Mom of 2 small boys here, sorry for the Nemo reference lol! Can you believe we are well into February. I honestly can't. These last few months have been really flying by. So more than likely you committed to some kind of change when the ball dropped and January 1st arrived. It may have even been a tiny change. I am writing to you today to make you remember what you set out to do. Most likely by now the hype of this vision has faded and right now is where the real work begins. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, I understand that changes you made may have taken "real work" but in reality your motivation was at an all time high, just as it is for everyone when they start out on a new journey. I want you to look back on the last month and think about how it's been going. Are you still working towards it?
Once the motivation of a new journey fades you are left at a crossroads. You can continue down a hard path or you can revert back to your old habits. Which did you decide? I'm here to relight that motivation. I want you to find it again and learn how to dig deep to keep that spark lit throughout the year. So how do you do it? Here are things I use to help me stay motivated and on the right track!
Build Habits
My best piece of advice is to start small. Whether its drinking half your bodyweight in ounces of water or exercising it doesn't matter. Decide on a small change and do it. Too many changes at once are overwhelming and hard to maintain. It can also be discouraging. So choose the one thing and do it for a month. Do it until it becomes so easy you don't even have to think about it anymore. Once that happens make another change. Small changes are more manageable and maintainable and feeling successful will help you stay motivated to continue!
Associations
This is a tough one. You want to associate with people who think like you do. If you decided that you want to eat healthy and now everyday you bring a salad for lunch and you eat lunch with a bunch of people who constantly eat pizza and make jokes at your salad do you think this would hurt your motivation? Of course it would! Think about it, you are already struggling to make this change and to have someone constantly talk you down isn't going to help. Now I am by no means telling you to ditch all your friends and look for new ones but maybe a conversation with your friends would help. "Hey guys I really want to start eating healthy and would love your support!" Be honest about what you want. You need to set yourself up for success. This also goes for your family. You need to be honest with them about your goals. When I first started out on my journey I used to explain to my husband all the places we could go to eat where I could make better choices. This helped because I knew wherever we went I would be able to make a good decision.
Daily Positivity
I look for daily motivation in the form of progress I've made, through books I read, or quotes I find. I happen to post motivational quotes often on Facebook and Instagram. I post them for myself and to help motivate others. The thing with quotes is they only work if you do, which is why I didn't put this on the top of my list. I find that once I have momentum going books and quotes help keep me going. I don't necessarily rely on them to start my journey though. That is something only I can do. But since we are talking about "keeping swimming" I want to talk about it. Find books that empower you and look for quotes to represent your feelings that day. This is something I do every morning. I think about my feelings and search for a quote to reflect that. It tends to empower me to get over a hurdle or continue my day strong. Positivity at night is also something I've grown to love. After reading Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis I have started the habit of writing down 5 things everyday that I'm grateful for. Those 5 items have to be from that specific day so big generalizations like I am grateful for my family are out. I try and be as specific as possible. Doing this allows me to think about positive things I'm grateful for throughout my day and keeps my positivity up. So huge thank you to Rachel Hollis for that big addition in my life!
Schedules
I sit down every Sunday and look at the week ahead. I then talk to my husband about his schedule so I can see where we will all be. After that discussion I schedule my workouts in my days. They are in my planner just like a doctor appointment would be. There are times things come up and plans have to be altered but I know what days I'm working out this week and what days are my rest days. I also know what my workouts will be and if I am adding in any accessory work. For me my schedule is made for a reason, to keep me consistent. I use an app Cozi and every morning I wake up to an email with my days schedule. I know exactly what needs to get done and my workout is not negotiable.
Guys at the end of the day life happens. Some days will be easy while others you just don't understand how you make it through. EVERYONE has those days, yes even the perfect fit people you see on Instagram! Consistency is what is going to make you succeed. Keep showing up for yourself and giving yourself every opportunity to be successful!
Be Strong!
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