Why do we need to be motivated? Apart from the obvious… that we would likely stay in bed all day, eating fast food and not contributing or interacting with the World. Motivation is important to help us change our habits and cope with new opportunities and challenges.
You’ve probably heard it all before but there are things that can help you gain (and keep) motivation:
- Set a goal. An achievable goal. THEN give it a time frame and break it into easy steps.
I once had a whinge to a friend that I felt like I was drowning in my to-do list. He said to write a fresh list, with “write to-do list” at the top. TICK, one step achieved, it motivated me to keep ticking!
- When you are assigning time to dedicate to your goal. BE REALISTIC. You are not going to go from never running before to running 70km/week or someone who has never done their physio homework to doing it 5 times a day. Can you dedicate 20mins twice a week to your goal? Then schedule it in.
- Make your self accountable. Select “Track Adherence” on your PhysiTrack home exercises we have given you, or simply say it out loud. “I am going to stretch for 20mins 3 times each week”.
Once you have set your goal, you are half way there, now to stay on track. Talk positively to yourself, “I can…I will…”. If you struggle with this it might be time to enlist a personal trainer or coach or mention to your physio that you need some help with motivation- we are very willing to help.
Progress and achieving the small steps on the way to your goal gives you confidence which in itself is motivating.
Keep at it!
It can take up to 3 months to develop a new habit. So stick with it. Once you are beyond 3 months, its is a habit- it takes next to no motivation to perform because it is just what you do.
Be resilient.
If at first you don’t succeed… Don’t give up. It is okay to need to start again. Learn from your “mistakes” and try again. Was the goal achievable? Was the timeframe achievable? What barriers was there? What else was going on in your life that may have contributed to the derail?
Now get out there and start loving THIS life.