Everyone knows the myriad of health benefits that come along with regular exercise — reduced stress, improved sleep, lowered risk of many health complications, improved mood, increased energy levels, and the list goes on. But if you ask a regular exerciser why he/she chooses to workout each day, the answer is probably something much more than the well-known benefits on this list.
Although you will receive different answers from each person you ask, there is one thing that each answer will have in common. A long-time, regular exerciser is not motivated by external factors. These people are guided by something much greater — an internal drive that is powered from within to be motivated and consistent, no matter what obstacles try to get in the way.
Behaviors are not generally based on logic or science. They are based on feelings and emotions. It turns out that the people who wake up at 5AM to workout every day and food-log with the intention of tracking balanced macros actually enjoy doing this. That might sound crazy, but it’s true!
These people are not using willpower to wake up early each day. They are doing these things, day in and day out, because it makes them feel good and NOT doing it makes them feel not-so-great.
So it turns out there is a fool-proof way to become a person who lives a healthy lifestyle, no matter what the circumstance, for a lifetime! The key is to get yourself to a place where you actually enjoy doing these things.
Giving up becomes very easy when you let your mistakes or short-comings define your actual ability or self-worth. If you think… well, I am just not a morning person, so I am never going to be able to exercise every day… then you’ve given yourself the opportunity to quit or never even get started.
It’s time to STOP belittling your efforts and shaming yourself and START finding healthier ways to reward yourself with something that is genuinely rewarding to you. Once you create this for yourself, you will be effortlessly consistent.
So HOW exactly are you going to create/discover this healthy reward feeling for yourself? Let’s take some advice from one of the top experts in creating sustainable habits, James Clear.
Clear suggests creating rituals or daily routines that take out the need/opportunity for making critical (and possibly impulsive) decisions, such as deciding whether or not to go to the gym each day. Let’s take a look at one example of this.
If you create a routine where you set out your gym clothes every night before you go to bed, you are already setting into motion your plan to go to the gym. No need to think about… should I or shouldn’t I go? The clothes are there. You wake up. You get dressed, and you head out the door to the gym.
Does this eliminate the possibility of bailing on your plan to go to the gym — NO! But once you consistently lay out your gym clothes the night before, get up and get dressed in the morning, and head out the door to the gym, then you’ve created and reinforced a routine much like brushing your teeth. You no longer need to choose how to start your day. This routine is in place to remove the need to make a decision.
Will you feel good about yourself once this routine is rock-solid and you don’t even consider bagging your plans to go to the gym each day — YES! YES! YES! Now your plans to go to the gym are not only effortless but also very rewarding.
Willpower alone will not keep you on the path of a sustainable, healthy lifestyle. Create routines for yourself. Use your willpower to stick to these routines in the beginning. Then the desired intrinsic reward will ultimately outweigh any obstacle that comes your way!