Mysterious motivation, here it is!

The big decision is made: now I’m going to exercise, eat healthily and sleep well! The start goes well, and everything is done to the letter, following the precise instructions found online. Portions are weighed, every rep is counted and the run happens whatever the weather. And then what, when the first excitement is over? Bit by bit you drift off the new path, the results don’t match your goals and everything feels too hard. Motivation has vanished, and the dream beach body doesn’t seem to be anywhere near. Sound familiar? Below are tips for keeping your motivation going!

Don’t demand too much of yourself!

It is almost impossible to change everything at once. Changes that are too big simply don’t work. Enthusiasm is a good start. First choose one thing to work on. Keep reminding yourself that you are not going all in yet and that you have room to tighten up later. Motivation is a skill you can practise. Challenge it every day, but not too much.

Take responsibility

The unfortunate truth is that you can’t keep up your motivation just by following instructions. You get off to a good start in a project by asking for advice and help. Gathering knowledge is an important part of a project, and it makes taking responsibility possible. You have to take responsibility for what you do, and be proud of it. A sense that you are in charge of your own actions (an internal locus of control, as psychologists call it) is crucial for keeping motivation up. Hurry, tiredness and family life affect what you have time for. Choose one small change that fits your life as it is right now.

Sensible goals

In everything you do, it is really important to have sensible goals. It is a good idea to divide your goals into smart goals and challenging goals. The challenging goal may well be the picture of yourself in peak shape, but it must not be your only goal. (Even here, keep in mind what is really possible and what comes from photo editing and tricks that put your health at risk.) It is worth splitting the challenging goal into sensible goals and moving towards them one at a time.

The goal could be, for example, to lose 20 kg. It is worth breaking this down into smart goals, for example 0.5 kg a week. Aiming at this smart goal, you can then tighten up what you do so that this clear, measurable, smart goal is met. At first, exercise may be enough, then you tidy up your diet, and if needed you fine-tune things further.

Setting smart goals can be challenging if you don’t know the field well. Here too our personal trainers are happy to help. Send us a message, and we will think together about how to set smart goals and how to reach them.

Ask why?

Everyone reaches the moment when their motivation needs a boost. You should go for a run, but it is a bit cold out and your favourite soap opera starts in half an hour. Ask yourself why. Once you have built yourself a clear vision of a healthy, sporty you, it is easy to link individual tasks to it and grow your motivation.

Encourage a friend

Never underestimate the support of a community. Encouraging friends are great at pushing your motivation along! Remember, though, that when you encourage people, you shouldn’t praise natural qualities but effort and hard work. “You’ve done really well to keep coming to the gym. It’s great that you have arranged your schedule so that you have time to exercise.” Maybe the next exercise of the month should be praising a friend at the gym?

Be gentle with yourself too. It is normal that on some days the project doesn’t move forward as you would like. You just have to recognise when there is a good reason for a break and when you can make the change smaller.

Wishing everyone a really motivated training season! It is great that you kept reading to the end.

Joonas Korpela