When most people set out on a new Health & Fitness regime they are typically quite motivated. They are training to run a marathon, get into shape to fit a wedding dress, look better on the beach that summer or just to be able to run for the bus without dropping to their knee’s. However that motivation doesn’t always last forever. What happens when you have run the marathon, had the wedding, finished your summer holiday or can easily get to the bus? “What the hell do i do now?” . For many people the hardest part of a fitness or healthy eating regime is not starting, it’s keeping it going. So how do you do it? What can you use to motivate yourself when actually it’s much easier to just sit back on the sofa and drink beer?
As I’ve said before I’m in the process of writing a book. Chapter 2 talks mainly about getting your head in the right place to ensure that you reach and maintain your health, fitness and lifestyle goals. It also talks about motivation and things you can use to keep yourself driving forward when you may have already reached your goal. For me one of the most important motivational techniques or characteristics is Pride. Being Proud of what you are doing, how you look and who you are. Below is an extract from that chapter. It’s pretty personal to me but i genuinely believe that it will also work for most people and help them to motivate themselves.
Be Proud.
Pride comes before a fall right? Bullshit. Pride is a hugely powerful and positive emotion. Be proud of what you are doing, proud of your hard work, proud that you are doing something that most people aren’t/can’t/won’t, proud of your appearance, proud of your weight loss, proud of your new found strength and muscularity, proud that you look great in clothes, proud that people notice the change in you. Pride is a massive motivator. Having pride in yourself in all ways helps you to lead the right sort of life. How can you be proud of yourself if you behave meanly or unsympathetically to other people? How can you be proud of yourself if you are rude or inconsiderate? Similarly it is hard to be proud of yourself if you are unable to wear the clothes you’d like to. It’s hard to be proud of yourself if you can’t walk up the stairs or are too out of breath to play with your kids or grandchildren. It’s hard to be proud of yourself if you are constantly embarrassed at how you look and feel.
That isn’t to criticise people who have any of the issues above. We all have our problems and demons to deal with, and you may have perfectly valid reasons for not being as fit or healthy as you’d like. All I’m saying is that when you start to address those issues, and even more, when you start to see positive results then your pride and being proud can be the long term driver that keeps you going.
Really think about this. It is a powerful driver and if you get it right your pride, sense of self pride and self-respect will really make it much easier to be both consistent and regular in your habits.
Some people consider pride to be linked to vanity and there is some truth in this. I am vain. I make no bones about it and all my friends know it and joke about it. However there is a line to be drawn. I’m vain in the sense that I like to keep slim, be as fit as possible and have a shape and muscles that other guys of my age may not have. I’m the most competitive man in the world and winning at things helps maintain that pride and vanity. By contrast however I’m more than happy to leave the house with hair like a wire brush, wearing an old tracksuit and don’t really care what other people think about me at all.
My vanity is linked to my pride. I’m proud of how I look and how healthy I am for my own sake and not because of what other people think. I do these things for myself and I challenge and compete with myself more than anyone else. Is that too self-revealing for a book like this? Who cares, I am what I am and I’d encourage you to think the same. Be proud of yourself. Look in the mirror, smile at the great new you that smiles back and take great pride in the fact that you created that, you changed yourself for the better and you took the steps that were needed. No-one else did it, you did it so be proud of it.
As I said your pride (or vanity if you prefer) is one of life’s great motivators. Get in touch with it now, think about it and think about what you can do to be more proud of yourself. Focus on the great things that you do and can do rather than the areas that you feel negative about.
That’s it. I hope it connected with you. The Chapter is much longer but i hoped and thought that this small part might be helpful to some of you. Many people see Pride and Vanity as negative emotions, and of course they can be. However for me, if used correctly, they can be incredibly positive and will motivate you to create the results you are looking for. So stop being down on yourselves, focus on the positives, motivate yourself and start taking actions, today, RIGHT NOW to make yourself PROUD.
Take Care,
John