I want to talk today about the difference between motivation and momentum, because I think we often get a little confused.
So we talked in the previous episode about finding your why, that why is your driving force, it’s your motivation. It’s the thing that is supposed to keep you going even on the very hardest day. But have you ever just not been able to get started?
You have your reason, you have the goal. You know you want it and yet nothing happens. This is where we’ve got to learn to understand the difference between being motivated and creating momentum towards that goal. Motivation is a really funny thing. We talk about it, we throw the word out there and we put up motivational posts in the mornings and they’re supposed to inspire and drive you, but they don’t push you off the chair into that first step. It is super important that you create that for yourself. So this is where we really have to start throwing these excuses out the window and really be accountable for our own actions!!
If like me, you can maybe have a tendency to overthink, perhaps not want to do anything until you’re able to do it just right. Really want to get it perfect. What is perfect?
You can actually create a state of paralysis by continuing to look for that perfect moment. The perfect reason, the perfect habit to create…… massive spoiler alerts….. there is no perfect!
There’s no perfect time. There’s no perfect step. There is no perfect way to do anything, there’s only what you can do right now. And that in the moment is exactly right.
Get out of your own way and don’t stop you from reaching those goals. It is the teeny tiny steps along the way that will actually get you to that end goal. Not a giant leap forward.
Imagine for example, you want to run a marathon. I say imagine because I really can’t imagine that, 26.2 miles. That’s a big scary chunk, and I doubt very much if I kept looking at the 26 mile marker that I’d even want to start with the first step. But what if I simply broke it down a mile at a time, one foot in front of the other? I could actually make a good impact inside of a week, or a month or a year.
If, for example, you have set yourself a goal to lose X amount of weight, that number that big number might seem overwhelming. So why not start with the first pound? Just break it down. Don’t sit there stuck, not being able to celebrate the tiny steps because you’re not as close to the end goal as you would like to be.
Remember, when you started secondary school, high school or college, your end goal was to finish right? If you think back to that time it seemed so far away. But looking back, whether it was four years, seven years, however long you spent studying to finish and tick that box, it’s gone in the blink of an eye. And it’s all the teeny tiny steps, small assignments, the single individual classes. They’re the things that got you to the end.
Yet when it comes to our health and well being, we don’t break it down that way.
Another way that people tend to really create a stagnant state of being is by looking at the negatives. We don’t really achieve well, by focusing on the things we don’t do, the things we can’t do, or the things that we’re not good at. That’s simply going to set you back. What if you focused on the positive? What if I told you that every aspect of a healthy lifestyle was about adding value?
With that in mind, what if instead of taking away all the things we know we’re not supposed to do, we just add in one thing that we are supposed to be doing. One thing that makes us feel better. One thing that gives us more energy. One thing that takes us one step closer to the end goal of our healthiest, happiest self.
I know that that makes it sound super simple, but I promise you, that is the secret!
If you focus on adding in value, adding in healthy habits eventually when you add enough, there won’t be any room left for the bad habits. There won’t be any room left the negative and you will be living your best version of you before you know it. You’re laughing and rolling your eyes and I get that I can hear it from here. (That’s the mommy in me)
But honestly, start today. Start first thing in the morning. Why do you think I released this at 6am just in case you were wondering. It’s to give you that kick in the balls first thing in the morning, when you are at your most motivated. All
you need to do is decide to add one thing that brings you closer to your healthy goal. For example, you want to eat better. Start with one clean, healthy meal made from scratch, in your own kitchen and do it first thing in the morning. You can then tick off that box. Healthy Habits done for today! It’s a little gold star that should keep you going for the rest of your day. Feeling good about making that choice and knowing that you’re on the right track.
Just do it. Nike said it best guys. You can’t argue with that tagline.
Once it’s done, goldstar, box ticked, move on with your day with that satisfaction of knowing you completed your goal. We are all at heart, just giant children. We need to be praised. We need to be told how great we are. And we actually need to learn to do that for ourselves. So create your little tick boxes. Get a chart of gold stars if that’s what it takes. But make sure that every day you add that one health habit until that habit is just part of your norm. Then you can move on to the next one.
Some habits will take a little longer than others. But at the end of the day, it’s not about the speed. It’s about the momentum. Create that momentum for yourself every single day. And the motivation to stay going, will come! They two very different things, but you’re in charge of both. No excuses from now on. Choose your healthy habits, and take a step.
We are here to help and I can’t wait to hear how your first step into a healthy life goes. Have a super week.
Love,
Jess
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