You probably heard Jim Ryun’s quote “Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going”. I know it sounds as a cliché but I found it to be 100% true in my case.
My motivation to exercise sums up as: “I want to look good for me and my husband. And be healthy to live a long and happy life with my children and their children”. Simple, isn’t it?
But when the baby didn’t let me get enough sleep. Or I have a pressing deadline at work, these big, inspirational reasons are not always enough to stop me from deprioritizing exercise in order to keep my head above water. This is where reliable habits and tricking myself into consistency come into play.
Do you need to find your big “why” to start exercising? Yes! Once you find it, would it forever guide you as a shining star until the rest of eternity? Unlikely.
This is why to offer the most value, I split this article into 2 sections:
Part 1: How to find motivation to exercise
Part 2: How to keep up your motivation
Let’s begin.
Part 1: How to find motivation to exercise
1.Find your own reasons why you want to exercise
If you want to find lasting motivation, it has to be for your own reasons.
If your mother-in-law drops a mean comment about your weight after having kids. Or your friend got into a gym obsession and is constantly nagging you to join her, these are not your reasons. These are other people projecting their insecurities on you.
It doesn’t mean that your reasons cannot be about other people. As I mentioned, my motivation to exercise comes from my desire to be a healthy mum. But it should not be because of other people. And especially because of their negative comments. Which brings me to the next tip:
2.Find positive motivation
I found this one to be particularly challenging for me in the past. The reality is that a lot of people turn to exercise when they want to lose weight. And this on its own is a negative reason because we don’t like something in our bodies and want to change it.
What helped me was flipping the script in my head after my second pregnancy. I did not focus on my loose belly or my cellulite. I kept thinking about the lean and defined muscles I will have a year down the road. This helped me honor and love my body for its magical powers of growing and birthing children. But it also gave me positive motivation to exercise.
3.Find a role model
If you had the chance to read my story, you might remember a turning point was meeting two new friends. What was special about them was that they had movement as part of their daily routine. While having regular jobs and families to keep them busy.
For almost 19 years, everyone I knew was just like me – struggling with diets, going on and off exercising. There was something life-changing in observing 2 live examples of the precise correlation between exercising and the way someone can look.
But maybe you are an exercise pioneer in your family and circle of friends. And there is no-one to look up to. I trust this is one of the great benefits of social media today. Find virtual friends that can relate to your situation.
If you decide to follow an influencer, choose someone who is really honest. Don’t fall for flawless, photoshopped images. Even the fittest people are not completely perfect in real life. You can check out kimfrench87 for someone who is really candid and open.
4.Talk to others about your struggles
Once I started sharing my fitness journey on social media, it turned out so many of my friends were in the same situation as me.
If you are not comfortable posting online, that’s ok. Next time someone at work or at the playground/school drop off asks you how you are doing say: “I am good. I am really trying to start a consistent exercise routine”.
Worst case? They will reply: “Good for you” and move on. But you will be amazed and how many of them will open up for their own struggles or offer you useful advice.
Part 2: How to keep up your motivation
5.Set up your environment
So here is the truth: I don’t always have motivation. I just trick myself into exercising regularly. I set up small hooks throughout my days that naturally lead me to exercising.
A. I set up my exercise clothes from the previous evening.
B. I put on my exercise clothes as soon as I wake up. I know this might sound silly but it has been groundbreaking for me.
C. I plan exactly what I will have for breakfast and I keep it handy all in one corner of the fridge/ pantry.
6.Wake up early
It took me few weeks to get into the discipline of going to bed on time so I can wake up early. But once I did, getting exercise over with in the morning decreased significantly the number of missed workouts because something else came up.
7.Plan exercise in your calendar
If you maintain a calendar for your work meetings and/or family engagements, add your workouts to it.
I even colour code them differently depending on whether it is a gym or home workout.
8.Get motivated by your own results
This one was huge for me. For many years I was not doing the right thing. I was doing too much cardio or eating too little.
And despite all the efforts, I was not seeing results. It was so demotivating.
Don’t fall for 6 week abs challenges and juice detoxes. They will leave you disappointed and swearing off exercise in no time.
Find reliable sources of fitness and nutritional information. Once you start seeing the results of your efforts it will be amazing and you will keep coming back for more.
9.Make time for exercise in your life. And really believe that you deserve it
I find this tip very applicable to mums of small kids.
If you somehow do find the time to exercise, you are bothered by mom guilt. I understand. I have been there. Wait, I am still there every single day.
My advice:
A. Stop thinking you are depriving your kids somehow by dedicating one hour to yourself few days a week. Every child can benefit from a mom who is healthy, energetic and confident.
B. Insist on getting help from others. It can be your partner, parents or even a part time nanny depending on your location and circumstances.
For more tips on how to get extra time in your days, you can check: Time saving tips for moms – how to gain up to 12 extra hours per week.
Best of luck and let’s keep in touch
I feel so passionate about this topic as I know how much I struggled with it in the past. I hope you will find at least a couple of tips in this list that will help you find motivation to exercise and more importantly – keep it up.
If you still find it difficult to show up for yourself regularly, why don’t you drop me a DM on Instagram? I would be happy to chat and together we might find a solution that will work for you.
