If you aren’t already somebody who is fitness-oriented and enjoys exercise or physical activity, then it can be rather difficult to become that type of person. Changing your mindset isn’t easy though, and so, we are here to teach you a couple of tips on how to hop onto the fitness bandwagon and help you stay motivated to stick to your exercise and reach your goals:
Shift Your Mindset
The first thing you have to do if you want to change your way of thinking when it comes to exercise and fitness is to cut out the excuses. You will find that anybody who is out of shape will almost always have excuses ready at hand as to why they cannot be more active or reach their fitness goals — do not be that person! Excuses will only hinder you from moving forward. No matter how busy, tired, upset, or sick you are, make sure you do something to bring you closer to your goals. Stay motivated by making the conscious choice not to be demotivated in the first place.
Focus On The Positive
Find inspiration in everything around you. Look at your older relatives and friends and either take inspiration from how active they are and admire their health for it or learn from their ill health and motivate yourself to be healthier for your friends and family when you are that age one day. Motivate yourself to invest in your health by being physically active simply because you are setting an example for your children by doing so. Know that they will grow up to do what they watch you doing as they grow up, so do them a favor and show them what it is like to be fitness-oriented and to prioritize your health! Find inspiration even in the health of others or even in simply realizing how fortunate you are to be able to do the things you can by looking to those physically impaired or with limited mobility.
Set Goals
When you are looking for motivation, the best thing you can do is to track your progress and set goals to work towards and complete. Seeing how far you have come is one of the best ways to ensure that you stick to your exercise plan and get to where you want to be. Breaking down your major goals into smaller and easily doable goals is yet another way to keep you going and motivated. As long as your goals are achievable and realistic and that you feel satisfied when you look at your charted progress, you are very likely to continue moving forward!
Prioritize Your Exercise Time
Treat the time you allocate for exercise the same way you would treat a scheduled meeting, for example. Do not do everything you need to do and have exercise as an afterthought because that is a practically promising failure. However, shifting your day and being committed to the schedule you have planned teaches you to treat exercise as important, helps you to maintain your focus, and shift your mindset to become more fitness oriented! Remember, you are also setting an example!
Enjoy Variety and Have Fun
By far, the quickest way to become demotivated is to become bored or to lose interest in the same old routine. Keep your exercises interesting and have a few exercises that you love which you can turn to when you really feel miserable. Keep trying new things and maybe trade old equipment for new ones to try something fresh, especially if you have things lying around that you don’t use like extra ab wheels, skipping ropes, or exercise balls.
Staying motivated requires concentration, focus, and strong willpower. Being accountable to someone else or a community can help you to stick to your goals and your plan to develop the attitude you need, so consider joining a group of other like-minded people in your community or even on an online community to boost your motivation and keep your eyes on the prize! Remember, the best thing you can do for yourself if you do not have the attitude and discipline is to spend time learning from people who possess the attitude you want to emulate. It will eventually rub off on you!
