The Secret for Motivation

As women we willingly give our all to serve others. We motivate others to do the things they enjoy and need, but what happens to our personal motivation?

We wear multiple hats in our everyday life.  Wife, mom, grandma, career, chef, taxi driver, cheerleader, accountant, housekeeper, nurse, and that’s really only skimming the surface. It takes motivation to do our jobs and sometimes that motivation runs out when we get to ourselves.

When I was 40 my kids teenagers and older. I realized I was entering into a different era of my life with more time for myself. I eventually became more self-aware of my health and low physical activity. It was time for me to participate in my life rather than always putting others’ needs first. What I learned was something I could have used 10 years earlier.

We love our family and although our duties get mundane, we love knowing at the end of the day (on most days) that we have made a difference. Giving is in our nature, and doing for others is just what we do.

Looking back now, life could have been a little less stressful and joyful had I been able to put myself on my “to-do” list. That is, if I could have realized what I needed to be able to give and serve my loved ones better. At the time, all was well and it was easy to switch hats to get the jobs done.

The world around you will not fall apart by taking an hour for yourself each day. 

Often we are harder on ourselves than anyone else. We internalize the expectation of perfection and being everything to everyone except ourselves. How can we truly feel good about what we are doing if we don’t feel good?

Exercise is vital to our well-being, both physically and emotionally.

Research says exercise will reduce stress, eliminate anxiety, reduce depression, boost self-esteem and improve sleep quality.

Those are just among the psychological benefits. Shall we talk about the increase of physical energy we have as a result? Remember all of those hats we wear…they require an enormous amount of energy to keep up.

WebMD shared a study published in Psychological Bulletin reported:

“Sedentary people who completed a regular exercise program reported improved fatigue compared to groups that did not exercise.”

The study also pointed out the participates included ranged from healthy adults, to cancer patients and even to those battling chronic diseases such as heart disease — all benefited from exercise.

We know the why, now for the how.

The Secret for Motivation

1 – Believe in Yourself – see that cheerleader hat sitting beside you? Yeah, the one you put on to help your kids have the confidence to start a new school and introduce themselves on the bus? It works for yourself also. Get any self-defeating thoughts out of your head and say exactly what you would say to your family or friends when they need a boost.

2 – Accountability – Share your goal with someone. Write out your plan. Put together a neighborhood group to exercise together or at the very least, chat about your activity often. Peer pressure can be a great opportunity to push ourselves to work more diligently.

3 – Education – Read, read, read. Learn about different activities, exercises and ways to get moving. Knowledge is power and the more you learn about exercise, the more excited you will get and in turn motivation will stay higher as you work to achieve your goals.

Have a plan. Find a routine.

Consult a doctor if you have any questions about physical limitations and start off with a personal trainer, if needed.

Come on, you can do this!

Believe in yourself. 

Believe in your cause. 

If you put as much energy into a personal exercise plan as you do taking care of other people, you will be successful! 

Need someone to be accountable to? Start here. Start today. Leave a comment below telling me what your plan is. Write it down, make it real.

10 Reasons to work out today! (Click to print this)

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Soon you will see…

Fit is finding YOU!