You have done it…what now?
Why do you do what you do?
There are two different scenarios for loss of motivation:
You have worked so hard for it. For months if not years you have worked on accomplishing your goal. You have got the job, you accomplished your weight loss, you did your race,… you name it. Now you feel sort of let down afterwards. For some reason you feel you should be elated but instead you have the “Blues” and the nagging question starts to rise up in your mind: What now? What keeps me motivated?
The second scenario is different: You have been trying so hard over and over and you have failed again and again. You are tired. You feel beat. You don’t really know why you are still doing this.
Both cases are similar and very different at the same time. The motivation is kind of gone. In the first case we might just go through the motions while in the second case the chance of quitting is higher.
Know your why?
This may sound cheesy but you need to know why you wanted to accomplish it to begin with. Remember why you are doing what you are doing. In order to maintain your motivation you need to know why you wanted to reach your goal to begin with.
Let’s stick with fitness. You wanted to run a marathon because you wanted to see if you could do it. Why did you choose running though? Do you like it? How does it make you feel when you tear down those miles like it is nothing.
Another goal could be weight loss. One day you decided you wanted to lose weight. Why? Did your doc tell you that you will die in a year or two if you don’t change something? For most people that is not enough motivation. If it was we would not have so many overweight people struggling with accomplishing their goals because they would be driven to live. Most likely you started for another reason. You hated how everything hurt when you got up. Everything was difficult, even getting up out of a chair. You would look into a mirror and see…well not you, at least not the way you perceive yourself. You are doing this this to feel a certain way, to be a certain way.
No matter what your fitness goals are remember why you started and what the alternative would be if you quit. Play it out in your head.
Remembering why you did something to start with can be really helpful to get back on track.
The process
We are often so focused on getting somewhere that we forget to see the journey. I know this sounds like a cliche, well, maybe there is something to it. Go back and enjoy it. Enjoy the comradery, the process of getting stronger, fitter, faster, the atmosphere, the sweat the fatigue and the success. Experience your body how it adapts.
Is there something wrong with new goals?
Absolutely nothing. I am a highly driven person and I always look for new goals to accomplish. I think setting goals is one of the reasons humans have thrived overall. Our goals go beyond mere survival.
If you are struggling with making your goals then it might be worth looking at goals that have your goals as a side benefit and give you something else to work towards. Maybe you want to run a 5k but you can barely jog 100 yards without being in pain or exhausted. Your former weight loss goal can be accomplished by you trying to optimize for your performance, trying to be healthier to do better at something instead of losing something (weight/fat). The same goes for other sports, like lifting, tennis, basketball, golf. Focus on improving your performance & nutrition for those specific goals because you like to do these activities.
If you have accomplished your goals including, weight loss, races etc, y
ou can do longer and longer races, which in the end might get you hurt. Or, you can focus on getting faster, stronger, doing odd races like event races (zombie, obstacle races, etc.)
If you are the kind who likes to “pick things up and put things down”, you can set yourself challenges, participate in strength competitions, sign up for a physique competitions, etc.
The goals you can set yourself are only limited by your willingness to explore and work for it.
Conclusion
Motivation is not always easy to come by. It sure is not easy to keep at times. Just because I am a personal trainer does not mean I have not had my own struggles. Over the years I have developed goals that are mixed between enjoying the moment and having outcome based goals. It works best for me if I have a mixture of both. It serves my personality. Find what works for you.
Have an awesome day,
Michael
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