Motivation is the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way, or the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.
Everyone is motivated in different ways. For some, what motivates them may depend on the day or the situation. Personally, I’m usually intrinsically motivated. For me, this means I’m often encouraged to keep going or set higher goals because of my own success or my own desire to be my best.
Some people are extrinsically motivated. This motivation comes from an external source like money, or a reward, or recognition for your efforts.
When it comes to living a healthy life, what motivates me is the feeling I get after a good workout, or just feeling energized, rather than sluggish at the end of the day because of the food choices I made that did my body more good than harm.
Recently I started training to run a 5k. I had pretty much quit my cardio exercising all together, so I thought signing up to run a 5k might be the push I needed to start again. I started slowly, with just 1 mile, and each week I tried to add a half mile. I found that I felt more energized and motivated to accomplish other items on my “to do” list because I accomplished this small goal each week.
Making a decision to lose weight or be healthier isn’t that hard, but taking the first couple of steps towards that goal can be challenging.
I challenge you this week to find what motivates you to get over the first hump. Maybe it’s having a group of friends or family members to help keep you on track with your Action Plan or other healthy living goals. Maybe it’s a reward you will allow yourself to have at the end of the week if you achieve your goal (or a punishment if you don’t achieve your goal). Maybe you’re like me and you will be motivated to improve one small area of your life just because you know you will feel better about yourself when you accomplish it.
Continue making new Action Plans each week, find what motivates you, and while you’re at it, watch one or all of the TED talks below on motivation. I love TED talks.
I also love The Office and Michael Scott. Here are some great motivational quotes from the best boss in the world!
