You’re someone that cares about their health.
You’re someone that cares about their fitness.
And sometimes, even though you care, you find it hard to find motivation.
Motivation is fickle and bolts at the first chance he gets.
You get busy.
You get stressed.
You feel tired.
You feel hungry.
You feel distracted.
Motivation will use ANY reason to say peace out.
We know we can bring him back with some action, after all Motivation is a good time guy, but sometimes that action taking can feel pretty hard.
What makes it easier to call on Willpower, Grit, and Determination?
What makes it easier to keep moving toward weight loss, fitness, or health and fitness goals?
Having a plan.
Setting intentions.
Knowing what you’ll do and when you’ll do it.
Not leaving your actions up to chance.
I’ll start bringing my lunch to work. I’ll start working out more.
That won’t cut it if you’re really wanting to make a change and get fit, improve your health or lose weight.
I will measure out and pack my lunch for work the next day after I put my dirty supper dishes in the sink.
I will workout at 6 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Oftentimes we feel like motivation is what we need to get started. And really what we need is clarity.
We need to get rid of any ambiguity, or any questions around what we want to be doing.
Get specific and know what you’ll do and when you’ll do it.
Now even the best laid plans can fall through. That’s life.
That’s when a proactive attitude comes into play.
Having a proactive attitude means you embrace changes, you call on your resourcefulness to plan ahead and anticipate different situations that could come up.
What plan can you make if your original plans don’t pan out.
What’s Plan B?
Be ready by creating IF… THEN… plans.
If I do end up eating fast food for lunch, then I will eat lean protein and extra veggies at supper.
If I miss my after work workout, I will get up at 6 a.m. the next day to get it in.
If I get a craving for fast food then I will pause and eat 1 serving of lean protein and 1 piece of fruit before I act on that craving.
Having a plan for when stuff doesn’t go according to plan helps you stay on track when life acts like life.
When wanting to lose weight, get fit, or improve your health, consistency is what matters and reaching those goals isn’t always easy. When you have a plan, when you know exactly what you’ll do in different situations, you’re making those situations feel a lot easier to deal with.
You can’t control everything, but you can control how you handle it, and having a plan means more often than not you’ll follow through.
Motivation is only around when it’s fun and is flaky at best. Intention plus a tiny bit of grit and willpower can usually get the job done together.
Think about your intentions and plans.
And then think about Plan B for all those times when stuff doesn’t go according to plan.