Recently, a lot of people have come to me as they’re really struggling to stay positive & motivated to keep up their healthy habits and fitness aspirations. I get it. It’s been almost a year since the world went a bit cray cray and it’s human nature to feel negative and unmotivated the way things are right now. People are feeling a bit overwhelmed and pushing off all their goals until things slowly reopen. Why wait though? I honestly believe that with the right mindset approach your motivation/dedication can be switched on immediately. Maybe you just need a few tips, a bit of assistance or a someone happy to give you a kick up the backside.
Here’s 5 recommendations that personally help me. Remember to take what works and discard what doesn’t, this ain’t one size fits all thing.
GET ORGANISED
Have a plan (and follow it through). Make sure you know what you’re doing tomorrow – this helps your mind feel organised and prepared for the day ahead. A calm and clear vision is everything for me. If I’m going for a run, I’ll ensure the night before I have the right shoes out, watch is fully charged and short shorts at the ready. Waking up to the right environment gives you a better chance of being more efficient and productive. Thinking about it is just day dreaming, put things in place so you have commitment and a plan of action. Positivity, mindset and grit all work together here. If you feel more positive, your motivation sky rockets.
IS YOUR WHY BIG ENOUGH?
Understanding why you’re even bothering doing ‘this’ is so significant! Giving yourself a clear reason for why you’re doing it can provide a huge positive boost or kick up the backside when needed. Finding your why at the minute may be difficult for some and weight loss is the standard. But dig a little deeper as to why you want to shift weight? Ask yourself the hard-hitting uncomfortable questions. Is it because you get anxiety about your weight around people? Is it the undeniable health risks linked to being overweight? There’s a million different whys out there. Remind yourself why you are doing this. Remind yourself why you set that goal. Find out your WHY!
KEEP IT REAL
How can you really expect to grow and improve in a particular area/situation if you can’t be honest with yourself. Have someone your trust give it to you straight. You must trust them and be able to be honest with them when it comes to explaining your why. You don’t want someone who’s just going to make you a cuppa, give you a cuddle and tell you everything is going to be alright Darling. In my opinion, tough love is a must when you really want to keep motivation at a high, but only from someone that respects you enough to say it from a caring & loving perspective. Find yourself someone that you can be 100% transparent with and know they have your back. Depending on the goal should depend on the person you look to for support. It could be a loved one, close friend or a mentor (you wouldn’t go ask the bloke at the butchers of his opinion when buying a new car, would you). Success leaves clues.
CELEBRATE YOUR WINS
Personally, I can be extremely critical of myself. I can win a fight and 10 minutes later I’m discussing how I should have done something better. I’ve completed a marathon then later been frustrated that I didn’t do it slightly faster. This is a bad way of talking to yourself and something I’ve personally worked and massively improved on. One of the best things we can do moving forward is to celebrate our victories (small or large it doesn’t matter), it could be training sessions / cooking skills / new PB / big competition, whatever. When you’re winning in life, you should be proud of that win and cement that feeling with some form of celebration to really drive home that sense of being unstoppable (BTW I don’t mean going down the Bigg Market and getting smashed). The power of offering yourself a little reward is extremely useful when needing that extra push… just remember you’re not a doggie and don’t need a biscuit after every little run. One thing I can say with 100% certainty; we win in public and lose in private, but it is the losses that have all the lessons you need.
SPREAD THE POSITIVITY
Talk & be involved with positive people - share and tag motivational bits you see online. If it makes you smile or gives you that chicken skin, it’s safe to say others will love it too. Given the connected world we live in, a great way to feel positive and motivated is to look for someone that inspires you on social media and give them a follow/friend request. It doesn’t always have to be someone famous, I’ve got loads of people that inspire me on my social media that are just normal folk but who live with purpose, passion and are happy to share their journey. Whilst we’re talking spreading positivity, we’ll quickly touch on negativity. Let’s be straight, no one (maybe your mam?) actually cares about what you’re complaining about and people have their own problems (obviously I’m talking about the day-to-day complainers here). It’s kinda simple, champions train – losers complain! You really do attract the energy you give off; positivity is contagious and the best gift you can give is to SMILE.
If during this latest lockdown (or throughout this past year) you’ve been struggling, I really hope some of these tips can help with your positivity & motivation towards reaching your aspirations. Why wait another 5 weeks to get the ball rolling. I believe if you’re gonna make changes then the circumstances are totally irrelevant. Now’s the time and you just need to make some shifts in your way of thinking. If you want my assistance with this, reach out. All we have is now.
Ricky Stafford,
Tempest Martial Arts