How to become motivated to exercise?

Although this is one of my most important topics, it’s not easy to write about motivation. It’s like a thing which everyone needs but at the same time it’s very mysterious and temporary. From ancient times people have tried to increase motivation in different ways. I also wanted to find out how this motivation state helps us to achieve results or vice versa to stave us off from the goals. I wonder if it would be easier to accomplish our ideas if we solved the mystery?

It is said that motivation is the power that promotes the action of the body. So when you feel motivated you can overturn the mountains. It‘s nice to feel motivated, then everything seems much easier and simpler. But what happens when motivation suddenly disappears? We stop moving forward and forget about our plans and we no longer understand why we wanted it in the first place. I’ve felt it often. When I was motivated, I could do a great job, for example to follow a sports plan. Later when I lost my motivation, I forgot my plan, felt an inner emptiness and was angry with myself because I was not able to continue what I started. I noticed that this often happens to other people as well: the decisions that are made change the very next day. Inconsistency does not really help to improve. It is always interesting to find out: who inspires us so much and then throws us out of a soft cloud on the hard ground.

What makes us feel motivated?

Every human is individual. Unfortunately, there is no single common inspirational things list because what inspires one person, may not even interest the other. It is important to find out our inner motives and factors that lead us forward. It is said that a person remains motivated until they satisfy their needs. The question arises: if we stop before reaching the goal, maybe that’s because we have already satisfied some kind of need? For example, when we start doing exercises with a goal to have a beautiful body, but in the middle of our plan or even before it we lower our hands. Why? Perhaps we fulfilled the need to move or the need for admiration (we showed others that we can exercise and we were evaluated), so there is no longer any need to continue.

What is the difference between the need and the goal?

Usually, the need is more important than the goal. The goal is often distant and illusory. It is difficult to keep attention for a long time because it’s just intangible, somewhere deep in the back of the head. It is completely different when it comes to the needs, we feel the lack of them or overall dissatisfaction right away. Some needs are even vital, such as breathing and eating. They are perceptible and must be fulfilled so the power of our actions often leads to the satisfaction of the various needs. If satisfaction of needs encourages us to remain motivated then what needs do we want to fulfill in order to achieve our goals?

Satisfaction of needs

The Maslow hierarchy of needs starts from the physiological demands and ends with the need for self-expression. So we can consider fulfilling of which need makes us more motivated in a particular section of life or engaging in new activities. The range of needs in various countries and between people is different. If we realize our real needs we can stay motivated for longer. For example, if my need and value are to feel good and healthy and I know that exercises will give me this feeling, I will probably want to do it often. Meanwhile, the goal of having a beautiful body also motivates me, but when I face the first difficulty and not see the final result motivation is quick to go. It is not enough to set a goal and follow it because if it is going hard, the motivation will disappear very quickly. I think the goal is important, but it is even more important to understand the true motive of our actions.

Setting endpoint

The idea of endpoint is very interesting to me. When I need to finish work on a certain date, I am greatly motivated to do it, especially when there is little time left. If there were no time frames, perhaps I would not have done it. Maybe you know this feeling too? When we study at school or university, we also have the endpoint when we have to complete it. Although there are various moments when we do not want to continue, but knowing exactly how much is left, makes it always easier to get it done. In many cases, motivation disappears when you do not see the endpoint. It means that starting a sport and having no definitive deadline is likely to result in less motivation. Imagine two situations. At first situation, you started doing a sports program, which lasts three months. In a second situation, you just started doing sports without any time frames. In the first case, when you face difficulties, you will always know how much is left until the end. While in the second case, it will look like this difficulty will last forever, for life. In the first one, it will certainly be easier to maintain motivation than in the second one. Therefore, time frames help us to commit to our goal.

What to do when there is no motivation?

There are days when there is no motivation because motivation comes and goes. This is a completely normal thing which occurs to all people. On these days, you just have to continue working without motivation. Just do a workout without thinking about it. This is very similar to teeth cleaning, for this process there is no need for motivation, we just do it for ourselves and that‘s it. Even without motivation after the workout, you would really feel better. One simple thing:

Make Exercise a Daily/Weekly Habit

Eventually, if you miss a workout, the end of the world will not happen. Sometimes it is good to allow ourselves not to follow any rules and just relax, this is also part of the process.

My main conclusion would be that, once the long-term goal has been set, it would be necessary to find an everyday motive for exercise. Ask oneself: why would I want to do this workout today, what does it give me, what needs do I satisfy? In other words, we move from reaching the result to the enjoyment process. Such a change would bring happiness and pleasure. Here is an example of my workout routine: I set the goal of having a beautiful and healthy body and every day doing exercises I satisfy the need of feeling good. I really want to have a good mood and feel well, so it helps me stay motivated and keep my workout plan.

The purpose of this article is to encourage you to enjoy the actual trip rather than end station. I shared my experiences and thoughts, which help me to stay motivated and go further. It would be interesting to hear your opinion, who motivates you the most and encourages you to move forward, share your comments.