motivated.
Reason is the good-sense side of motivation; the logic for working out and dialing up your health habits. Your reasons are the things you would say out loud and not feel shy about. Logical reasons are different from person to person; they are extrinsically motivated, which means that external voices and rewards shape them. Passion, on the other hand, is the sense of purpose that stirs you up inside. The technical term for passion is intrinsic motivation, which is the desire to take action that is entirely your own because it scratches an itch only you know.
You find your drive by writing down three reasonable “whys” for establishing a regular fitness practice and keeping it up.
Then, locate a passion for the practice. Afterward, start by asking when you felt most strong, fit, confident, encouraged, and proud of your body? What do you remember about how that felt and what it looked like? Jot the answers down. Some tricks to keeping your drive are, making motivational mantras, listening to music, and asking yourself some questions to notice the positive outcomes of your efforts.