We are joined today by the lovely Brooke from Stay Fitness & Wellbeing who shares her top tips on how to get back to feeling motivated again.
Motivation doesn’t last, but nothing ever does.
As a Personal Trainer and someone who seems to be over the top motivated year round, I frequently get asked the question, ‘How can I get back to feeling motivated again?’
My reply is simple...
No one is ever motivated year round, not even myself. So don’t beat yourself up when you lose it, its normal. The best way to finding your mojo again & to get back into moving your body, reaching for goals & eating nourishing foods that make you feel great is... happiness.
So what is stopping us from finding happiness?
- The foods we eat. Nothing will crush your motivation more than feeling bloated, heavy & tired after a day of eating all the wrong foods. Processed & packaged foods have one purpose. To fill an empty hole. While they are convenient, they do nothing for your health, your energy levels or your motivation & leave you feeling like you need to lie on the couch. These feelings don’t make anyone feel happy.
- Emotional stress & exhaustion. One thing I find with my clients, and also have experienced within myself is that we can become so busy, so caught up in work, family life, doing everything for everyone else and without even realising it until it is too late, we are running on adrenaline just to survive the day, which leaves our bodies slowly burning out to complete exhaustion. As a Mother of 3, Wife, Friend & Personal Trainer at the start of the year I was constantly ‘giving’, but not allowing myself to ‘receive’. I wasn’t making time for myself and when I was exercising, it was in between dropping the kids here or there, clients, housework and everything else. I wasn’t even enjoying it anymore as I was always thinking about where I need to be next, what jobs need to be done, who is waiting for me to be done. With my clients I remind them that to stay motivated & focused on your goals you have to feel excitement. You have to feel truly happy with where you are and where you want to go. If you don’t walk around with a spring in your boot it is most likely your emotional stress or exhaustion is slowing you down. Stop & make more time for yourself.
- Goals. What are you aiming for? If you have been aiming for the same thing year after year or even month after month & you always lose your motivation, time for a change. No one gets excited about doing something they have done before or doing something they know they can already do. While it is comforting, it’s not challenging. And while most people do not like to leave their comfort zone, by aiming for something you haven’t done before gives you those feeling of excitement, you want to jump out of bed in the morning, you want to eat better because it will help you reach your dream goal & you will walk around with a spring in your boot because the feeling of achieving is extremely confidence boosting.
So, while motivation doesn’t last for anyone, it is important to remember to never stop finding it in new ways, to eat well & nourish the body to help it feel the best it can possibly feel & to slow down at times. Do something for yourself, be selfish & say ‘no’ to things you don’t want to do. The housework will always be there, your family will survive without you for an hour & most importantly, love yourself like you love others.
Brooke Cupples – Stay Fitness & Wellbeing
Team Leader of Cycling for Simone 2016 – Cycled from Streaky Bay S.A. to Darwin N.T. in memory of her Sister raising over $260,000 for the National Jockeys Trust