Motivating The Unmotivated

New Year’s resolutioners: How’s your resolve going?

Barely two weeks into the new year, many of the “I’m going to exercise/eat healthier/lose weight” resolutions that were made with the best of intentions have already lost their steam. The less resolved are already skipping workouts, cheating on their diets and otherwise sabotaging their efforts at self-improvement.

Personal trainers see this all the time, and it frustrates us. How can we motivate someone to follow a healthy lifestyle when their motivation is lacking?

The truth is, we can’t. Motivation has to be intrinsic, meaning it has to originate within the person. It can’t come from a friend, spouse, or even from a physician tersely explaining the future consequences of someone’s couch-potato lifestyle.

It’s really all about personal responsibility. Either you care about yourself and recognize the contribution exercise and healthy eating make to your life, or you don’t. Either you find the time to do what is important to you, or you make excuses why you can’t.

The best way to regain lost motivation is to recall what made you want to start exercising and eating healthier in the first place. Maybe your impetus was pure vanity… you want to look good naked. Perhaps you wanted to train for a marathon or other athletic event. Or maybe you were truly scared of the toll an inactive lifestyle was taking on your health. Revisit that initial spark and use it to fuel new resolve.

Of course, it does little good to hit the gym without a concrete goal and a well-thought-out plan of attack. We’ll cover effective goal-setting strategies in the next installment.