Motivation Does Not last, Habits Do

Motivation Does Not last, Habits Do

Especially during colder times or times you have had a break from something. It’s not the motivation that gets you back, it’s the habit.

Sure, sometimes you feel motivated to come back after a break but sometimes you don’t.

So why is the habit last but the motivation doesn’t?

Well, when you’re dragging yourself out of bed and it’s cold outside and you’re sore from training and the last thing you feel like doing is training. Do you think you feel motivated at that point? You already know the answer. Then what gets us into the gym when it’s the last thing you feel like doing? It’s the habit, the habit you have created from dragging yourself out of bed when it’s cold and you’re sore, the times you have done that over and over and over. It’s become ingrained, it’s become instinctive, a behaviour and now a habit which lasts.

And that is how you develop a habit, doing it over and over. It is bloody hard to form habits and it’s easy for them to slide. Every time you give in to something that’s not on your eating plan. Every time you reach for the tv remote to watch Netflix instead of going to the gym. Every time you sleep in instead of going for a run. Every time you say yes to going out and drinking instead of building yourself that dream business. Every time you go to cafe for a coffee break between projects instead of devoting solid hours of concentrated work.

Every single time you go against what you’re meant to doing to get you to where you want to be.

Every time you give in you’re losing the opportunity to form a habit.

Usually, forming habits are hard because it’s the habits that you usually don’t feel like forming. We have ‘bad’ habits because they are usually easier to form. Watch Netflix = easy, eat shit food = easy, get fat instead of fit = easy, talk on social instead of face to face = easy.

The best way to fight the urge of the opposite to create those long lasting habits. DO NOT think. If you allow yourself to think, you allow the voices to creep in. It’s like the devil’s voice is creeping in telling you ‘it’s ok, you don’t have to go’ ‘it’s cold, don’t be silly’. Shut it off, don’t think and go.

Your motivation will not get you over the line. Habits will.

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