Motivate Me - 2 Simple Steps!

It’s Sunday; and for many this is a day of rest, a day of connecting with family, and fueling your soul!  I don’t know about anyone else but I love Sunday, I’m feeling connected and inspired and rested; my mind is setting up a week of great plans for healthy eating and awesome workouts, I’m making plans to have some fun too, and there has to be some alone time to get creative, oh it’s gonna be such a great week!

Until its Monday... and all those great ideas have to somehow squeeze into getting to work on time, being tired, and getting the rest of the family where they need to be; fed and clean... and then there’s the house... who made this mess? And where did all this laundry come from? 

Poof motivation is gone, responsibility and familiarity win, the workouts will have to wait, and I don’t really have time to get to the grocery store for the ingredients I need for those new recipes I want to try and what’s more I really don’t think I feel like trying them anymore... ugh I am never going to get it together! 

We’ve all been there; and trust me when I tell you some of us have actually made it out!  Here’s the thing, it isn’t motivation you’re up against... it’s your brain! 

Your brain loves patterns, behavioural familiarity; it feels comfortable there... even if it’s not healthy, that lethal cocktail of same old, same old is the devil we know, why change it?!  When we attempt to break with the status quo, when we try to change things up; we mentally flip flop between the excitement of new beginnings, and the fear of change and possibly failure; our brain picks up on that, and resists!

Excitement and fear manifest in the body the same way, our heart beats a little faster, our mind gets kinda racey, and our brain lumps them both into the category of fear and danger; and the immediate response is that it needs to rescue you from something!  Instinctively your brain tells you to hit the snooze button and stay where you are... it’s safe here!

Safe, unfortunately, isn’t where growth happens!  So two things I am going to tell you to implement as you start making changes!

1.  Keep it Simple! 

One thing at a time, start with something that isn’t going to stress you out, or turn you current life inside out!  Maybe it’s adding one workout a week, or making sure you are drinking enough water every day for a week! 

Whatever you decide your change is, create a plan; if it’s one workout a week, pencil in a couple days when you think you will have the time on your calendar that week; and make sure that one of them actually happens!  If they both happen; Yay you!

Remember everything you do matters, no matter how big or small!  The best and most sustainable way to create change that lasts; is by changing the small things you do every day!

2. Talk yourself into it, not out of it!

The toughest muscle in your body to train is the 6 inch one between your ears!  Our brains are designed to keep us alive, protect us from perceived danger; when you stress out about getting in workouts, and eating better your brain sees it as danger and resists!

If it is stressing you out a little, trick you brain with a whole lot of encouraging self talk, “I’m so excited to get this workout in this week; it’s going to be so great!” or “I’ve never tried kale before I’m really excited to try this salad!”.  Seems a little ridiculous at first but trust me it works, excitement is accepted by the brain – fear is resisted!

As you begin to get the workouts in, or find comfort in trying new foods; your brain will welcome a new ‘healthier familiarity’; that it doesn’t feel the need to resist!  Having said all of this, it isn’t likely going to happen in a week, maybe not even a month; this is where patience and perseverance come in, and above all else; you need to take responsibility for your life!

That’s right I said it, take responsibility; no one is coming to save you! 

One of the greatest traps of becoming an adult is now you have to take on the responsibility of making yourself do the things you don’t want to do... become the nagging parent!  Here’s the thing; you would be hard pressed to find someone as bad at taking care of themselves as I was in my early twenties and thirties; I smoked a pack a day, I drank upwards of 15 cups of coffee a day, slept about 4 hours a night, and if a vegetable made its way on my plate there was something seriously wrong!

I quit smoking, quit sugar and process foods,  limit caffeine to two cups a day, workout 4-6 times a week, meditate daily and my diet has improved to about 70% plant based... it can be done, I am living proof! 

Please stop waiting until you ‘feel like it’, or motivation carries you across the finish line of your goals, take responsibility, decide what you want to make happen this week; and just do it! 

You can, and I am here every step of the way; one better choice at a time – you got this!  To quote Mel Robbins, ‘the only difference between who you are; and who you want to be, is what you do!’

Let’s Do This!