Today, we’re diving into the true driving force behind achieving and sustaining your goals: your ‘why.’ We’ll explore how connecting deeply with the reasons behind your health and fitness goals can transform temporary motivation into long lasting discipline. This isn’t just about fitness; it’s a fundamental approach that applies to all areas of life. Get ready to shift away from motivation and learn how to consistently align your actions with your deepest desires and goals.

Motivation is temporary

Everyone has been in a situation where you join a program, kick off all excited for the first few weeks, then you start to lose motivation.

You start making excuses and after a few weeks, it all becomes too hard.

Why? What changed?

What changed, is your lost sight why you started! Your ‘why’. Your ‘purpose’.

I hear goals like ‘I want to lose weight’ or ‘I want to improve my health’ every day. But the fact is, your reason you want to change, stems so much deeper than that.

Why do you want to lose weight?

Why do you want to improve your health?

Why is it so important to you? This is the true burning question.

If you don’t figure out the deeper purpose, you will rely on motivation and that is temporary.

Your deeper reason will help you trigger discipline, so that you carry through what you committed to and finish the job!

Now this doesn’t just apply in health and fitness; this applies in absolutely everything that you do.

Establishing your ‘why’:

Here are some great questions to ask yourself when trying to determine your deep ‘why’ that is going to help you start and, more importantly, finish the job.

• What do you want to achieve? Be very specific here. Use S.M.A.R.T. principle:
  • S – Specific e.g. I want to complete push ups on my toes on the floor
  • M – Make is measurable – e.g. 5 of them
  • A – Attractive – ensure that there is something about the goal that you love to help keep you interested and engaged e.g. I train with my best friend
  • R – Relevant – how relevant is your goal to your life? E.g. I want to fit into the training group because everyone else can do them and I want to be able to do them too.
  • T – Timely – set a deadline, or a time frame in which to achieve it. E.g. 1^st of September 2024
• Why is that so important to you? Because…
• Why is that so important? Because…
• Why is that so important? Because…
  • Keep asking this question for each reason you give until you can dig no deeper. Really explore each reason.
• Then ask yourself:
  • How would I feel if I achieved this? (Be as specific and real as possible.) Proud, strong, fit, confident, happy, free….
  • How would I feel if I didn’t achieve this? Sad, frustrated, trapped, resentful, failure…
  • How would my life be different if I achieve this? Can go out when invited, stop avoiding things, go to beach….
  • How would I feel about myself if I achieve this? Proud, happy…
  • How would my relationships around with my friends, colleagues and family, be different if I achieve this? Socialise more, not snappy…

Once you have answered all your ‘why’ questions, it’s time to start creating your strategies to avoid self-sabotage.

Avoiding self-sabotage:

• What are possible roadblocks that might come up or that you might face?
  • A roadblock is any situation you encounter that makes it difficult or impossible to do what you want or need to do.
  • For example:
    • Don’t meal plan
    • Can’t get to training
    • Get sick
    • Get injured
  • What are strategies that you can use, to overcome those roadblocks? When you have your strategies mapped out, you will automatically go into ‘solution focused’ when a problem or roadblock arises. This increases your chances of success and reduces your chances of sabotage.
    • For example:
      • Buy clean food that is quick and easy such as sushi or BBQ chicken with a readymade salad from supermarket.
      • Train at home.
      • Take the time you need to recover then get back into it, staying on track with your food in the meantime.
      • Do recovery things to help my recovery and return to movement.
    • Think of an example of a time where you achieved something huge that needed commitment and discipline from you?
      • g. Quit smoking, rent a house, finish year 12, go on holiday, buy a house, lost 40kg, got a full-time job, won an award…
    • What strengths or attributes did you need to achieve this?
      • g. Discipline, planning, sacrifice…
    • How can you use those strengths or attributes to help you with this current goal?
      • g. Implement them in line with what I want to achieve now.
    • What will you have to endure to order to achieve this?
      • Every goal has aspects to it that we don’t like, or we find boring, difficult or annoying. The things we have to do to achieve the goal.
      • For example, if you want a baby, you have to endure dirty nappies, sleepless nights, vomiting, etc.
      • Thinking about what you are trying to achieve, what will you have to endure? Making time for exercise? Having to meal plan? What?

Creating Your Vision:

Once you have the answers what you want to achieve, why you want to achieve it, your possible roadblocks and your strategies to overcome the roadblocks, it’s time to create your vision. This will create the burn inside that will help you visualise your success. When you can actually visualise what it looks like to be living in the moment of having achieved your goal, it makes it so much easier to stay focused and disciplined on working towards your goals.

Your vision needs to be written in present tense, as though you are living in the moment of success of your goal. State the date, the scenario / setting, describe what your success is and how you feel. Set the scene! This will create a burning desire to make it happen!

Once you have written your vision, put it up somewhere you are going to see it every single moment of every single day. And on those days, you struggle most, to do what you have committed to do, read through your vision 3 times. It will help you refocus and keep pushing.

Here’s an example:

“It is 20^th of December 2024, and I am sitting on the sand at the beach feeling the sun soak through my skin. Oh beach, how I’ve missed you! I can’t believe I refused to come all those years because I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin, and I struggled to walk down the steep slope down to the sand. Today I walked down with ease feeling super fit, energised and capable. I am wearing my new swimsuit with a sarong and feel sexy; I’m not self-conscious anymore.

I can’t wait to go swimming and feel the salt water on my face again. I’m feeling strong, fit and confident that I can go out deep and not worry about getting too exhausted and not be able to return to the shore. I have done all the hard work and now I’m able to live my life freely, do the things I love, without feeling tired, without struggling and without getting anxious or stressed.

 I am so proud of myself for sticking to my training routine, getting my steps done every day and for cleaning up my food. For meal prepping and creating a routine has helped me so much on those days that things fell apart, and I didn’t have time to cook. Having a PT helped me with a structured program that got me the results so now I can enjoy life. Getting up that 30 mins earlier to fit everything in each day has been so worth the sacrifice! Now I can go out and enjoy the things I love with energy, strength and feeling capable. I can go out wearing what I want and feel sexy. I don’t have to panic about what I’m going to wear or what excuse I can use to get out of something, the next time I can an invitation. I love the unleashed ‘me’ and I’m so glad I committed to this roadmap and made it happen! Go me!!!!”

And finally, create your road map to achieve your goal:

Creating your road map:

• Will you need to recruit any help? If so, from whom?
  • Personal Trainer, Financial Planner, Psychologist, Doctor, Wedding Planner, Nutritionist etc.
• What are some first steps you are going to have to do to get you started?
  • Will you need to meal plan? Create a time schedule? Do further investigation into finding the right person or program or facility? Join a gym? Create a budget to afford the gym?
• Create a ‘To do’ list for what you will need to do today, tomorrow and this week in order to prepare for your goal, your ‘why’.
• Then create your ‘to do’ list for each day and week for the following 4 weeks.
  • Planning 4 weeks at a time are big chunks, enough to be able to avoid overwhelm. If 4 weeks is even too overwhelming for you, break it down to create your ‘to do’ list each week or fortnight.
  • It takes 21 days to form new habits, so you need to be patient with yourself and persevere.
• Execute your plan. We can talk all day, but at the end of the day, if you don’t take any action, all of this planning is simply a waste of time. You actually need to take action to get the job done.

Now it’s your turn. Go back through all the questions and tasks we have just discussed and make it happen.

• Set your goal.
• Establish your ‘why’.
• Determine your roadblocks.
• Create your strategies for your roadblocks.
• Write your vision.
• Formulate your road map.
• And Execute!

• Coach Terri