Even the best self-motivators among us struggle with motivation from time to time. In fact, the mere thought of getting ourselves off the couch and into our workout clothes is too much to bear.
The good news is that you don’t have to feel trapped by these feelings.
The next time you’re feeling this way, try out one (or more) of these 10 ways to get motivation back!
10 Ways to Get Motivation Back on Track
Get Pumped!
When you first made a goal to get fit, you undoubtedly were excited about how you would look and feel at the end of it, even if you weren’t too thrilled about how much work and dedication would take to accomplish it.
Over the weeks, this high initial level of motivation can dwindle as you start the grind to a new you. When these periods of low motivation surface, step back and remember why you embarked on this quest in the first place.
In just a few moments of quiet, self-reflection, you’ll find that the inner spark of excitement will start to burn hotter, and you’ll be oozing motivation to get back on track with more determination and desire than ever!
Visualize Success
Your ability to visualize is paramount to accomplishing anything in life, be it dropping 10 pounds of fat, adding 5 pounds of muscle, or pulling off a fantastic presentation in the boardroom.
In other words, if you can’t envision yourself successfully completing a task, then you most likely won’t.
Remember that “the body follows where the mind goes”. As such, if you start to lose motivation along the way, visualize how you will feel at the end of your transformation challenge.
Envision how your new clothes will fit, how toned your muscles will be, and how the feeling of accomplishment will boost your self-confidence.
Visualizing success is one of the easiest ways to get motivation back. Use it to your advantage anytime you start to feel a period of low-motivation coming.
Write Down Your Goals
When you set out on your body transformation, you had certain goals in mind.
Over the weeks since you started, you may have lost sight of your goals, which can lead to feelings of low motivation.
This is why we highly suggest that anyone looking to make lasting changes in their life, be it fitness, nutrition, or anything else, they write down their goals.
Better, yet, write down your goals multiple times and post them in different locations.
Put one up on your bathroom mirror.
Put another up in the kitchen.
Put yet another on your nightstand.
And, even put one on your desk at work.
This way, no matter where you go, you’re constantly reminded of what your goal is, which will help keep you focused and excited for what you have to work on.
Commit Publicly
In addition to writing down your goals for yourself to see, you may also want to publicly commit to your goals.
In fact, research even shows that when individuals commit publicly to something they are more likely to follow through and accomplish their goals.[1]
One of the easiest ways to do this is to enter a transformation challenge. You can also post your goals on social media as well as tell family, friends, and co-workers about your intentions.
By doing so, you may receive encouragement and/or periodic check-ins from those who know about your goals, which can further bolster motivation and help you stay focused on achieving your goal.
Get Support
Having support from loved ones is vital to maintaining motivation.[2]
Building off of our last point, in addition to telling others about your goals, seek out their support when you’re struggling to stay the course.
This is one of the other reasons that joining a transformation challenge is incredibly helpful. You’re part of a group of like-minded individuals all focused on a common goal. Each of you knows what struggles and challenges lie in store as you pursue your dreams.
Take comfort in that knowledge and don’t be afraid to reach out for help and/or motivation when you get stuck.
Focus on the Process
Having an end goal is incredibly important to your ability to successfully complete anything in life. At the same time, you shouldn’t be so focused on the end goal that you neglect to enjoy the process it takes to get there.
So often, by focusing only on the goal, you may overlook the small improvements and victories you make each week. And, if the goal you set is very large, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you aren’t making any progress at all.
This is why we say to focus on the process.
By focusing on what you’re doing each and every day of your transformation challenge, you’ll recognize that you are making progress and garnering a sense of satisfaction from reaching these mini-milestones.
You can then use the positive feelings of accomplishment as motivation to continue along the road to reaching your ultimate end goal.
Watch a Motivational Video
There’s no shortage of motivational speakers out there. And, while not every speaker’s message or style of delivery may jive with you, there’s bound to be a couple that does.
Even if motivational speakers aren’t your thing, there are millions of motivational montages available on YouTube.
Spend a little time searching for motivational videos, and you will find one that helps you get your motivation back.
For some, it might be a speech, and for others, it could be an 80s training montage (like those found in Rocky IV).
Whatever your preference is, find it, watch it, and go back to it when your motivation starts to dip.
Anticipate Setbacks
Along your road to body recomposition, there will undoubtedly be setbacks. It’s life...things are bound to go sideways every now and then.
But, that doesn’t mean you have to let it completely derail you from your progress.
By knowing and understanding that challenges and setbacks will happen at some point, you will be better prepared to handle them when they do arise, which means you can recover from them more quickly and get back on track faster.
As you embark on your transformation challenge, write down what possible hurdles and stressors you may face in the coming weeks, and how you plan to deal with them. Doing so will help you stay motivated and focused on your goal.[3]
Track Your Progress
We’ve said it before and we’ll continue to say it -- tracking is essential to successfully accomplish your goals on time.
Be it fat loss or muscle gain, if you’re not tracking what you’re doing, you have no idea if you are moving towards your goal, away from it, or stuck in neutral -- not making any progress at all.
When figuring out what to track, think about the factors that have the biggest impact on your physique -- diet and training.
Therefore, you should be tracking your workouts (sets, reps, and weights) along with what you eat (and how much of it you eat) each day.
Studies show that individuals who track their nutrition are more likely to lose weight and keep it off.[4]
Tracking your progress enables you to accurately assess how you’re progressing and serves to highlight the accomplishments you’ve made thus far.
You can also track more subjective measures like how your motivation was, how your energy levels were, how you were feeling, etc.
Going back and referencing these can help you identify any challenges you may have encountered and how you dealt with and recovered from them.
When it comes to tracking your progress, you can use any number of websites or apps, or you can even go “old school” and use a regular pen and paper.
It’s not the instrument you use to track that matters so much as that you’re tracking.
Just Do It!
We all have times when we’re unmotivated and not really “feeling” it -- whatever that “it” maybe.
Sometimes, the best way to get your motivation back is to just do it.
In other words, “fake it till you make it.”
Simply beginning your workout or just going through the motions on your first couple of sets may be all that’s needed to rekindle your drive and get motivation back.
Remember, that doing something is always better than nothing when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle.
If you’re not feeling like working out one day, but the schedule has you down for a workout, then do it anyway.
Not every workout has to be a PR-breaker.
Some workouts serve the purpose of helping you maintain your new gains in muscle and strength, as well as help, refine your technique. Others are simply there to help you work out some stressors of the day.
The worst thing you can do to get motivation back is to do nothing at all.
Even on the days you despise the very thought of training, get out and at least do something. You’ll feel that much better when you’re done.
References
- Hayes SC, Rosenfarb I, Wulfert E, Munt ED, Korn Z, Zettle RD. Self-reinforcement effects: An artifact of social standard setting?. J Appl Behav Anal. 1985;18(3):201–214. doi:10.1901/jaba.1985.18-201
- Pearson, E. S. (2012). Goal setting as a health behavior change strategy in overweight and obese adults: a systematic literature review examining intervention components. Patient Education and Counseling, 87(1), 32–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2011.07.018
- "Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: The evidence report." PsycEXTRA Dataset, 1998.
- Kong A, Beresford SAA, Alfano CM, et al. Self-monitoring and eating-related behaviors are associated with 12-month weight loss in postmenopausal overweight-to-obese women. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2012;112(9):1428–1435. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2012.05.014
