Exploring Motivation and Discipline in Fitness
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome back, friends. I am so excited to dig into today's discussion or topic, I should say, because it's going to be about all things related consistency, motivation, discipline, a lot of ah I shouldn't say a lot, but these words, in my opinion, are very synonymous with each other, okay? We use these words a lot as it relates to um you know physical journeys, right? Or fitness journeys, if you will.
00:00:32
Speaker
And the thing is, is that when it comes to consistency, we know that we have to be consistent, but then oftentimes we we run into issues as it relates to, well, I'm not motivated to be consistent.
00:00:46
Speaker
And so then when we don't feel motivated, um we usually then like defer back to like an all or nothing mentality, right? I'm not motivated to do something. So then i that typically translates into I'm not going to do anything at the end of the day, right? I'm not motivated to exercise. And so then therefore I'm not exercising, right?
00:01:06
Speaker
I'm not motivated to, um ah you know, prioritize my protein today. So that means that I'm just going to, you know, eat whatever I want. You see what I'm saying? So it kind of like when we understand, yes, OK, we have to be consistent in order to reach our goals.
00:01:22
Speaker
But then that kind of like human approach creeps in as far as like, OK, well, what about when I'm not motivated? OK. Well, similarly, we know that we are not always going to be motivated um to quote unquote show up for ourselves in our fitness
Discipline vs Motivation: How to Proceed When Motivation Fails
00:01:37
Speaker
And how often do you hear, you don't have to be motivated. We need to be disciplined. Right. um And so then we understand, you know, that there is some kind of logic behind, OK, I know that I you know can't rely on motivation. However, what does that mean in my everyday ah you know journey as it relates to, well, then what am I supposed to do when I don't feel motivated? Just.
00:02:00
Speaker
rely on discipline. Well, I don't want to rely on discipline. Do you see what I'm saying? So like all of these words are very synonymous with each other as it relates to struggles um that we um that we go through in our journey. It's not necessarily as easy as this is what you do to reach your goals. Cool. I'll do it.
00:02:21
Speaker
I very much disagree with that. I do think that there is a time and a place to say like, OK, well, listen, If you want to chase fat loss, fat loss is not an easy goal to chase. And there is going to be a level of discomfort that we do have to accept, right?
00:02:36
Speaker
um And with that level of discomfort that we have to accept, we have to realize you're not always going to feel motivated to go get your steps in or meal prep or, you know, the things that help us, um you know, quote unquote, show up for our journey that much more in our or that much more for ourselves.
Accepting Discomfort for Fitness Progress
00:02:55
Speaker
But at the end of the day, i definitely think that we oftentimes make things a little bit more challenging than they need to be in terms of holding ourselves to an all or nothing mentality.
00:03:07
Speaker
saying we're doing it in the name of consistency. And then when we can't be consistent, like I said, for whatever reason, we fall off the wagon and then we start all over again on Monday. And it's like, OK, around and around we go.
00:03:20
Speaker
um So here's the thing. When it comes to motivation, motivation, I like to almost talk about it in terms of motivation.
00:03:31
Speaker
We feel motivated when we take action. We do not feel motivated before we take action. Okay, so like that is human psychology. That's not that's not um ah exclusive to working out or eating healthy or, you know, whatever the case is.
00:03:51
Speaker
motivation comes after we take action, okay? But oftentimes we wait to feel motivated to take action. So do you see the issue already, okay? um And I like to say, i like to explain it like this, okay, with um with my clients and whatnot.
00:04:08
Speaker
Think about the law of physics. A ball in motion or an object in motion will stay in motion, right? And here's the thing. It takes a lot less energy to keep an object in motion than it takes to get an object started in motion, right? So think about a ball.
00:04:29
Speaker
It takes less energy to keep that ball moving forward, right, and building momentum and continuously, you know, moving the needle forward. Then it's going to take, It's going to take more energy to push that ball in motion. Okay.
00:04:43
Speaker
So when we are not feeling motivated, maybe we don't stop the ball. Maybe we slow down the ball. Maybe we adapt. Maybe we modify. So instead of doing nothing, maybe we allow ourselves to be human, right? And say, hey, I don't feel like working out.
00:05:00
Speaker
Okay. Is there another kind of workout that we can do to kind of still like hold the space for movement, right? The ball is still moving in motion. We're just slowing the ball down. um Or, you know, um I don't feel like meal prepping.
00:05:14
Speaker
um Okay, can we can we at least have some convenient food items stocked in your house so that even if you don't feel like meal prepping right now in the moment, even if you understand the value of that, you're you still are set up for success, right? You're giving yourself a plan B, okay? A lot of this is shifting your focus away from, okay, I don't feel motivated to do X, Y, and Z. Awesome.
00:05:39
Speaker
What can we do about it? Where is our opportunity within not feeling motivated, right? To keep that ball moving forward, no matter how fast, no matter how slow, so that we are not spending more energy do get moving again.
Action Leads to Motivation: A Psychological Perspective
00:05:55
Speaker
I'm saying? um So, you know, I think oftentimes too, when we wait to feel motivated, I think a lot of times, ah you know, analysis paralysis kicks in. Okay. So like, as an example, um you know, we almost like build up these words, like, I don't feel motivated. Like all of our, all of our eggs are in one basket. And if we're not motivated, okay, well then we're not doing anything. Right.
00:06:19
Speaker
ah But in reality, you know, when we wait to feel motivated to take action, that is oftentimes when we end up waiting a lot longer than just starting, just just doing it, right? Like I said last week in in the first episode,
00:06:34
Speaker
um how I'm a perfectionist, right? And so I really wanna make sure I have my ducks in a row before I start doing something new. But in reality, you just gotta to start. but You just gotta to get your your hands messy. You gotta to make mistakes. You got you gotta to learn from those mistakes, right? Similarly speaking, when it comes to being motivated, we can't wait to feel motivated to take action.
00:06:55
Speaker
We take action and then we are motivated to continue that action as a result of taking action, right? As an example, on uh you know when it comes to meal prepping you don't want a meal prep even if you understand the value of meal prep right um you don't want to necessarily meal prep but when you choose to meal prep you recognize throughout the entire week wow i've saved so much time throughout the week by not cooking and also so much mental capacity throughout the week by not thinking of what i'm going eat 24 7
00:07:29
Speaker
Because I took the time to set myself up for success by meal prepping, right? And because of that realization, because of that experience and you seeing the ah the return on investment, right?
00:07:42
Speaker
Now you're a little bit more motivated to meal prep for the next week. Okay? Similarly speaking, as it relates to like working out, right? Man, I'm really tired.
00:07:52
Speaker
I don't feel like working out because I'm tired, right? And oftentimes, similarly, guys, Exercise gives us energy. Okay? So when we wait to feel, um or when we wait for energy to exercise,
00:08:06
Speaker
It's the same kind of conundrum as motivation, right? We need to move to get energy rather than waiting for energy to move, okay? um And so, you know, motivation as it relates to your workouts, right?
00:08:18
Speaker
mean, I really don't feel like working out today or I don't feel like walking or I don't feel like waking up early to make it happen. Cool. However, when you make it happen, right? When you push back on that like mental friction of saying like, I'm just going to stay where I'm at,
00:08:33
Speaker
You have more energy throughout the day. You're in a better mood throughout the day. the day is just better, in my opinion. um You know, you just, again, you you have more energy. Your mood is just in a better position because you worked out, because you moved your body, you know.
00:08:50
Speaker
And so... you get more motivated to continue moving your body. So do you see what I'm saying? Like, that's what, at least I mean when I say motivation comes after action, okay?
00:09:01
Speaker
But when we wait for motivation, that is usually when we kind of like are in this limbo of, I know I need to do this, but I don't want to do this. So I'm going to wait until I want to do it. And then how many times does that translate into, well, then you just end up doing nothing.
00:09:18
Speaker
um So, you know, just kind of a little perspective as it relates to like that whole motivational side of, um your
Mindset Challenges: Beyond Motivation and Infatuation
00:09:25
Speaker
fitness journey, right? A lot of our fitness journey is um is very mental. It's very mindset-based and understanding, hey, it's okay if you don't feel motivated, but again, what can we do about it? Like, okay, sometimes again, there is a time and a place to say, okay, listen,
00:09:42
Speaker
We you want to chase fat loss. If you want to chase fat loss, this is optimal. OK, we're going have to not feel motivated sometimes to, you know, stay within our caloric deficit. Right. Because that's what drives fat loss.
00:09:55
Speaker
There are going to be times when you want to um eat a little bit more or you're tempted to say, like, screw it. I don't care. okay you might not feel motivated to do so.
00:10:06
Speaker
But, you know, anyways, all that to say, think I'm getting off on a tangent. um Or maybe my brain just blinked. Welcome to welcome to me. um But anyways, all of that to say, that is essentially motivation. It starts and it ends in our brain. A lot of our fitness journey is essentially mindset based, right? I say this often, your mindset will make or break you. However, I think that oftentimes, again, we hold ourselves to that all or nothing mentality, that perfection mentality, like, hey, I am holding myself to one standard and if I can't hit that standard, I'm gonna do nothing.
00:10:42
Speaker
It's all related to that motivation, okay? um I also think too, when it comes to motivation, we often confuse motivation with infatuation, okay? So for example, we are um just a few days into March, all right?
00:10:57
Speaker
Just a few days into March, about three months ago, not even three months ago, how many of us started the year just a couple of months ago with New Year's resolutions.
00:11:08
Speaker
And we started the year saying, man, I am so motivated um to you know reach these goals. And because I'm so motivated to reach these goals, um it's a lot easier for me to show up. And like, man, i'm I'm waking up early and I'm getting my workouts in and I'm meal prepping and it feels good. And then somewhere along the way,
00:11:26
Speaker
we feel like that motivation fizzles, right? um And here's the thing. You were infatuated. You were not motivated. You were infatuated at the beginning of the year.
00:11:37
Speaker
The idea of the possibility that you could reach these goals that you have set out that essentially make us feel like, hey, my life is going to be better when I reach these goals That idea is infatuation. You're infatuated with the idea of you reaching your goals. Okay.
00:11:57
Speaker
However, infatuation um is often short lived. Okay. Think about when you are first in a, um think about when you're first in a relationship. Okay.
00:12:08
Speaker
And when you're first in a relationship, you got that puppy love. Okay. You're infatuated. How many times do we hear we confuse infatuation with love? Right. um oh, I love this person, I love this person, when they've met for like two weeks.
00:12:21
Speaker
And I'm not saying, hey, if that's your story, that you don't love your person if you are still together. But what I am saying is that is not necessarily love, okay? That is infatuation. And so the same thing can be said with our goals, right? In the beginning, we are all in, right? We are so hyper-focused, we are quote-unquote motivated, we are infatuated, okay? Okay.
00:12:45
Speaker
And it takes time for that infatuation to wear off. And when that infatuation wears off, that is actually when the real work begins.
00:12:57
Speaker
Because the real work begins in your journey when you don't feel like it. The real work begins in your journey when it's not as easy, when it's not convenient, when it's less than ideal, when it's not easy to show up for yourself and it's challenging and all of these things. That is when we have reached the work, okay? It's time to dig in, if you will.
00:13:19
Speaker
It's actually one of the reasons why with my individual clients, um You know, we I work with them on an initial three-month agreement because I know that in those first three months, hey, you are going to be all in. You're going be super hyper-focused. Awesome. I'm excited. And we use that infatuation, if you will, to really build some great habits so that after the three months, when the real work begins, we have kind of a stronger foundation that we can use to continue to build on and say, okay, this is real life.
00:13:49
Speaker
Good thing we got some habits built in so that we're not just like starting from square one. um So, yeah, I just I think that, you know, a lot of times like we hear these words, but I think sometimes just kind of hearing a little perspective on, you know, motivation, infatuation, things like that can just be
Understanding Discipline: Balance and Self-Love
00:14:05
Speaker
a little helpful. OK, I'm talking a little bit about discipline now. OK, so let's kind of shift the focus away from discipline, because how often do we hear?
00:14:15
Speaker
You can't wait to feel motivated. You got to be disciplined. And I am a full believer in that. However, I also believe that we are human. um We are not robots. And yes, OK, there is a time and a place to be disciplined.
00:14:29
Speaker
But there is also a time and a place to say it's not that serious. Right. Give yourself a little grace. And where is that balance between life and your goals? Right. Um, it's not, it's not necessarily again, an all or nothing mentality as it relates to, do you want it bad enough? Well, then you're going to do what you got to do to show up. No, that's ridiculous. Okay. We are, we are here to try to do our best.
00:14:52
Speaker
And sometimes our best is going to look different every single day. If you give 10% on one day and 100% on the other day, hey, both of those days you were disciplined. Both of those days you chose to show up in some way, shape or form, okay?
00:15:06
Speaker
So, you know, I just think that our so our society is just a little too rigid in that way, if that makes sense. um But here's the thing about discipline. Similar to motivation, when we are thinking about being disciplined,
00:15:22
Speaker
there is a There is a thought process or at least like some kind of an acknowledgement that like, hey, this is not going to be easy to do in the moment. But...
00:15:34
Speaker
but we can We can look ahead and we can see the benefit if we can do this task and how that's going to benefit us in the future. right um So, you know, you know days when days when you don't want to show up for your workout and then you do show up for your workout and then you look back and you're proud of the fact that you showed up, even if you didn't want to. right There is that benefit of choosing to be disciplined and showing up for your workout.
00:16:03
Speaker
um And so that's kind of the thing when when it comes to discipline. It's saying, hey, i understand how I feel in the moment is valid because we you know our feelings are always valid.
00:16:16
Speaker
However, I'm also aware that I want this outcome of my life. And in order to get this outcome, you know, in my life, there are certain things I need to do.
00:16:28
Speaker
And even though I don't want to do this, okay, here I go. You know what i mean? So I don't think that it's necessarily saying, um you know, be disciplined in terms of like, no pain, no gain kind of thing. I don't agree with that. I think that, you know, I'm not going to get off on that tangent, but I don't necessarily agree with that.
00:16:48
Speaker
I think that there that's why we chase strict goals that don't have a lot of wiggle room, that we need to be a little bit more disciplined, like chasing fat loss or weight loss. And those should be very short, temporary phases of our journey, not supposed to be the journey.
00:17:03
Speaker
Because, yes, discipline is great, but there's a time and a place to be disciplined, and there's a time and a place to just, like... enjoy and to just like enjoy, you know, getting ice cream with your kids, you're going to get to get pizza with your friends. And if we are constantly chasing a goal that requires a higher level of discipline, like what a buzzkill, you know what i mean? Like it's not supposed to be that way. We're not supposed to chase, ah you know, strict goals of our journey as the journey. Okay.
00:17:35
Speaker
um and And think about it this way. It's almost essentially Discipline is essentially delaying immediate gratification. okay And when you're delaying immediate gratification, it's essentially saying, I want this.
00:17:51
Speaker
However, um you know just because I want this, I'm also choosing to not have this. Or I want this and I'm choosing to not have all of this. right Like if, hey, I want this pizza, but hey, I'm in a fat loss phase right now.
00:18:05
Speaker
I'm going to be out of this fat loss phase in four weeks. I'll have the pizza then. Or, man, I really want this pizza. Cool. Let me see if I can fit one slice of pizza in my day um rather than the whole thing, right? it's It's having awareness. It's acknowledging I want this, but I'm choosing to delay my immediate feelings, right? My immediate want of something for the greater goal, just like motivation, right?
00:18:33
Speaker
um And or just like discipline. um And so think about it like this. OK, I don't have kids, but I have a lot of clients who have kids and friends and family who have kids.
00:18:46
Speaker
And if if your kid wanted ice cream for breakfast, would you just give them ice cream for breakfast I'm sure there are maybe one or two of you that might say, yeah, whatever, you do you. But I'm going to go out ah on a limb here and say 99.999% of you are going to say, of course not. okay um And that choice is a choice of love. That choice is saying, I understand you want something, but I'm not going to give you what you want because I know better.
00:19:20
Speaker
I'm not going to give you what you want because i love you and because I know how that is going to affect you. Okay. Not in a great way. Um, and also, you know, not affect the parent in a great way because the sugar crash is going to happen. Right.
00:19:35
Speaker
Um, and so that's kind of essentially it. Discipline is the highest form of self-love. It's delaying immediate gratification. It's, it's acknowledging I want this, but I'm choosing to not have it because i want the end goal more. Okay.
Consistency Over Perfection for Sustainable Success
00:19:51
Speaker
Um, and so that's kind of the thing it's, you know, it's, it's working in alignment with your goals. And that's kind of a big reason as to why when we are chasing our goals, we have to understand, um, you know, strict goals are, they should be temporary. Um, you know, really we should be living in more of a maintenance time or more of a maintenance goal setting where it comes to there's a lot more gray matter. It's not as black and white. It's not as all or nothing. There's more you know wiggle room, open to interpretation. You can choose to skip a workout if you want to. You can choose to eat a little bit more if you want to you know Things like that, right?
00:20:28
Speaker
And that's that's not easy. That's hard. um But um I think that sometimes when we are chasing um you know strict goals and that's kind of all we are used to,
00:20:38
Speaker
we forget that there's another side of health and fitness that doesn't have to be so rigid. That doesn't have to be so black and white, all or nothing um and whatnot. And then you know the the last kind of term is consistency. okay So when we're talking about staying consistent and we're thinking about kind of what we just talked about, motivation and discipline and all of that, um i I know that you probably hear this too,
00:21:07
Speaker
Consistency does not mean perfection, right? But again, what does that mean? What does that mean necessarily? Well, consistency is not about holding yourself to one standard so that when that one standard is not possible for whatever reason, you you essentially give yourself the ability to, again, shift your focus to what's in your control, what's possible within your situation.
00:21:36
Speaker
For example, right let's say let's say you um ah my mind just blinked too um let's say you are used to working out four days a week for an hour in the morning.
00:21:54
Speaker
Very specific example. okay Okay, cool. So let's say on the fourth day you overslept and you didn't have time for your workout. Okay, well, you missing that one workout doesn't mean you weren't consistent.
00:22:09
Speaker
You still got in three workouts and life is going to happen, okay? So maybe on that one day you missed your workout and okay, no big deal. You were still consistent throughout the week because you got in the majority of of your workouts, right?
00:22:23
Speaker
You did something instead of doing nothing, okay? Another example as it relates to workouts would be, you know, let's say you don't have access to don't have access to your normal gym setup. Okay. Let's say you typically work out at a gym and you're traveling. Okay.
00:22:40
Speaker
Um, well, Hey, how about doing a different kind of activity, right? Maybe it's a body weight workout. Maybe it's, uh, you know, going for a walk, maybe it's, you know, doing yoga. It's still holding space for that activity. Okay. So you're still, again, keeping that ball moving forward, right? Building momentum. You're just pivoting, you're shifting, you're adapting. Okay.
00:23:02
Speaker
And I think oftentimes, um You know, we look at things like I'm consistent throughout the week and then over the weekends as it relates to like our nutrition. Right. We fall off on the weekend.
00:23:14
Speaker
um And I think that that is that's the all or nothing mentality. Once again, creep in it. OK, it is saying i am all in.
00:23:24
Speaker
When it's ideal, when it's convenient, when I have more control, when I have more of a say in the matter, when life is a little quieter, right, throughout the week. And then over the weekend, because I have maybe a few more social plans or I'm going out to eat um and I don't have as much control over my schedule or what I eat or things like that.
00:23:43
Speaker
Instead of saying, hey, when I go out to eat, I'm still going to do my best to find a balanced option, right? It's saying, well, since I'm going out to eat and I can't necessarily control what I eat, I'm going to order whatever I want. And like, well, it is what it is. I'll start again on Monday. Right.
00:23:59
Speaker
But we've stopped that consistency. We've stopped that momentum when that happens, right? um And so I think oftentimes we need to realize that being consistent sometimes means doing the bare minimum.
00:24:11
Speaker
Sometimes being consistent means, um hey, I only have 10% to give today. Awesome. Okay. So instead of, you know, I nailed my my calories, I nailed my macros, I nailed my workouts, my steps, I nailed all of these things, it's hey, I couldn't nail any of those things, but instead of saying I'm throwing in the towel because I missed my workout or I'm going out to eat and now I had an off-track meal and so I'm going to say screw the entire day, it's instead saying, hey, maybe I went a little overboard on this one meal.
00:24:44
Speaker
How can I handle the rest of my day to incorporate balance coming from a place of how do I want to feel for the rest of the day, right? um It's, hey, I missed my workout today.
00:24:55
Speaker
OK, cool. Not letting that trickle into, well, now I'm just going to like throw in the towel with what I'm eating. um It's shifting your focus to what can I do rather than staying fixated on what you were not able to do for whatever reason. OK.
00:25:10
Speaker
on And so I think that that's I think that consistency is very simply put is that. It's choosing to do something instead of doing nothing. It's choosing to do anything instead of doing nothing for the sake of staying tethered to your goals, staying tethered to structure, staying tethered to that balanced you know mentality and lifestyle that helps you continue to move that ball forward no matter how slow, no matter how fast, so that you're not spending more energy than you need to be spending every single weekend when you stop and then you start on Monday. And then you stop every weekend and you start on Monday. And it makes it so hard. It makes it so difficult to um you know stay consistent in that way. We're spending more energy than we need to and we're making it a little bit more difficult. Then allowing ourselves to adapt, allowing ourselves to pivot,
00:26:06
Speaker
um from holding ourselves to one standard to saying, where is my opportunity within this situation? And it might look different than I'm used to. And it might look different than ah usually strive towards.
00:26:19
Speaker
But that's OK. Different doesn't mean bad. Different is just different. Right. um And so, i you know, i I again, I think motivation, discipline, consistency, consistency.
00:26:31
Speaker
That is essentially how I look at those terms. And when we understand there are going to be times in our journey when things are not easy to show up, it's not necessarily about saying I'm not motivated. And so therefore I'm doing nothing.
00:26:43
Speaker
I know I need to be disciplined, but I don't want to be disciplined. So I'm doing nothing. I know that consistency is the name of the game, but because I can't be consistent in that one standard, I'm going to choose to do nothing.
00:26:54
Speaker
All of these things, guys, are number one all or nothing. Okay. So it's all in or doing nothing at all. But again, I also think that the fitness industry does not necessarily do a good job of showing, okay, you can't be all in. We don't want to be doing nothing at all.
00:27:12
Speaker
Where is that fine line between the two? Okay, where is that opportunity?
Adapting Habits for Continued Progress
00:27:16
Speaker
So sometimes, you know, having a few things that keep you tethered throughout the week and also weekend, um ah such as having like some healthy habits, right? Like staying hydrated.
00:27:26
Speaker
um If you can't hit your hydration goals, okay, can you you know use an electrolyte supplement to boost whatever hydration you can get in? It's a modification, right? um I already have covered tons of examples as far as like exercise. You know, if that if you can't get in your lift, cool, do something else or shorten your workout, right? Doing anything instead of doing nothing, keeping that ball moving forward.
00:27:48
Speaker
um And then, you know, I do think that there is a time and a place to, yes, practice discipline. But again, discipline is not necessarily saying, I don't want to do this, so I'm forcing myself to do this, right? We're not trying to create negative relationships with exercise and food and our body and things like that.
00:28:06
Speaker
It's essentially saying, because I care so much about these goals, because I want these changes, because I i do love or I do want to show myself that self-love,
00:28:19
Speaker
I'm saying I don't want to do this, but I'm choosing to do this for the greater goal, looking ahead, right? What kind of life do I want to live? What kind of person do I want to be? And what do I have to do in order to do that?
00:28:30
Speaker
And if I don't want to all of the things, what can I do to still deposit into that future, right? To still invest into the future, into the life that I want to live.
00:28:41
Speaker
on So let me know what you think. um You know, there's ah there's an option to kind of write in.
Engagement and Feedback Invitation
00:28:47
Speaker
i have an email address down at the caption of this or description of this. Let me know what you think. um If any of this kind of resonated with you or maybe you have some food for thought that maybe I haven't, you know, considered,
00:28:58
Speaker
um What do you think? And ah also, too, you know, if you have a question as it relates to your journey, whether it's mindset based kind of things we're talking about here or maybe it's logistical, right? It's like, OK, listen, how do I stay motivated, disciplined or consistent in my specific journey? I'm traveling next week. What does that look like? You know, hey, let me hear from you. I would love to kind of, you know, again, open this up to say i could talk about this stuff all day long, but what's helpful for you?
00:29:26
Speaker
Maybe you get some free coaching along the way. You know what i mean? Um, so yeah, let me know what you think about, um, all of that. And also let me know if that helped you. Thank you so much for listening. If you have a few minutes, um, I would really appreciate if you could, ah rate this show, if you could subscribe, it really, really helps me out.
00:29:43
Speaker
Um, and if this is kind of, you know, information and, and, topics that you really enjoy listening to, hey, um let's let's keep this going, all right? But have a great rest of your day. Thank you so much for tuning in and we will check in next time.