January 1 has come and gone. You either took the plunge and started a new exercise regime or ignored all the fuss around making New Year's resolutions. If you did make the conscious decision to jump on the goal setting bandwagon, February and the ensuing months become the true test of willpower and commitment. Unfortunately for some of us, our motivation has already started to wane.
Motivation is a theoretical concept used to describe behavior. When someone is motivated, they act in a certain way to satisfy a need, a desire or to take action. If you want to lose weight for an important event, you are motivated to do so through exercising and watching what you eat. There is a strong connection between what you do and why you do it.
Within the stages of change, there are five behavioral patterns - these include pre-contemplation, contemplation, determination, action and maintenance. When you start an exercise program, you are motivated and have transitioned into the action phase. Maintenance is the on-going continuation of the action and, not surprisingly, the hardest part of change. When we change, we form new habits.
In order to maintain the new habit, we must adjust our mind set and believe in what we are doing. At times when we feel vulnerable or insecure, we can slip back into bad habits and unfortunately relapse. But having a strong conviction and increasing our wisdom around why we are doing what we are doing is extremely important. To avoid a relapse, the mind must be stronger than the matter.
In addition, falling off the wagon is a very strong possibility and should be viewed as a 'speed bump' and not a complete failure. Try to stay positive and discourage negative
self-talk. By doing so, you can work through the challenge and get back on track. Remember motivation can be fleeting; it ebbs and flows.
How then, can we stay motivated to succeed? First, establish goals. Many of us did that in the beginning of the year. Next, identify the roadblocks to your success - either currently or in the past. Your task is to find solutions to those obstacles and make a plan. For example, if you are finding you are too tired to exercise after work and keep missing sessions, the roadblock is your workout time. The solution may be as simple as exercising in the morning. Last but not least, acknowledge and reward all successes. Large or small.
Keeping motivated all year long requires different approaches. Try some of these to help keep you on track: 1) Gain wisdom around why the lifestyle change is so important. With wisdom comes power. 2) Eliminate negative self-talk around failure. 3) Remember that relapse is part of the process. Just because you overeat one week or miss your workouts, doesn't mean you are doomed to failure; a few bad days won't ruin all your previous hard work. 4) The road to good health is long - take it one day at a time. 5) Plan for obstacles. And last but not least: 6) Set motivational plans beyond a specific event. Focus on the internal motivation of feeling better long term versus just looking good at the beach.
Making healthy changes is a process and doesn't happen overnight. You should be congratulated if you have stuck to your resolutions thus far. But don't despair if you have fallen off track or haven't even started. Today is never too late to begin an exercise regime. Your body and your long-term health will thank you - any month of the year.
Krista Popowych, BHKin, has been successfully motivating exercise enthusiasts and fitness professionals for over two decades through her vision of inspiring others through movement and education.
