Three Ways to Stay Motivated

January 17, 2023

A jagged dark mass curves beneath a bright, white background.

The New Year tends to naturally be a motivating time for all of us. With the Holiday craziness ending, reflecting on the previous year and optimism for the future, it is a great time to make your health a priority and set new goals. For most of us, however, that motivation starts to fade after just a few weeks or a couple months. Although motivation will naturally ebb and flow, here are three things to try to keep your motivation high.

Reward Yourself:

Set small goals and give yourself rewards for achieving them. Things like shopping for a new pair of jeans when you hit your goal weight or setting goals with a spouse or best friend and plan a little trip when you both hit achieve them. Even behavior goals like working out 3 days per week with no exceptions deserve a reward!

Remind yourself of your “why” daily:

I always say vanity doesn’t motivate people. If being on the cover of a fitness magazine truly motivated us, we would all be way more fit as a culture. However, in my humble experience, what truly motivates people is being able to play on the floor with their grandkids, getting off of cholesterol medication, or having the energy to be more productive at work. Find your “why” and find a way to remind yourself of it daily.

Reflect and Change Goals:

Another key to staying motivated is to constantly change your goals. Setting goals and continually reflecting and adjusting gives you purpose in your workouts. For example, we see many clients with the goal of being able to do so many push-ups or holding a plank for a certain amount of time. If they hit that goal, or perhaps discover they can’t focus on that for another reason, then switch the goals. Or, if a client is coming consistently and getting stronger, we may challenge them to do more cardio and set a goal to walk so many miles per week.

Always having a behavior goal or milestone is very helpful in your journey to better health. I always recommend goals that are only one to three months out, and of course very realistic. If you have trouble reaching your goals or staying motivated, let Axio Fitness help! We love helping people determine healthy goals and healthy behaviors to get to those goals, and then doing everything we can to hold you accountable.

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