You have been training for a while, you have achieved some of the goals you had set for yourself, but today you suddenly begin to notice the effects of demotivation. You don’t even know where to start.
You look at your phone: 12 messages and 3 videos on WhatsApp. You read, visualize and respond. You go to Facebook, the same thing, and this is followed by Twitter, Instagram, email… you almost feel like opening your Google+. You turn off your cell phone, you continue wandering…
You end up giving up and going to the Elliptical. You connect your headphones and “train”. You have lost connection with your purpose, and if you continue like this, you have little left to abandon.
Does this situation sound familiar to you? I hope not. But if you think that describes your case, you will have already concluded that something is missing: the necessary motivation to train when doing sports
Nothing motivates more than remembering what you train for. I am convinced that with this article you will remember the reasons that led you to practice your favorite sport.
Now, a little Theory is always good to locate ourselves. Let’s start with the basics.
What is motivation?
According to the RAE, motivation is the “set of internal or external factors that partially determine a person’s actions.” Motivation is having reasons, that you don’t earn, to perform an action.
Now, there are many theories that try to explain what motivates us and we can mainly divide them into two currents:
Likewise, depending on where you want to focus, we obtain different types of motivation. Personally, I find the distinction between Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Motivation very clarifying. If you want to know all the types of motivation read: “Types of motivation: the 8 motivational sources”, although here you can find a very brief summary:
Extrinsic Motivation
It arises from the hope of obtaining a benefit external to that of the action itself The reasons that make the person act are unrelated to the action itself, materialized as money, promotion, commitments… Example: I joined the gym because my doctor told me that if I don’t lower my cholesterol, he will have to give me a treatment with very high medications. powerful.
Intrinsic motivation
It arises from the depths of our being and is linked to our values and life purposes It is a driver of action without the need for external incentives. Example: I exercise to feel agile and autonomous so I can play with my grandchildren.
To keep in mind what motivates us…
When we reach psychological exhaustion in which the activities and sports that we previously wanted to do, now we don’t even feel like starting… Stop!!! Become aware of what is happening and ask yourself: What has changed? Or better yet, what has changed in me, so that now I am no longer attracted to exercising?
What keeps you motivated longer?
Before asking yourself what motivates you or why you have lost motivation, perhaps you should look for the answer to any of these questions :
As you know, the benefits of exercise are multiple and among them I want to highlight, the self-esteem improvement the reduction of stress levels and the possibility of making you feel more agile and autonomous, improving your self-image and self-concept.
So if after answering the questions you have found something similar to your motivating activity, you only have to answer one more question… Practice the activity you have chosen? brings you closer to the person you want to become?
It is necessary that you invest time in becoming aware and bringing to light everything that is important to you and for which you believe it is worth striving. Now that’s a great motivator!
Feeling owners of our actions
As I mentioned before, there is nothing more motivating than stopping to think about what was the original trigger that set you going. If in addition to looking for that deep motivation you want to specify a little more and Do you dare to achieve a challenging goal for yourself? I recommend following these steps with examples from people I have worked with throughout my career:
1. Don’t look for motivation; believe it
Find a goal with which every time you remember it it makes your eyes shine Example: being able to hold my grandchildren in my arms again.
2. Know what physical and/or emotional situation I am in
Example: perform an assessment (bioimpedance) to know exactly the body’s fat-muscle proportions and thus know how much fat I want to lose.
3. Know what your strengths are
This will help you achieve your goals Example: I can only train two days but when I start something I don’t abandon it (Tenacious), I am sure that for 6 months in addition to controlling my diet (Conscious) I will train 2 hours to lose 7 kg. (Responsible).
4. Action plan
Example: put on paper a timeline that goes from today to the day you are going to achieve your goal (Lose 5kg in 2 months). Put two or three milestones along the way so that you feel that you are achieving small results (Milestone 1: Check my refrigerator-pantry. Milestone 2: Read 3 articles a month about food. Milestone 3: Lose my first Kg). Last action: divide each timeline until you can break each milestone into small steps, so small that it is easy for you to reach the next step. This is how great goals are achieved.
5. Evaluation and readjustment
Example: check how your evolution is going or ask someone you trust to help you review, without attachment, the results obtained and readjust, if necessary, your path.
Recovering the enthusiasm for training
In short, if feeling agile, autonomous, energetic, strong… makes it easier for you and brings you closer to your purpose, then don’t worry, motivation will arise. Be clear about what you want to achieve He knows exactly the way to get there. And make sure that achieving it makes you better.
I hope I have helped you and above all I hope that the next time you look at your phone during your workout it is to choose your favorite song.
