This topic could really fall under any category but for me, lately, I've been fighting this feeling in two areas: my fitness life and my business life. What do you do when you feel unmotivated? I used to only work when I felt motivated. I only wrote when I felt motivated. I only worked out when I felt motivated. This caused me to miss out on building my writing. It caused me to miss a ton of work outs. Even now, I haven't posted a blog post in a few days. I was writing daily for about a week and then just gave into my lack of motivation. For some reason, I equate lack of motivation with talent. However, when you have made something a habit, going through the process of creating, of doing the thing (whatever it is you don't feel like doing), it's almost like muscle memory. Maybe you don't feel like working out. Does that mean you're not going to do it well? Maybe. Maybe not. Ability does not always synchronize with motivation. Fighting Through Lack of Motivation Here are a few things that help me when I feel more like I'm going through the motions:
Just Show Up
Sometimes you just have to show up. Maybe your work out will suck, that's okay. (Just don't hurt yourself with bad form.) Maybe this blog post sucked. That's okay. I'm still showing up. I'm still putting in the hours to improve my skill. If you want to change, you have to do something you've never done before. If you're experiencing a plateau, maybe it's because you're not pushing through and showing up when you don't feel like it. For years, I didn't see progress because I was only showing up when I felt like it. If you want something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done. Show up. Do the work. Push through. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.
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I have always struggled with body image, contributing to a borderline eating disorder where I would starve myself for days while continuing my work outs in order to get down to my goal weight. I knew it wasn't healthy but I was so determined to shed the fat. Many people struggle with this! I had no idea that I was not the only one doing extreme fasting for days with the lie that I wasn't hungry. Weight Loss After Baby After I had my son, it got worse. Not only had I been gaining weight before I got pregnant (I call this my CPS weight because I gained 20 pounds just working there, yikes) but I quickly gained another 35 pounds. This is normal for pregnancy and I knew it but to me, the scale was almost 60 pounds more than what I was used to seeing. I became obsessed with shedding those pounds once I had Jackson. I was not kind to my mind. I constantly spoke negative words. I did way too much cardio. Social Media Influencers I don't remember when I started following these two influencers but I promise they changed my entire mindset. I felt convicted for expecting immediate results. I felt convicted for being so harsh to myself. Your body picks up on the things we are thinking. There is truly a mind-body connection. If you are not kind to yourself, your body acts in response. So, not only was I stressed at work, but I was also causing stress to my body with negative self-talk. So many influencers have the power to either make us feel worse about ourselves or completely change how we view ourselves for the better. These two influencers helped me so much and I share their page with anyone I can. Here are their Facebook pages so that you can have a chance to check them out as well:
I get nothing from sharing their pages. I just truly want you all to feel the joy of living life to its fullest the way I have lately. When I started following Ripped to Shredz, I was amazed at the amount of research he does in order to continue offering up to date information to his followers and clients. His information completely changed how I was "dieting". I calorie track in MyFitnessPal. I used to do it and obsess over getting under a certain amount of calories. Now, with my new mindset, I now track so that I can REACH my number. My mindset has completely changed. I'm no longer obsessed with starving myself but with fueling my body so that I can complete my workouts (this will be for another post because I actually LOVE my workouts now), take care of my son, and still be emotionally there for my husband. Whereas before, I was always grouchy because my body was not fueled at all. I can't even come close to the information that this team offers so I will let you follow them (they're also on Instagram) and discover their wealth of knowledge. Be Patient
Reaching your goal takes time. That is the biggest thing that I've gotten from RTSF. Before, I was expecting immediate results and sometimes I got those results but they never lasted long. RTSF explains why this is and why it's important to take your time to reach your goals while still enjoying life. My goal eventually is to stop working out 6 days a week once I get down to my goal weight. I want to be able to work out 3 days a week and only use it as a tool to maintain. Since I'm in a deficit right now, I'm working out more to create a higher deficit. Mik Zazon is just an all around positive influencer. She coaches on food freedom and encourages the importance of normal eating habits. What I love about her is that she emphasizes the importance of not obsessing over food and working out. I used to work out because I felt like I had to. Now I work out because I want to. It's important to know the difference and feel the difference. Now I don't freak out when the scale hasn't budged in a month. I know it could be a number of things, muscle gain, water retention, food in intestines, etc. My body looks and feels different so that's what I'm focusing on now while still keeping my end goal in mind. It's a lot less stressful living like this. I enjoy life more. I enjoy food now. I still enjoy my wine without the guilt. It's such a freeing feeling to live life this way. I hope it encourages you to do the same. I'll write more about my work outs in the next post. I want to dive deeper into cardio, how I was overusing it and what I'm doing now to get better results. |