Motivation vs. Dedication
What’s Up Beautiful People!
I get asked all the time how do I find the motivation to workout everyday, and I never give the normal cliche answer. I know that motivation comes and goes. Some days you wake up excited and ready to go and on other days, the last thing you want to do is work out.
What I’ve found is, it’s not about motivation but dedication and commitment to self. We have to find our why. Why do we truly want to live a healthier life? I personally remember sitting in the doctors office hearing the words, diabetic, high cholesterol and heart issues, I was already dealing with depression and this just sent me into a spiral of self pity. I left that office and drove straight to some fast-food restaurant, but a seed had been planted. Over the next few weeks, I keep hearing the words that the doctor uttered and then I would see my mom, my dogs and the home we built and I would think to myself that my life is in jeopardy so much right now and it’s all due to things that I could change.
I still wasn't motivated, but that seed kept growing and I kept thinking. And then on May 25, 2019, I made the commitment to myself to change my life to live healthier for me. And just to show how motivation was not the thing that got me up, it took me two more days to actually start this journey. On May 27, 2019 I walked into a Planet Fitness and that’s where my journey began.
That first day in the gym, was scary and I left so alone. I felt like I was the biggest person in the room of all these people running , jumping, lifting and then there was me. I step onto the treadmill, “motivated” to workout and I started walking. I lasted 5 minutes before I had to hit pause to catch my breath. I felt so defeated in that moment. I felt like all eyes were on the big girl, who couldn’t even last 5 minutes on the treadmill. It wasn’t motivation that kept me at the gym that day, it was the dedication to myself. I started the treadmill back up and my goal was to make it another 5 minutes, then another 5 minutes and another until I hit my goal of 30 minutes and I did it.
You see, if I was solely dependent on motivation, I would have stepped off the treadmill after the 5 minutes and went back home, but because my “why” was about my health, I was able to keep pushing myself everyday and that’s what I continue to do today.
What’s the real reason that you want to live a healthier life? Why do you truly want to lose the weight? There is a deeper reason outside of the normal I want to look good in clothes, because we all want to look good in clothes. Dig deep, find that reason and hold on to it everyday that you wake up. Use it to fuel you and give you the boost you need to say, “Okay, let’s do this”. It’s already within you, you just have to find.
What’s your why? Let me know in the comments below!
