Are you MOTIVATED or are you COMMITTED? (guest post)

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When I first started my fitness journey it was a chore.

Workouts were just another thing to get out of the way, something to check off the list.

Prepping a days worth of meals for the next day of work, school and gym before I could go to bed was a necessary part of my schedule.

I looked forward to weekends were I could sleep in, have a “free day” for my favorite foods and sit on the couch watching basketball or movies. I craved those unstructured, lazy days where I didn’t have to think about exercise or eating healthy.

Then somewhere along the way something changed. I started looking forward to workouts. I become a morning exerciser. I started to enjoy cooking. I got up before 10 am on a Sunday to hit the gym!  It all started to change when I stopped focusing on the WHAT:

  • WHAT do I weigh?
  • WHAT size am I?
  • WHAT do I have to do to get there?

I started to focus on the WHY.

In order for this fitness thing to “stick”, I’ve learned, you have to change your mindset about WHY you do it. You have to find a WHY that goes beyond the number on the scale or the size on a pair of jeans. You have to do it for reasons that align with the kind of life you want to live and the kind of person you want to be.

  • Don’t do it for someone else. Do it because you want to take control of your own destiny.
  • Don’t do it because you want to wear a bikini. Unless that bikini is what is standing between you and enjoying a day at the beach with your family.
  • Don’t do it to look like someone in a magazine. They don’t really look like that anyway (at least not all the time).
  • Don’t do it to avoid illness. Do it to enjoy health.

Once you find your WHY  then you can start looking for the JOY in the process.

Like meditation and mindfulness, it takes practice.

Practice thinking about exercise differently.
I GET to go to the gym, not I HAVE to go to the gym.

Practice being present during your workout.
Breath with the movement. Hear your heart beat. Feel the wind on your skin as you run or ride. Appreciate those around you in the gym, seeing yourself as a member of a team on a great mission to fitness.

Practice play.
Any movement that gets your heart rate up counts as physical activity. So hula hoop, play basketball or jump rope every chance you get.

Practice smiling during exercise.
Everyone seems so serious in the gym. Put a smile on your face and laugh at yourself at every possible occasion.

In this way exercise almost becomes a form of mediation. Perhaps it was when I was truly present in the moments during and after my workouts that things changed for me. That moment when I realized how good I felt when I was moving. Discovering I could work through and face my problems during a long cardio session. That realization that I was a kinder and better person after making my muscles burn.

It’s the WHY, the promise of JOY, that makes the difference between motivation and commitment. Motivation can wane when you stay focused on the WHAT.

Commitment is there when your WHY is clear.

Are you motivated or are you committed?

 

 

Pamela Hernandez owns Thrive Personal Fitness.
Her blog www.thrivepersonalfitness.com is about sharing vegetarian recipes from her kitchen, exercise strategies, lifestyle tips, and stories from her journey. You can follow Pamela on Twitter @ThriveFit or on Facebook.com/ThrivePersonalFitness.

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Comments

  2. I love the reminder to smile when you workout. I see so many people grimacing as if they are mad or in pain, and I think it’s so sad because I HOPE they are having fun!

  4. i like the “practice thinking about exercise differently.” you’re absolutely right – we DO get to go to the gym. there are many people who are unable to for a variety of reasons, so we really shouldn’t complain that we are healthy enough, have the means to, and are able to make it to the gym!

  7. Committed! Pamela is one of my favorite fitness/health bloggers out there because she is so encouraging and takes a realistic view of what it takes to gein living a healthy lifestyle.

  9. I love this! I think I’m both. I was motivated to lose 100 pounds (which I did) and I’m committed to keeping it off. I’ve kept it off for 5 years now.

  11. I used to just want to be sexy (uh huh). That was my goal. But once the concept of clean eating got hold of me (and I discovered how it made me feel vs. continuing to count calories in crappy food), fitness began to mean sooo much more. I think those of us who stick to it all go through this type of metamorphosis in our “why”. But sadly, some people are still stuck on eh Cookie Diet. meh.

  13. It’s all fun and games and play. nothing more-you either love it (to move) or you don’t.

  14. Agreed! Not till I started crossfit did I really begin to look forward to going to the gym. I have to have a goal, be learning something, striving for something and getting more out of working out than just a checkmark on a to-do list.

  15. Great discussion. A few years ago I started a one hour, 6a.m. brisk walk. For the first bunch of days I just forced myself to get up and go do it. Then, after about 3 weeks, I noticed if I had to miss a day due to weather or something, the whole day was out of whack.
    Never miss a day now. Have gear for all types of weather.

  16. I flop back and forth between the two. I can start out motivated, but then lose it and just commit for awhile until I see results – then back to motivated 🙂

  17. This is something I struggle with… the what and the why. Sadly it’s also what stops me from being COMMITTED to weight loss, rather than just motivated to lose weight.

    It was a long time before I realised that… sure I was motivated: I wanted to lose weight; I wanted to weigh less, fit into stuff, not be fat… but I wasn’t really committed to it or willing to do what was necessary to achieve it.

    (Not sure I’m there yet!).

    Great post and thanks for sharing!

  18. Committed!!! Thanks for sharing your ideas in your informative post. It was an excellent read. I would add you to my reading list soon.

  20. I LOVE when I am smiling on my runs! That moment when you forget you are even working out it is truly a awesome moment. It feels so good. I am a little bit of both. I’m motivated to complete my half marathon with a smile on my face and just be prepared. I’m committed to this active and healthy lifestyle because it makes me feel GOOD inside and out. XOXO

  22. This is a great post. I went through a long phase where exercise had become just something that I did as well. I waited for the days off so that I could be lazy. I had spent so much time competing as an athlete that working out had become a chore. I didn’t remember why I started exercising that way I had before.

    I took almost a two years off from serious training and searching for what I had enjoyed with training. Now, that I’ve found it once again I find that I wake up looking forward to working out. No matter what is running, lifting weights, swimming, cycling, or playing basketball.

  23. Thank you for this Pamela. It’s an eye-opener to come to that moment where you have that epiphany, that a-ha about a healthier lifestyle. EVERY day is a struggle for me and I know I am not alone. I am trying hard to get that committed part of my journey as right now I am motivated to be healthier, on what the scale says, and what I USED to look like and why did I let myself fall off. Again, this post provided much clarity–adding it to my “committed arsenal”.

  27. I GET to go for a brisk walk today!!! And I’m committed to be the healthiest ME I can be!

    This post has inspired me to be more committed to getting fit and well. I want to share my story and journey in hopes that it will be inspiration for others.

  28. Bit of both at the moment (depending on the day). But I agree with ‘practise play’. I jumped on the trampoline with my daughter and that was one great workout!!

  29. This is a great idea to change your mindset from what to why. It can be done not only in fitness but in your life in general.

  31. Thank you for inspiring me to get my butt off the couch, break the habit of making an excuse and get refocused on the goal.
    To your health!

  32. I love this blog post.

    I used to be motivated. But now I am committed. That switch just happened recently though. And you are so right about smiling when exercising. It should be enjoyable, not painful.

  33. This is one of my favorite posts by far! When I take a step back and think about it, I believe that I am motivated, but not yet 100% committed. I am in the process of switching to being committed because I am changing my mindset. In the past I have viewed working out as a chore, just wanting to get it over with. Now that I have been going more and more, I actually love the feeling I get when I’m working out and afterward too! You made amazing points and I am going to quit the excuses!

  34. I love working out and I wish I had more time! I have been becoming less motivated lately. I have two jobs, an internship, and 20 credit hours of honors 300-400 level college classes and whenever I have time to workout it is either at 6am (I have work and classes around 8am in the mornings including Saturdays and sometimes Sundays) or after 10 at night (I have classes until 10 three nights a week) and the exhausting and weird hours has been draining. I guess i need to learn to smile and get through it. Your post is very inspiring and gives me a good vibe!

  35. It took me forever to get motivated to get up off my butt and start working out. When I did, I forgot how in love with working out I had once been. I felt great while I was doing it, it boosts my self confidence, and I felt amazing post workout. I kept telling my boyfriend how much I enjoyed it and he laughed and said, “you could have been doing this for the last two years.” I had never giving it an attempt. I just went about with my daily life and did what ever those days consisted of. But now that I try to fit at least one hour of workout in a day, I don’t know what I did before this. I would have had to have been bored out of my mind. So what changed? I started reading fitness and health blogs and getting motivated by other people and then one day I realized that I was going to be graduating college in a little over a month. I knew that was a decent enough amount of time to shed a few pounds and get in better shape. I am somewhat petite already so I knew it wouldn’t take much but I suddenly had a reason. I needed to look good under that cap and gown. I needed to feel proud of myself and my accomplishments when I walk across that stage. My entire family is coming down to Florida for my graduation and we are all staying at a beach hotel in St. Pete, Florida. I want to feel comfortable in my bikini and not feel like my body screams, “hey thanks family for college! Clearly I spent the last five years binging on booze and eating fast food.” I suddenly have a why and that why is pushing me to meet my goal.

  37. This is a great post. I usually am just motivated…so it wanes. I seriously need to think about the “why” and get it together.

  39. A bit of both. Committed to my sport which motivates me to exercise. If I didn’t enjoy playing sport I don’t think I would exercise that much. I am definitely not a gym person.
    You comment on smiling while exercising hit home though. It is all a bit too easy to get locked up in the competition and forget it’s meant to be fun.
    Thank you

  40. I couldn’t agree more! I wouldn’t have been able to put my finger on it like you did: naming it “what” not “why”, but my eating habits and lack of working out always had a reason. It was stress and anxiety that drove me to overeat and be too tired to exercise. Once I thought about what I wanted and where I wanted to go, it was so much easier to eat right…and even to work out more. Thanks for putting it into words.

  41. I am motivated! It took me so long to get there and so many diets attempted and failed, but once I got on track I found a healthy way to eat and a diet routine that both work for me. Success motivates me toward my goal, but it also is the enjoyment I have found along the way.

  42. I made a pact to make 2013 my doing year,
    I have already started on improvements in many areas of my life, Now its for the healthy lifestyle part.
    Have taken most of the junk out of the food cupboard
    downloaded a food tracker photo app on the phone,
    Now i just need to find a kids play ground to do some exercises on, May need to kidnap a child too as mine are way too old to accompany me to the playground..lol.
    COMMITTED hell yes.

  43. I AGREE ANY FITNESS OR EXERCISE ROUTINE STARTS IN THE MINDSET OF THE PERSON. AND I THINK THAT WHEN YOU LOVE FITNESS AND EXERCISE, YOU WILL NOT SEE IT AS A CHORE. YOU WILL BE CONSISTENT BECAUSE YOU LOVE WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
    I AM A LIFELONG BODYBUILDER I LOVE WORKING OUT IN THE GYM AND THE CHANGES I SEE THROUGH CONSISTENT DEDICATION.
    http://www.helpmakesuccess.com/FATLOSS

  44. Unfortunately, I’m just motivated. I say ‘just’ because it’s easy to get discouraged depending on the results such as what I weigh today vs. yesterday.
    Trying to find my why so I can get committed.
    Thanks for the thought provoker.

  45. I really enjoyed your blog! I have never thought of exercise in this way, but it made me feel better about the ‘chore’. My problem is always thinking there is something more important to do. Now that I have read your blog I find I’m asking myself ‘why’ do I want to exercise? Very helpful, thank you!

  46. No one has emphasized it before but smiling while working out actually lightens the load. Maybe we can infuse it into a gym management program and give it the special importance it deserves. 1-2-3 Smile!

  48. Wow, I just had an aha moment reading this article in that I now realize that I have only been motivated and always thought that was a good thing and enough to make it to the doing stage, but realize that it is easy to be motivated and doing and motivation is not the same thing! Motivation is actually step two, taking action is step one with motivation bringing up the rear (no pun intended 🙂 by keeping you going once you start seeing results. Thanks for this article!

  49. Everything in life requires commitment and dedication I guess. That’s what separates losers from winners.

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