motivation tips to achieve any goal!

​Hellooooo! HAPPY Thursday!! How's your week going? Are you loading up on those Burpees?! I challenge you to at least give them a try! You may be surprised and actually like doing this love to hate exercise!! Bring it on :D

​Do you find yourself low on motivation to lace up your workout shoes? Do you find yourself regularly skipping or slacking off on your workouts? It can happen at some point and sometimes there's something deeper going on then just a lack of energy. When you recognize the issues that are stopping you, you'll be in the drivers seat and able to overcome them. No more letting those mental roadblocks hold you back! The following are ways to think yourself FIT to achieve any goal!!

​- Beware of viewing health and fitness as something with an end date. For example: losing 15 pounds or competing in a race. Instead...think of it as a lifestyle. It REALLY is a lifestyle :) Otherwise, once you reach your goal, you'll be more likely to slip back into old habits. Begin with easily achievable goals to keep your momentum going. Make sure they're short term goals. For example: lifting weights twice a week, taking yoga, or learning a new activity like rock climbing. These goals will keep you driven after you've reached your long term goal. Be in the habit of raising the bar and you'll not only build confidence, but also rediscover your love (yes, I said love...lol) of exercise :D

​- For a long time, I would treat myself after a goal was achieved. But I found this to be a distraction! Why?! Keep reading ;) Rewarding myself for healthy behavior (like buying myself a new pair of shoes when I went to the gym 3-5 times a week every month) ended up gradually weakening my pace :D The gift became a distraction. If you focus on achieving a prize, you think less about the payoffs of working out and you might lose interest in the goal. Focus on the benefits that naturally come from your routine. Such as having more energy and being healthier. Don't get me wrong, it was nice buying a new pair of shoes every month, but it became a distraction and a disadvantage for my closet...lol!

​- Lets face it, not all your friends and family may be as fitness minded as you :D No worries! Find someone who is!! Even if it means becoming workout buddies with other regulars at a gym. Or possibly jump onto group rides or runs at your local bike shop or running store. I still keep in touch with all the wonderful people that I got to know when we lived in Pismo Beach. I literally could walk on the beach alone, but would find myself walking with someone at the end. Some of those people ended up being my clients...lol! My point is, the pull of fun company can keep you motivated, even if they're not your inner circle ;)

- We're all busy! All of us!! Life is busy...lol!!! When you commit to doing too much in a day, it also means less time for working out. When this happens, you're more likely to skip workouts. You need to make time for yourself. So instead of feeling guilty about going to the gym or getting your workout in, take pride in telling people that your workout is going to happen. Think about the many roles that you have...wife, husband, mother, father, daughter, son, friend, employee, and the list goes on. You'll be better able to do them all if you're physically healthy and mentally clear. Make your workout an appointment in your day! Even if it means waking up before the sun :D

​- Think of your brain as a Personal Trainer in your head! Your brain is powerful!! You rely on that voice to have a YOU GOT THIS attitude when your workouts gets tough or when you plateau on the way to accomplishing a goal. However, if you're having a bad day or stress has filled your head with negative thoughts and make you want to quit...you can change your mindset. STOP. Think about how you can reframe the thought, so that "I can't do this exercise" suddenly becomes "this exercise is hard, but doing it, will make me stronger, healthier, and soon it'll be easy or easier" ;)

​- Having a Plan B can set you up for failure. Are you thinking...what? :D I know, right?! But it can prevent you from fully committing to your goal. For example: you really want to attend your gym's boxing class 3 days a week. But you tell yourself that if you can't make a class, you'll do swimming on the weekend instead. Plan B becomes a too convenient excuse to cut class. The minute something comes up, you feel tired that day. So, you default to swimming. Don't get me wrong, swimming isn't a bad thing, but forget the safety net and you'll try a lot harder to reach your original goal! Don't settle for Plan B!!

​- We've all heard that posting on social media or filling your friends in on your goals helps boost your motivation by making you feel accountable. Turns out, that's not true :o Researchers at New York University revealed that telling others about your intention to exercise for 30 minutes every day gives you a sense of accomplishment that's similar to actually doing it, which can kill your follow-through. Either keep your goals to yourself or commit to posting a daily exercise photo on Instagram or Facebook in order to keep yourself truly accountable ;)

If you see yourself as an achiever, that's who you'll become! You'll choose actions that support that, such as sticking to the boxing class 3 days a week instead of swimming on the weekend...lol :D 
You'll be amazed at what motivation can do for your attitude toward exercise!!
​Do you have any motivation tips that you would like to share in the comments section? Or is there a tip in this post that worked or didn't work for you?! Don't be shy...bring it on!!!
​I hope the rest of your week is productive! I'll be posting again on Monday!!
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