Emotion: They Key to Long-Term Motivation
How do you stay motivated?
There is a huge trend on social media right now, that downplays the importance of motivation.
You see videos of bodybuilders in the gym at 5am, and the text reads “When you don’t have motivation, have discipline.”
And it seems to be true - it’s very hard to just “be” motivated all the time. You don’t always feel like waking up early to hit the gym. And although I do believe discipline is important, it comes with a negative connotation. It makes me think I have to instill rules into my life. It makes it sound dull and void of any enjoyment or fun.
When in reality, enjoyment and fun is exactly what is required to stick to the plan.
Let me explain.
Starting a new habit is really hard from the beginning, because there is a high effort, and low reward system in place. You are new to the workouts, or the gym, or a specific routine.
For example, let’s say you just started an online MBA course, limiting your time to the gym in the mornings. You used to go to the gym after work, in the evenings. So now you are dealing with a lot of changes to your daily routine.
You are working out before your first meal of the day. How will you fuel your workout?
You are waking up earlier. How will you not skip that first alarm?
But you just started this chapter in your life, and you are determined to make it work. I call this the initial motivation boost. It’s new and exciting, and you are ready to level up.
Usually this will last long enough where you can feel comfortable in your routine.
You know the gym, you know your workouts. But you see, now that initial motivation boost is wearing off - the routine is no longer a novelty. It’s not new and exciting.
Rather, the monotony is quite boring.
Yes, you can definitely yell at yourself to maintain the routine, but this too will not last. You will naturally act out, or sabotage your effort in some way.
You need to be all-in. You need to enjoy the process.
So, although it is important to not allow yourself to be lazy, I wouldn’t say discipline is the difference between the winners and the quitters.
The difference is that the winners actually fall in love with their routines.
They enjoy being the only ones in the gym at 5am, knowing they are improving themselves while others sleep.
They enjoy pushing their body to prove to themselves they can lift more weight, or do more reps than last time.
They love having the morning to themselves, improving themselves, before dealing with any issues from work or other people.
It doesn’t matter what mood they are in - and this is the difference.
Motivation is not a mood, it is a force. It is a force, an energy potential. And the trick is, no matter what mood or emotion you are feeling, you can pull motivation out of that mood.
My own fitness journey started when I was in high school. I started lifting weights because, well, my boyfriend at the time got me into it.
I continued to lift after we broke up because at that point in my life, I was very frustrated - and frankly pissed off - at my life situation and how people treated me at that time in my life. So I would take that frustration and put it into the weights. That was better than cussing someone out, because I actually had something to show for it. I started learning how to invest my energy back into myself.
Fast forward 10+ years, I have made it to a comfortable spot in my life. I have a well-paying, stable career. I have genuine people in my life. My problems are different. Instead of frustration and anger, I feel grateful for my life. My energy is higher than it was, I don’t feel the need to prove myself to anyone anymore.
When this shift occurred, I started to lose motivation to workout. I was so used to going into the gym and “killing” my workout. Literally all my rage from my day would fuel me to workout. But now that I wasn’t angry all the time, I didn’t feel like doing that anymore.
All emotions can be utilized to trigger your motivation.
I had learned the anger to motivation switch very well. But I hadn’t learned the power behind positive emotions yet.
In order to enjoy working out again, I had to train my body to use whatever mood I was in to fuel my progress.
I changed up the music I listened to depending on my mood.
When I was happy and motivated, I played uplifting 2000’s hip hop and danced in between sets.
When I was sad or feeling a little down, I would play The Weeknd, wear black, and wear a hat with the brim down low.
When I was happy and motivated, I played uplifting 2000’s hip hop and danced in between sets.
When I was sad or feeling a little down, I would play The Weeknd, wear black, and wear a hat with the brim down low.
I know this all sounds a bit cheesy, but this genuinely helped me find the switch I needed to stay motivated to workout.
Every emotion we have is potential energy that you can use to fuel your progress.
I’m almost certain that the way to find that switch willy vary depending on the person.
But the winners find the switch.
They learn to find a way to love their routine when they are sad, angry, happy, confident, insecure. They get to know their own mind, their body, and how to convince it to do what you want.
Of course there are a few other things you can try, including:
Creating a simple phrase you tell yourself for each mood to bring yourself back to your goal.
When you are sad > Moping around won’t change the situation. Improve yourself for a better tomorrow.
When you are angry > Taking this anger out on the situation will not do me any good. Let me use this energy towards bettering myself.
When you are happy > I feel great, and I am grateful to be able to move my body.
2. Drinking coffee or taking preworkout before your workouts
This is the easiest way to shift your body into work-mode. This will naturally stimulate the proper release of adrenaline and stimulants to properly prepare you for your workout.
3. Create playlists for different moods.
You can have playlists categorized by genre of music, or tempo. Whatever feels right, there are no rules here.
4. Use Visualization Techniques
I would recommend utilizing this technique in two ways.
In phase 1 - Visualize your goals. Imagine you achieved them. What does it feel like? What is your life like? What are you like?
In phase 2 - Visualize your workout. Will you add more weight than last time? Will you push through that last rep? Will you do sprints at the end of your workout to get that additional burn?
Remember, the ones that don’t quit are the ones that use their energy productively.
No matter what mood you are in, learn how to use it as fuel.
Remember the goal, it never changes. Everything else should be changed as needed.
Mix it up. Change the method.
Stick to the goal.
