Chatting to many of my challengers over the last few days, and it seems motivation is sometimes letting you down.... Feeling motivated is an emotional state, and like all emotional states, it rises and falls, kind of like the tide; so if you're relying on motivation to keep you going, you will sooner or later (usually sooner) feel a lack of motivation, and unless you have another way of staying on track, then you're going to fall off the wagon (and probably start beating yourself up over it). So you might then try to rely on willpower... but this takes mental energy, and the more decisions or choices you are faced with over the course of your day, the more drained you are of mental energy. So where does that leave us?
HABIT.
Our lives run mostly on autopilot. Surprising?
Think about it, your morning routine... do you rely on willpower to wash, or brush your teeth? Nope, you just do it as a matter of.. Habit. So the next logical question is "How do i make regular exercise a habit?"
It's almost impossible to create a habit that stands alone; to do so relies on motivation and willpower, so you can imagine how well that's going to go.
The simplest way to create a new habit (such as 5 minutes of exercise each day) is to 'anchor' it to an existing habit. This is why many people go to the gym before or after work; It's anchored to something they do every day. And that's the simplest way to make it stick.
Look at your normal, everyday habits. Do you eat at the same time (more or less) every day? If so, there's your anchor. If your morning routine is the only thing that remains the same from day to day, then brushing your teeth becomes your anchor.
I don't know if it'll help, but you might like to know that i struggle with it too sometimes; my challengers may have noticed that the videos have been late for the last few days. Sometimes I feel energetic and motivated & do it early; sometimes I'm horribly unmotivated & just want to sit on my ass and binge-watch game of thrones..
My anchor is dinner time.. No dinner until i have the next days video filmed and uploaded. When my motivation is lacking, that's how i get it done. If you are serious about building healthier habits, what are you going to use as an anchor?
If you found this post interesting/useful, you might also enjoy these 2 posts:
Changing a habit - The basic neuroscience of why your habitual phrases can help or hinder your progress.
Would you find it easier to get active every day if you could earn crypto from walking or running? In case you need a little more motivation, all the apps mentioned are free to use.