What To Do When Motivation Is Low
If you’ve regularly exercised for any reasonable amount of time, then you know that there are definite times of high motivation, moderate motivation, and low motivation. Even times where there is just no motivation whatsoever. Motivation levels are different from person to person, and can fluctuate from day to day, week to week, or month to month, but one thing is certain, and that is we all have periods of absolute low motivation. The million dollar question is then, what do those people that keep up with their training, nutrition, and other lifestyle factors that keep them fit, healthy & strong do to keep going?
Most people like the short route, which skips the foundation principles. Not these people, they make sure all ground is covered, so when motivation is low, they have a fail safe that keeps them going. The 8 foundation principles these people have are;
1. A clear goal. They know exactly what direction their heading in.
2. They have a deep reason behind achieving their goal and therefore find purpose going to the gym to get their training done and continuing to eat healthy, regardless of low motivation. They know they’re one step closer to reaching their goal each time they keep it up.
3. They have broken their goal right down and pieced it into a hierarchy of small achievable steps, which makes the goal much less daunting and much more achievable.
4. They keep up a healthy internal monologue, because when motivation get’s low, they know that’s when doubtful thoughts come in and can really throw you off track if you indulge in them.
5. They prioritise recovery, through proper nutrition, adequate sleep, rest days and stress & self management strategies.
6. They prioritise systems over will-power. Systems help us prioritise what to do and when to do it. These are things such as doing your food shopping after you’ve eaten, and even potentially ordering online to reduce the chance of buying processed foods and snacks. It could also be something like putting your alarm clock out of your room so you have to get out of bed without snoozing, or committing to a friend or Personal Trainer to help keep you on track.
7. They feel the down regulation of motivation, but it doesn’t dictate their actions as they expect motivation to be low at times. They know that low motivation is simply a part of the journey, and they just have to ride the wave until it comes back.
8. They are committed to their goal, but know flexibility is a key component for long term sustainability, and during times of low motivation, changing up the training or nutrition protocols can be appropriate to stay on track.
These foundational principles take time to build upon, but with them, when motivation does dwindle, which you’re guaranteed it will eventually, you will have a very strong fail safe to help you keep going, therefore it’s essential to have them in place. If you have any questions or would like some resources to help you with some of these foundation areas, please send me a message, I’ll be happy to shoot you through some exercise you can do to get the ball rolling. Ciao.
