Why you don't need motivation.

It is a common misconception that we need to be motivated if we are to achieve our health fitness or weight loss goals.

But as you are probably aware by now motivation is a fickle friend that can not always be relied upon when you need it.

My Glow girls will be the first to tell you lack of motivation is not an excuse that holds too much weight for me and my response is pretty much the same each time.

You don't need to be motivated to get the job done you just need to get it done!

The reality is that there will be times you are not motivated but the good news is there are other options to use as the driving force to get your butt out the door when you really don't feel like it.

Discipline

Discipline is by far a more reliable friend than motivation.

Like most skills self discipline takes time to develop but once acquired it is hard to shake, it is a much more loyal friend than motivation.

Start small and continue to build for example discipline yourself to pack your lunch box every evening for 1 month to ensure you have a healthy and nutritious lunch that will keep you on track.

One month of packing your lunch everyday will create the habit but will still require small amounts of discipline to keep it up but not nearly as much as when you first begin to establish the habit.

Structure

Structure is equally as important as discipline because without it things can easily go awry.

In the lunchbox example the structure could involve a list like the one below to get you started.

Airtight Containers small medium and large.

Cooler Bag with reusable ice packs.

Weekly Lunch Meal Plan.

Shopping for Plan baby spinach lean protein greek yoghurt.

Obviously after you have purchased your containers and cooler they can come off the list and then each week you only need to create your meal plan and then shop for it so you have everything on hand in the evenings when it is time to prepare you lunches.

If you have everything on hand it becomes EASY to throw everything together.

When things are easy THEY GET DONE.

Do the work in the beginning and the rest falls into place.

Accountability

Most women need some form of accountability to get over those hump moments when a bad decision could easily be made.

If you have to tell someone or write down that you didn't pack your lunch and instead ate rubbish for lunch it will make you think twice about not spending the 5 minutes it will take you to put your lunch together.

Goals

The more visible and compelling your goals are the more dedicated you will be to them.

Goal setting is a whole other newsletter but just know that if you can see your goals regularly and they excite you the chances of you doing what it takes are greatly increased.

So there you have it your guide to getting the job done sans motivation.

Don’t get me wrong motivation is nice it makes the job easier but it is not crucial to get the results you are after.

For the odd dose of motivation to keep things fun here is a list of things you can use to give you that extra kick.

New Workout Clothes

New Music for your ipod

Sign up for a fun run or walk a bike ride or triathlon

Read Quality Fitness Magazines for inspiration

Create a vision board I do one every single December

Do a fun workout or class for a week for something different

Train with a friend

Pull out your old favorite jeans and hang them where you can see them

Watch you tube footage of Ironman Hawaii and try not to head out the door for a run

Search google images for fit bodies or similar

While you don't need motivation a bit of fun never hurt anyone

Create discipline structure accountability and goals and have that in place knowing this will get the job done and draw on things like the list above when you feel things are starting to become a bit of a drag.