How to stay motivated

Hello Blog! Today I am writing to you from the heart & soul. I have been feeling a bit uninspired lately (and therefore unmotivated) and I want to try to start writing about things that are on my mind, rather than things I have planned & curated. Obviously I love sharing more curated content like educational posts, recipes, and travel diaries, but I want to also make this a place where I can be honest & authentic. In light of that, I am here to share some thoughts I have on motivation.

As a personal trainer and fitness enthusiast, I often get asked questions like “How do you stay motivated?” or “How do you keep your clients motivated?” For a while, this question stumped me. I truly did not know how to keep people motivated, and frankly, I didn’t know how to keep myself motivated either - I just did it! In response to these questions, I’d often say things like “I remind my clients of how far they’ve come or what their why is,” or “I switch up their programming frequently so they don’t get bored.”

The problem was, I didn’t actually think these things kept myself or other people motivated. I felt like an imposter & a fraud because as a personal trainer, I should know exactly how to keep someone motivated! Answering this simple question shouldn’t be difficult for a successful trainer.

So you must be thinking that if I am writing this post on motivation, I must have cracked the code, I must have figured out how to keep myself and others motivated. Well, if you are thinking that, you are wrong my friend. I have not cracked this code, I have not been gate-keeping this secret, and I have not figured out how to keep myself or others motivated.

So what is the point of this whole post then? Surely I didn’t write this to tell you that there is no hope for staying motivated and you will ultimately end up giving up on your goals once motivation has been depleted! Of course not, that would be cruel and a waste of both of our time.

So what’s the deal? What I am about to tell you might be discouraging, and it might be disappointing, but it is the truth. Motivation is fleeting. Yes, you heard me. Motivation is fleeting. You will never be able to stay motivated forever. There will come a day when you are tired, overwhelmed, busy, hungry, defeated, etc. There will come a time where being unmotivated is inevitable.

Now that sounds depressing! You might be thinking, “What’s the point of trying if I am just going to lose all my motivation and end up giving up?” What’s the point? Let me tell you. The point is that if you are relying on solely motivation to get your tasks done, reach your goals, and change your life, you will inevitable fail. Once again, motivation is fleeting, so if you rely solely on motivation, you will end up failing. There is something deeper and stronger than motivation that will determine whether or not you are successful in your endeavors. What is this, you might ask? It’s discipline, determination, self-respect, your mindset, your identity. It is your ability to keep the commitments you make to yourself.

3 tips for staying Motivated

Change your identity.

If you don’t change your mindset, you won’t be able to hold onto motivation for more than a few days (if you’re lucky). Changing your identity, and the way you view yourself, is an amazing tool to switch your brain from relying on motivation for getting something done, to relying on discipline and habit. When you view yourself as someone who requires motivation to do something, you will require motivation to do something (duh?). When you view yourself as someone who is self-disciplined, courageous, or hardworking, you pull on those beliefs and traits to fuel your actions.

For example, I used to absolutely hate working out. Now, I workout 6 days a week, and I enjoy it! While a lot of different factors over the years have influenced the exercise schedule and routine I follow now, only one thing truly changed. I know view myself as someone who loves to exercise and it is one of my most important values and priorities. I never worry about falling off track when it comes to exercising because I view myself as someone who prioritizes it. Even when I miss a workout class, have to walk to the gym in the rain, or have an extremely busy day, I always get some form of exercise in. It is just part of who I am. There are days when I think about the gym and really don’t want to go. But guess what? I show up anyway. It might be a shitty workout, but I’m getting it done. And you know what? Most of the time, once I’m there and I’m in the thick of it, I start to enjoy it more. And I always leave feeling better than I did walking in.

Take Action

One of the easiest ways to jumpstart your motivation is by doing the damn thing. Nothing can kickstart a project like getting up and starting it! If you want to clean your apartment but have zero motivation to get up and do it, start by just getting out the vacuum. If you want to go workout but can’t get yourself off the couch, start by putting on your gym clothes. If you can’t find the motivation to get out of bed, start by sitting up in bed! Take the task you are attempting to achieve and simplify it. Take the smallest baby-step you can take, and then take another step.

Another way that you gain motivation is by gaining confidence. The only way you can gain confidence is by actually doing something! You will never be confident in your ability to give a presentation until you give a presentation that you felt good about! You won’t be able to be confident in your new gym outfit until you actually wear the outfit! You won’t be confident in your ability to cook until you cook a really good meal! Stop waiting for the perfect moment and just start.

Stop relying on motivation.

Tip #3 is what I’ve been saying all along — to stop relying on motivation to get you there. Write down the word “motivation” on a piece of paper, crumple it up, and throw it in the trash (okay, this might be a bit extra) because that is how useless motivation is. The only thing motivation is good for is putting the idea into your brain. After that, it basically has no use at all because it is unreliable and untrustworthy! You never know when motivation is going to show up, how long it is going to stay, or how effective it will be. Think about that for a moment. Would you date someone like that? Would you hire someone with those traits? Would you respect someone with those qualities? And most importantly, would you rely on a person who behaves that way? Absolutely not!

Do you see my point? Relying on motivation is just about the dumbest thing you can do (no offense). Once you realize this, you can start to use the other tips and tid-bits from this post to actually motivate you. Instead, rely on your ability to do hard things, or your ability to pivot. Rely on the way you view yourself, the respect you have for yourself, the drive to be better.

So let’s take it back to the beginning: How do you stay motivated? You stay motivated, by not relying on motivation to do the task, to make the move, to start the project, to get up and go. You stay motivated by acknowledging and accepting the fact that you will not be motivated every step up the way. You stay motivated by doing it anyways.

I hope you found some value in this post. I have to say, I did! And as contradictory as it sounds, just writing this blog post motivated me to stop waiting for motivation to hit me to do something. It has helped me remember that I don’t need motivation to do anything, the only thing I need is myself, and my desire to make something of myself. What did you get out of this post? Let me know on TikTok, Instagram, or Pinterest @trainwithtorik or email me at trainwithtorik@gmail.com. Until next time…