You Don't Need Stupid Motivation to Get in Shape. Use This Instead!
The Magical Myth of Motivation is Holding You Back
Motivation is an illusion, and willpower is a scam.
That’s why you need a system.
“I was going to go to the gym, but I didn’t FEEL like it.”
“I wish I could stop eating fries for lunch, but that’s what I FEEL LIKE having. What am I supposed to do?”
“I FEEL LIKE I should leave work early, book a last-minute cruise on my credit card, and leave the country for a month. My wife will understand, I hope.”
“I don’t FEEL LIKE changing my kid’s diaper. He can wait a few hours.”
“Wow, I FEEL LIKE eating bologna sandwiches with extra mustard in the shower. Guess I better give it a try!”
Since when should your spur-of-the-moment, passing feelings dictate everything you do?
They shouldn’t. We aren’t animals. We have the ability to choose. Motivation is just a feeling; you don’t have to let it bully you.
Motivation is Like a Roller Coaster
Motivation is not a constant. It naturally goes up and down, and in fact, it’s more or less an illusion.
Motivation is up when you’re happy, you’re not stressed, and things seem fun.
Motivation is down when you’ve had a lousy workday, when you’ve got a lot of things pressing on you and a busy schedule, when you’ve already used up all your willpower until tomorrow.
The only way to make progress with your physical goals is to take action consistently, so if you were relying on motivation, which goes up and down, how will you maintain that consistent push forward?
You have to be able to remove the emotion from taking the right actions. Separate motivation from doing. If you can’t, you’ll start and stop and start and stop.
You might start working out and eating better because you know you need to change your ways. Your motivation will be high. Full speed ahead! You dive in feet first, and everything is great for a week or two.
Then the rush wears off. Your motivation drops off, and you put on the brakes.
Hard stop.
You say something dumb, like “I’m just not feeling it. I don’t have any motivation.”
“It’s not sustainable.”
So obviously, we need to stop doing that. It’s not working.
Get off of the motivation roller coaster, and get onto the consistent action transit bus.
Reframe it, flip it around so that action comes before motivation. You don’t need to be motivated to take action; you just need to make a decision and then act.
Do you have to feel motivated to lift your arm? When you want to change the channel on the TV, do you need motivation to find the remote?
“Honey, why are you looking at a blank screen? Turn on the TV.”
“I couldn’t find the motivation to pick up the remote. I didn’t feel like it. It’s too hard to change the channel. I just sat here like an idiot waiting for you to turn it on. Thank dog you’ve finally noticed my lack of intelligence and can fix this for me.”
Well, that’s just dumb.
It doesn’t matter how unmotivated you are. You just take the action and turn on the device.
Consider That Action Can Come Before Motivation.
Don’t sit around like a loser waiting for someone to save you. By choosing action, you can build motivation from it.
Here’s how it works:
Change your identity. Tell yourself, “I am a person that takes action. I do things because I decide to. I’m not a slave to random emotions. I don’t sit around waiting for motivation to LET me do things. I am a do-er! ”
Find a plan or system that you can be confident in. Preferably something that’s been proven to work over and over for someone like you.
Decide on a start date. If you are having trouble picking when to get going, a good start date is now or tomorrow morning.
Follow the system. Don’t allow yourself to cheat. Choose the plan and then follow it. There are no more choices. You already chose your action; now do it.
Shooting from the hip is a great way to miss, and trying to get in shape without a plan is a great way to fail.
“Okay, Tim, so I’ll do it! But where do I get this plan that’s gonna work for me? So many options!”
Yeah, I get it. There are too many options.
You can build your own plan. Taking any action consistently is better than none. Find someone who’s getting it right and model them. Or, do what you know is the right thing because we all know to choose exercise over sitting, and broccoli and steak over Doritos, right?
Here’s a sample framework:
I am going to get 8000 steps a day.
I will go to the gym after work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and do strength training.
I will meal prep on Sunday to make healthy lunches for the week.
It almost doesn’t matter what your plan is. But you need a framework, or you’ll fail. No one is consistent without guidelines.
Can’t Make a Plan? Get Help
If you know that making your own plan isn’t going to work, then congratulate yourself for being self-aware and realizing that you are the one who’s held you back so far. Now you can get down to business and finally see some progress.
There are a ton of good ways to get started.
If you prefer in-person training, go to the local gym and hire a personal trainer. This is a great starting point. The trainer will definitely give you a program to follow that has plenty of evidence behind it. Getting a personal trainer and following their advice is sure to get results.
You can also hire a health coach like myself. We specialize in helping you set goals and develop a customized approach to meet your exact needs.
A good health coach becomes your accountability buddy and cheers you on. This is one of the best ways to get yourself to take consistent action and transform your life.
If you want Transformation, Make an Investment in Yourself
“I don’t know, this sounds like it’s gonna cost money.”
Yes.
We invest in things that are important to us.
We spend money on smartphones, tablets, and Netflix. We buy cars, homes, and vacations. We buy ridiculously expensive coffee from Starbucks.
Some of us deck out our dogs in the latest fashions and send our kids to concerts that cost hundreds of dollars for a few hours of nothing.
So spending money on fitness and health, age-proofing ourselves, should be a no-brainer. We put our attention where we put our money.
You might think you won’t get much out of investing in workouts and food plans and learning healthier habits. You’re wrong. You will gain a ton.
Ask
at Too Old For This Shit what she thinks of your sorry attitude. She’ll tell you how much you’ll regret not taking action when you’re pushing your walker into the doctor’s office to get your stack of prescriptions and praying to make it to next Tuesday without falling down and breaking a hip.Invest in your future and your health in particular. You’ll save money on things like pills and healthcare.
But. Don’t spend that money on stuff. Don’t buy a Peloton or exercise gadget. Buy accountability.
Spend Money on Accountability, Not Toys
You don’t need a Peloton. You don’t need a home gym or a complete set of kettlebells. None of those things will make you consistent.
Everyone knows a treadmill is a great clothes hanger. There is no exercise equipment that can coach you or improve your personal accountability.
What is the one thing that most people will tell you about the diets and exercise plans they’ve tried?
“It wasn’t sustainable. I’m just not able to SUSTAIN it.”
What they really mean is that they had no one to be accountable to, not even themselves.
One answer is to pay someone to help you stay accountable. A personal trainer or health coach can do this.
You won’t need them forever, just to get you on the right path.
Once you find a system and get yourself to follow through for a while with the outside help, you will develop internal accountability. It will become a habit. Then, you can get rid of the training wheels and do it on your own.
Stop Relying on Motivation and Get to Work
If you’re not motivated, fucking great, do it anyway.
This is great advice!! Accountability works like a charm even for those of us who think we’re good on self motivation.
Really like the style in which this was written. Too many people say the exact things you quoted, and the parallel examples made me laugh, particularly the remote control one haha. Everything that our brains send us in the way of emotions, feelings, and thoughts is just information. It can't make us do anything. It can't control us. So, if someone wants to work out and eat healthy, aim yourself that way, strap in, and let all the contradicting noise from your brain bounce off you into the dust. And if you need help blocking that noise, take Tim's advice here and pay for accountability. Great message.