Getting and staying motivated when you start a new exercise or diet plan can be tough. This article shares a different approach you might not have considered.
When we talk about getting in shape, whether it’s building muscle or losing fat, we often think motivation is the main ingredient. There are countless books, podcasts, and videos promising to unlock endless tips and tricks for motivation, yet many of us still struggle.
We tend to set ambitious goals, letting our initial excitement and energy push us forward. We rarely prepare for the moment when that huge tank of motivation runs empty. Our once unstoppable drive and exciting buzz eventually disappear, leaving us wondering what went wrong.
Of course, motivation is still an important part of reaching your goals. But instead of just ‘winging it’ and relying on pure excitement, we should focus on finding and growing our motivation from a more stable place.
The common problem is that we lean too much on that initial burst of excitement when we set a big goal. We want to believe we can just ride that motivational wave straight to the finish line: set a goal, get pumped, achieve it. However, this approach rarely works, especially for long-term exercise and diet plans.
If you want to change your body, whatever that change looks like, it will take more than just random, spontaneous motivation. Your initial enthusiasm will quickly disappear, leaving you not only surprised but also possibly discouraged enough to quit altogether.
Motivation simply doesn’t last forever. Think of a runner starting a marathon, sprinting ahead of everyone else with a huge smile, thinking, "Nothing’s going to stop me!" But soon after that thought, they begin to tire. Their energy quickly fades. Their legs start to burn, along with their lungs. Other runners begin to catch up and pass them. How can this be? They were so motivated – more than anyone else in that race! How can they be falling so far behind? Now, the thought of quitting enters their mind. What happened to their perfect plan?
There’s a better way to reach your goals. If you’re familiar with the self-help world, you’ve probably heard about developing habits, especially ‘micro habits.’ These are tiny, repetitive tasks you perform day in and day out, instead of constantly focusing on some far-off finish line. It’s a way of staying in the present moment, concentrating on what’s directly in front of you without looking too far ahead, which can feel intimidating and sometimes overwhelm your best efforts.
This is different from motivation. Motivation is an idea, a feeling that nudges us forward. It works for a while, especially at first, but it’s often limited and temporary. Our motivation will naturally come and go without warning. A well-developed, realistic habit, on the other hand, is an action. It’s a plan, a process you follow that results in small, daily progress, inching you toward your goal.
So, how do we actually do this? How do we create effective habits that keep us moving forward? Let’s focus on the term ‘micro’ for a moment.
Since we’re talking about small habits, we can approach this in a few ways. We can choose a habit that is not only small but incredibly easy. Do you want to start training five days a week for an hour each time? That’s not particularly small or easy. Instead, try two days a week for 20 minutes each. Is that doable? Absolutely! Most people can find 20 minutes a couple of days a week. After a week or two, slightly increase how often or how long you train. For example, you might increase your training time to 30 minutes twice a week. Again, an easy habit to work on.
This same approach applies to your diet. Do you need to clean up your eating habits? Maybe you want to start eating a high-protein, complex-carb, low-fat diet full of fruits, vegetables, and fiber. That’s a huge change all at once. Instead, simply start by slightly decreasing your sugar intake. Perhaps you cut out sugary soft drinks for a couple of weeks. Then, once you’ve mastered that, start focusing on including protein in three of your daily meals. The goal isn’t to completely overhaul your entire diet overnight. It’s to start very small, let that change stick for a while, and then adopt another small change. Over time, you’ll build some truly impressive habits that will finally give you the changes you’ve been seeking, all without the struggle of making massive, unsustainable changes.
What’s interesting is that over time, you’ll notice a shift in your mindset. You’ll naturally develop a different kind of motivation. Not the overly excited type that has you staring at the top of your figurative mountain of a goal, but rather small, satisfying feelings for accomplishing the next small step of your journey. Remember that big emotions are fleeting. Instead, focus on the very next small action, the next inch of progress. Those small steps are building a foundation that will eventually become a powerful, reinforced machine of accomplishment. Your habits essentially become your motivation.
Life will inevitably throw curveballs, and there will be days when your energy is low or unexpected challenges pop up. The greatest advantage of practicing small, easily executed habits is your ability to handle these rough patches. The important thing is to avoid panicking by shifting your mindset from an "all or nothing" approach to one of "pick up where you left off." This gives you two main advantages: First, you don’t have to start completely over with anything you’ve already built. Second, your habits are so small that getting back on track isn’t a huge deal. Simply get up, brush yourself off, and continue building on those tiny habits once again. There’s no need to rethink anything or reinvent the wheel.
Over time, setbacks will be handled with ease, and you’ll also be better able to weather low points. It will become such a positive, instant reaction ingrained into your habits that you’ll hardly notice the challenges coming and going. The outcome will be steady forward momentum without the drama of starting over or from scratch every time things get tough.
Here are some examples of simple habits you can try. Remember, your task is to choose from a variety of small, easily attainable habits that can eventually grow into major achievements. But be sure not to overload yourself with too many at once. Pick one, stick with it for a couple of weeks, then move on to the next. Let’s start with some easy wins:
For Training:
- Start a resistance training program twice per week for 20 minutes.
- Add 15 minutes of training each day to your existing program.
- Add 10 minutes of cardio on non-training days.
- Add one exercise to each major body part like legs, chest, and back.
- Increase your daily steps by 1,000.
For Diet:
- Start eating a small, healthy breakfast, such as oatmeal, fruit, or yogurt.
- Cut out dessert three times per week.
- Reduce your soft drink intake by one drink each day, if you usually have multiple.
- Eat a healthy recovery smoothie or a small post-workout meal.
- Increase your water intake with a 12-ounce glass of water with each meal.
To wrap things up, motivation is great. It helps us get off the couch and get busy with our goals. But if you want sustainable progress, even the smallest step of building small habits, one at a time, will create the kind of momentum that’s built on a solid foundation. This kind of foundation will stand the test of time and weather any storms ahead. Give it a try. Build some easily attainable habits, and you’ll soon realize just how far you can go.