How to stop relying on motivation
If you've been following me for a while, then you'll know I am a firm believer in discipline over motivation. While it's okay to rely on motivation to get you started, the key to achieving and sustaining your goals depends on developing discipline and creating healthy habits. That is how you will keep showing up on those cbf days (we all have them bestie).
So, how can you develop discipline and build the habits needed to achieve your goals? Here are my top tips:
- Treat your gym sessions like an appointment (or even work). If you have to be at a doctor's appointment, or start work at a certain time, you wouldn't miss it, right? You'd make it a priority and clear your schedule accordingly. So, start doing the same with your sessions! Schedule them in at the start of the week, and stick to the scheduled time.
- Focus on small wins. Just think about the small things you can get done each day that will get you closer to your goal. It might just be your steps, or hitting your macro targets, but that 1 small thing will have a flow-on effect into other areas and will help you build momentum.
- Have a structured plan. Having a structured training program will make showing up for the gym so much easier. If you know exactly what you are doing (and why you are doing it), it will take a lot of the guess-work out of your training.
- Never miss twice. It's totally okay to have days where you go off plan or enjoy social events or special occasions. That's life! But it's important to get back into your usual routine as soon as possible afterwards, especially if you have a body composition related goal.
- Keep things as simple as possible. Don’t overcomplicate the process with supplements, cardio, meal timing, or obsessing over macros. Focus on the lower hanging fruit, like sleep, protein intake, resistance training, quality nutrients, and recovery.
- Find a training style that you enjoy. The best plan is simply the one that works for you and your lifestyle. If you hate your training, then it’s going to be very hard to stick to it. Find something you love to do, and you won’t need to be motivated all the time to do it!
Soph xx