This mind plays as much of a role as the body in any attempt to live a healthier lifestyle. It might even play a bigger role. If you can your mind on-side, your body will follow. Motivation isnΓÇÖt what just gets you started and keeps you going. The mind can actually make it easier to push yourself through the strain of exercise. So, how do you make sure that you never take your eyes off your goal and never start filling the cupboards up with all that junk food again?
A little help from your friends. The first step is the hardest for many people. Finding the willpower to get your gear on and get moving can be pretty daunting. If you’re having difficulty making that first step, then a companion can make all the difference. Making exercise a social experience tends to make you happier which, in turn, increase the strain that you’re willing to take. It also helps to have someone to help you stay on the straight and narrow, helping you with your diet and pushing you to meet them up for exercise when you might otherwise think twice about it. Of course, you can help them with their diet and help them stick to their goals as well.
Something to look forward to. Those goals are an important way to keep yourself motivated as well. It’s true that some people only look at exercise and diet as a way to meet short-term goals without considering the permanent changes they can make to their lifestyle. To that end, you have to keep your eyes on the long-term as well. However, short-term goals can help you push yourself further to reach them quicker. For instance, you can give yourself the common goal of wanting to get beach ready and this super informative 21 Day Fix review can show how effectively and quickly you can reach that goal. Then once you have it, you have to think about what your next goal is. Always keep moving the goalposts until you no longer need a goal to stick to a lifestyle.
Step-by-step. When you’re done reaching the short-term goal, how do you think about the long-term? You have to stop measuring only what you accomplish and start measuring what you do, as well. Take note of how many reps of a certain exercise do. Take note of how fast you run a certain distance or how long you go without flagging. Take note of what you can lift. Continuously push yourself to surpass your old records and start looking at new ways to diversify how you work out as well. Continue to set realistic goals that scale as you get closer to them. Make the adjustments little at a time so you can reasonably expect to stick to them.
Switch it up. Diversifying how you work out isn’t just a good way to see different results and give yourself a whole-body workout rather than focusing on just one aspect of it. It also gives you the opportunity to discover the kind of workout that you actually enjoy for what it is. It’s true that, as you go on, you start to enjoy exercise more and more and the pain becomes much less of a concern (even though it’s always present). However, if you can find the sport or activity you genuinely enjoy, such as swimming, cycling, team sports, tennis and so on, you will find it much easier to reach that point.
Feel the reward. Not giving yourself a proper sense of reward is an easy way to grow disenfranchised with your attempts to change your lifestyle. There are a lot of rewards you can make like buying yourself a gym membership or a massage to help you continue to improve your body. But a better look at your progress can be a lot more rewarding than anything else. Besides recording your records and seeing how you break them over time, you should think about taking progress photos for yourself. As your body changes little by little, it can be difficult to recognize the difference. Progress photos let you set up a timeline that makes that difference a lot clearer. You’ll feel better about yourself redouble your resolve in the process.
You have to believe in yourself, believe in your goals, and make sure that you can and will achieve them. With the right motivation, itΓÇÖs a lot easier to get the workout you need and stick to it.