Lack Of Motivation Is Not What Is Holding You Back

I want to talk to you about a word.

It’s a word I hear a lot when asking women what it is that holds them back from living the life they envision for themselves.

And in particular from taking care of their bodies.

Especially in the form of exercising.

You know what the word is?

Motivation.

So many women tell me they don’t exercise regularly because they are lacking motivation.

But here is the thing.

Motivation is not what you are lacking.

It’s not what you are looking for.

It’s not what’s holding you back.

Because you know what?

We are all motivated at some point.

The problem is that motivation is fleeting. Motivation doesn’t last.

None of us lack motivation.

Just about everyone is motivated on January 1st every year.

Everyone!

We are all motivated!

The problem is that motivation dissolves.

And it usually only takes a couple days for the motivation to fade away.

And there you are again.

Lacking motivation.

Whether it’s staying on top of the laundry or decluttering your house or exercising or working on a project or meal planning or whatever…

Once the motivation is gone, you are stuck again.

Motivation isn’t really the issue.

It’s habits.

And it’s drive.

I was listening to David Goggin’s new book, (affiliate) Can’t Hurt Me on Audible today.

I LOVE David Goggins. I consider him to be a mentor.

He talks about motivation and drive in the introduction to his book.

About how motivation is there when everything is good.

And comfortable.

It’s easy to go out for a run in the spring and the summer and fall when the weather is mild. Or just plain gorgeous.

It’s easy to do nice things for your spouse and work on your relationship when you are getting along.

When the money is flowing and you aren’t strapped financially and life is good, it’s a lot easier to get yourself going on whatever that thing is you want or need to do.

But most of the time, conditions are not ideal. Life is not neatly wrapped.

It’s messy and it’s unfair and it’s exhausting and it’s hard.

And that is when motivation really doesn’t matter.

What matters is an internal drive to change.

To do better.

To be better.

And that drive to change can be kickstarted by developing habits.

Very small habits.

Most of us want to see change overnight.

But that’s not how change happens.

Change happens gradually.

Seemingly invisibly.

Bit by bit.

In a world of Google and Amazon Prime, we are not accustomed to waiting for anything now.

We want immediate results.

And when we don’t get them, we quit.

It’s the drive to want to change that keeps you going.

Being sick and tired of being sick and tired?

That’s drive.

Drive can be powered by very small habits which eventually compound into larger habits and big results.

So take a moment to think and to envision your future self.

Your best life. Your best version of you.

What would you like to do differently?

The next step is to focus on a very small and manageable habit.

Small habits eventually lead to BIG results.

I’ll be talking more about this in the next few days.

Until then, what habits would you like to make a part of your daily routine?

I’d love to hear what they are!

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