How often do you push yourself through sheer willpower to... - do something that's hard, tedious, and/or boring (like going running when you don't feel like it or eating yet another salad for lunch)?
- stop yourself from doing something you really want to do that's not good for you (such as enjoying that piece of chocolate cake at last week's office party)?
If you're like most people, willpower has become your go-to tool for changing and building habits (and even goal achievement).
But there's a BIG problem with that because willpower can only get you so far. If used too often, its effectiveness diminishes and eventually stops working altogether (which is why so many goals and new habits fail).
We've been talking about how and why to start prioritizing self-care these past two weeks (there's an opportunity to catch up below). I know that you don't want to start taking better care of yourself only to fail in a couple of weeks because you over-relied on willpower!
That's why you need to understand how to get and stay motivated, Friend. Motivation is what will help you achieve your goals, instill new habits, and make changes to your life that you want (and do so with more ease while having actual fun).
Your Motivation Success Blueprint
Here's your psychology-based blueprint to help you get and stay motivated to achieve your goals and change your habits:
Step #1: Create Deep Motivation
Most people don't connect what they want to achieve to something that motivates them on a deep enough level.
If you want to lose weight, it's not enough to want to fit into an old pair of skinny jeans or stylish suit. Ask yourself WHY.
How will you feel? What thoughts will be going through your head when you achieve what you want?
If the answer is that you'll feel strong, empowered and amazing (and you can start to feel that as you think about it), then you've found your deeper motivation.
Any time you feel your motivation waning, remind yourself of your deeper why.
Step #2: Set Goals (the Right Way)
It's hard to achieve something if you don't have a clear path to achievement (and you can't build a path if you don't have a clear outcome). You need a clear, SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely) goal.
But don't stop there (this is where most people mess up). If your goal is going to take longer than 90 days to achieve, set a smaller goal that will help you get closer to the large one.
Heck, I recommend you do this even if your goal can be achieved within 90 days (set a weekly or monthly goal to get you started).
For example, let's say you want to lose 50 lbs. Set a short term goal to lose your first 10 lbs. Or, set a non-weight loss goal that will help you achieve what you want, such as: - making healthy meals at home (instead of going out to eat) at least 5 nights per week;
- adding one new green food to your diet daily; or
- working out for 30 minutes, 4 days per week for your first month.
And be sure to focus on things you enjoy doing when working to achieve your goals. For example, there are many different ways to work out (walking, running, hiking, doing yoga, swimming, HIIT training, weight training, etc.). Don't limit yourself to what other people do or think you should do.
Step #3: Build Motivating Habits
To set yourself up for success, make things easier on yourself, and have more fun, build motivating habits. Here's how:
1. Bundle fun activities with difficult-to-do (or just plain hard to get motivated to do) activities. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:- Listen to your favorite podcast, music, or audio book while working out.
- Go for a nightly walk with your significant other or kids.
- Catch up on your favorite TV show while running on the treadmill.
- Drink 4 cups of water while watching your nightly TV show (instead of wine or beer).
2. Automate your habits. When adopting new habits, the best way to ensure success is to use technology or change something up-front so that the wanted behavior becomes automatic. Here are some examples: - Replace large plates with small ones (reducing portion size).
- Keep your docking stations and phone chargers outside the bedroom.
- Delete social media apps from your phone.
- Set up automatic deductions for retirement.
3. Create small, simple habits (that require little effort) to help you adopt your wanted behavior. For example, if you work out in the morning, get into the habit of pulling out your workout clothes before you go to bed (or do what I do and sleep in them!).
Remember, Friend, willpower is useful only in small doses. When you're trying to change habits and/or achieve big goals, you need to BE and STAY motivated. Use these three steps to help you do that.
And if you need to catch up on how to start prioritizing self-care: | 
