Have you ever started out a new exercise program, meal plan or even decluttering your house with so much enthusiasm that you are sure nothing will get in your way?
Just to find two weeks down the track you are back into old habits, with your workout clothes away in their draw, no food in your fridge or your house looking even worse than before?
FRUSTRATING right?
How can you maintain that motivation that you started with?
Well first you need to understand your WHY?
A strong WHY for having that goal will help you maintain that motivation. I love the book "The Compound Effect" by Darren Hardy, in it he gives this example:
If I was to give you $20 to walk across a 1 ft wide beam 50 floors up between 2 buildings - would you do it?
Of course not ....
Now, if your kids were on the other side and the building was on fire and you needed to get across to save them - would you do it?
Of course you would ...
So what changed? The activity was the same in both situations what changed was the WHY. The second "why" was a strong enough motivator for you to do the activity.
So how can this help you?
Well first I want you to download this worksheet (just click on the image), or create one of your own:
Now I want you to think of your key priorities or goals.
Write them down, and write WHY you want to do them - think deep.
Losing weight to look good at the beach isn't a strong enough why.
Losing weight so that you can be around to see your children graduate, since you have a family history of heart disease, is a stronger why.
Once you have your goals and your "whys" work out some action steps.
These should be simple steps that you can do most days to help you get to your goal.
For example, walk 10,000 steps 6 days a week.
Declutter the house for 30 mins 5 days a week
etc
So now we have our WHY, and we have our Action Steps, how do we stay MOTIVATED?
Well, for me personally I like a visual motivator so I create a wall calendar for myself, Let me share the steps I do for that:
13 Steps for a Motivational Calendar - to reach your goals
Print out 1-3 copies of the Blank Calendar (HERE)
Fill in the dates, add the month on top and include special dates (holidays/birthdays).
Stick it to a wall in an area you see EVERY DAY
Stick your GOALS sheet next to your Action Plan (with your priorities written on it, and action steps)
EACH DAY write down what actions you took, or like I do use SYMBOLS for each day you worked on one of your goals
Put a big ‘X’ on your rest days
You can utilize the calendar to track other things as well of you want. Such as how much you weigh each week, when you had your ‘cheat’ meals/days, or when you started your period (for women obviously. You will see patterns around this time of the month)
Use highlighters or colored pens to make the calendar more visual and fun. For example, I use different colors for each of my priorities I am working on. I can see from a long way away when one is not getting the attention it deserves
Only write down what you did you did it. DON'T PRE-SCHEDULE (on this calendar, however it is a good idea to have a schedule written down for an exercise plan etc elsewhere)
Add inspirational/motivation words, people, phrases on the poster.
Encourage a friend/partner to also create a calendar to hold each other accountable.
Update your calendar EVERY night
Always remember that it only works if you use and review it weekly. Each week take time to reflect on the previous week, did you hit your goals, if not why? Are you trying to do too much? Are you too busy? Do you need to stop doing something so you can work on your priorities?
Here are mine for next month, COMMENT below when you have written yours up!
And please share if you think this will be useful for others
