Habit and Routine vs. Motivation

Most people have a difficult time understanding fitness lovers' passion for the game. Undoubtedly, from personal experience, I can tell you that we rely more on habit and routine vs motivation. Why? Well, let's use this as an example, do you have the motivation to go to work every day for a job you don't love? The majority of people will answer, "No, I don't have the motivation to go to my job every day but I have to." Well, the same can be said when you have self-discipline to reach your goals. What does that mean exactly? Simply put, self-discipline is when a person develops a skill of doing what they don't feel motivated to do. 

There have been countless moments where I have looked in the mirror and had to talk myself into doing my workout. "Come on, you can do it. It's only 45 minutes, just get in there and start." However, excuses tend to flow over my positive thoughts. "Look at these dishes. I still have so much to do today and feel crunched for time. Is it really that important to do this today?" Even professionals have dealt with a lack of motivation. If I relied solely on motivation, I wouldn't be where I am today. 

Thus, my best advice for achieving your goals is to forget about motivation and develop a routine that works for your schedule. Start with small changes in your routine to work towards your goal instead of flipping your routine upside down. You can envision the person you want to be, think about what changes you need to make to become that version of yourself, and put the putsch in motion. Starting small may look like drinking half your body weight in ounces of water daily, eating out only once a week instead of three times a week, or making it a point to move your body for at least 20 minutes a day. 

Eventually, you may have a bad day and want to eat all the sweets and just lay on the couch and binge-watch your favorite show, which isn't a bad thing because rest is important; however, if you want to develop new habits and change your lifestyle, sometimes you just have to push through even if you don't want to. This is where self-discipline kicks in! 

Remember, not every day will be a perfect day, but you can decide how you let it affect your habits and routine. Motivation can give you a great drive to smash your goals, but it won't be like that every day. Therefore, continue to remind yourself that you are the best project you will ever work on, so keep going!