Three Little Secrets of Fitness Motivation

Nothing drives me more crazy than carrots and sticks in health and fitness.

The model is flawed, severely, and definitely contributes to the abysmal rate of weight loss success — 20-30%! boo!

Well I say bring on the motivation revolution.

Bring on Fitness Motivation 3.0, we’re past the industrial age of simply doing what you’re told.

There are three secret things very few people in fitness know, and I’m gonna share it with you today.

Stay tuned because we’re about to blow your mind with the psychological tools you really need to change yourself.

I’ll give you a hint, it has nothing to do with more money, better looks, more time, more benefits, rewards or other extrinsic motivators.

The real secret stems from my post earlier in the week about establishing intrinsic motivation, and moving away from rewards.

Author Daniel Pink, created a fantastic simplistic model, that breaks this down further into 3 factors everyone is ultimately looking for in their search for motivation.

This breakdown speaks volumes to what I’ve been feeling as a coach for the last 5-6 years.

Here they are…

1) Autonomy

Is the right or condition of self-government. It is also defined as freedom from external control or influence; independence.

If you don’t feel like you have control over the process, you’ll never truly have fitness motivation.

I actively encourage everyone that I work with to, little by little, take control over their own health and fitness.

One of the crutches of working with a fitness coach or trainer is that you can (over time) start to rely on them, and my aim is to let others take more control and accountability for themselves, not less. No-one really wants to be told what to do at work, in life or in regards to their own health, everyone wants to self-manage.

I can’t tell you what goals you should have or what things you should achieve. As a coach, I can’t always “tell” you what will work best, but I can guide you on a path of self-discovery.

You’ll need this quality for long-term success.

Read The Article Here.

2) Mastery

Nobody maintains fitness motivation if they don’t feel like they’re getting better!

Mastery is a comprehensive knowledge or skill in a particular subject or activity. It could also be defined as the action of mastering a subject or skill.

Others still, define it as having control or superiority over someone or something.

Think about it, how much fun do you have if you feel you suck at something?

Not much, but if you employ a bit of a Kaizen approach and try to improve just a little each time you do something, suddenly you start to feel good about your progress.

You’ll start to develop a deeper understanding of your body, your mind, your emotions and your spirit, if you take small steps every day to improve what you may be lacking.

It feels really great to get good at something, especially if you thought you were bad at it, at one time.

This concept alone is why people play sports, paint, write, play music, act, public speak, dance, etc…

It’s not always about achieving something specifically (winning a championship for example), but experiencing small improvements, having fun and mastery.

*Often mastery is an art of finding what is holding you back and working continuously to improve that thing, no matter how small the steps may be. It could be seen as identifying blocks, then working through them.

Read The Article Here.

3) Purpose

For fitness motivation to stay relevant, you have to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, otherwise it just seems like WORK!

Purpose the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. This is a person’s sense of resolve or determination.

Often experienced on a very deep level. Do you identify yourself as being fit? If not, why don’t you? Why, could being fit, help you achieve your life’s purpose more intimately?

On a large scale, how does being emotionally, physically, intellectually, socially, spiritually, environmentally or occupationally fit, factor in to the overall experience of your time on this planet?

Your life’s purpose is a big one to think about. If you get nothing more out of this post, I wish it to be that you think about what you may be here on earth to accomplish with your time.

It doesn’t have to be “cure cancer,” or “provide a laptop for every child in the world.” It could be something far smaller like “be the best parent I can be” or “create beautiful pieces of art for others to enjoy.”

On a smaller scale, no one wants to do anything they view as having no purpose. If you feel this way at work, you’ve probably been thinking about quitting for some time.

If, you you believe/feel that being fit serves no purpose to your existence, then you won’t do it.

If you believe/feel that it won’t help you look any better or perform any better then why bother?

This smaller approach could be applied to your work, your family life, your social life, your level of fitness, your eating habits, anything.

For example, being fit gives me more energy, therefore I insist upon living a fit lifestyle.

That small purpose provides me with more fitness motivation to be in the gym, than most.

Read The Article Here.