Finding a Strong Source of Motivation for Healthy Living
June 3rd, 2010
It seems that many people are unable to maintain the motivation needed to make a lifelong commitment to healthy habits, especially in regard to diet and exercise. Although this is often blamed on a lack of will and dedication, there are other important factors to consider as well.
People who struggle with motivation often embrace the latest trends hoping that it will be what they need to keep them focused. However, given the large number of health related products and programs that exist, and the also large number of people who continue to struggle with motivation, it should be obvious that such an approach is unlikely to result in long term success. While it’s hard to criticize anything that encourages people to embrace healthier habits, the latest trends and technologies will rarely provide the substance needed to inspire lasting motivation.
The Importance of Inspiration
Due to the many unhealthy influences and temptations that have become such a common part of modern living, promoting and maintaining good health can require a lot of effort. However, just about any type of accomplishment requires commitment and hard work, and this shouldn’t necessarily be perceived with discouragement. The effort required to achieve a goal is often proportional to the fulfillment that it brings, and people who dedicate themselves to healthy living can enjoy a sense of accomplishment in addition to the benefits of improved health. However, none of this is possible without a daily commitment to healthy habits, and this commitment will be very difficult to make and maintain without a meaningful source of inspiration to do so.
How Strong is Your Inspiration?
One of the most common reasons why people consider making changes to their diet or exercise habits is to lose weight. In many cases, this is based more on appearance than health or wellness. However, many people find that such a source of inspiration isn’t strong enough to help them overcome their cravings for unhealthy foods or their lack of desire to exercise. Perhaps this is why so many people are stuck in a seemingly endless pattern of abandoning a new diet or exercise program, feeling guilty about doing so, and looking for the latest and greatest alternative to start the cycle over again.
Other Weak Sources of Inspiration
In my opinion, the P90X workout program and Reebok’s EasyTone shoes are two examples of how the novelty of something new and popular can be a powerful but short lived source of motivation. I’ve received a lot of criticism for having a negative opinion of these products, particularly because of their potential to encourage otherwise sedentary people to exercise. If such an individual makes a lifelong commitment to healthier habits after being inspired by products like these, it’s a great thing. However, if the disappointment of being overweight and more vulnerable to debilitating conditions has failed to inspire a long term commitment to good health, then it’s highly unlikely for the novelty of the latest fitness or diet fad to have any more of a lasting impact.
Regardless of the quality or effectiveness of products like the P90X program or Reebok’s EasyTone sneakers, their novelty can indeed motivate people to adapt healthier habits. However, once the novelty wears off, which it inevitably will, inspiration and motivation will likely fade away too. I consider this type of inspiration to be weak because it’s based on something other than the direct benefits of the tasks or activities that require motivation. While it may “get someone off the couch,” it won’t keep them off the couch for long unless it facilitates the recognition of a deeper and more meaningful source of inspiration.
How to Identify a Meaningful Source of Inspiration
There’s no single way to describe the meaning of life. It can vary greatly based on individuality, and although not everyone fully recognizes what aspects of life are most meaningful to them, we each have a unique set of values that represent what we care about most. Regardless of what these values are, they can be a tremendous source of inspiration and motivation, and as such, they can inspire the dedication needed to achieve challenging and long term goals. A great way to take advantage of this is to identify ways in which your values are dependent upon your goals.
Consider someone who’s naturally inspired by the fulfillment they gain from helping others but can’t find the motivation they need to lose weight. By identifying ways in which weight loss could make their generosity more productive and fulfilling, such a person will naturally be more motivated to implement healthier habits. For example, a more fit and healthy appearance would be a demonstration of self empowerment that could increase their credibility and influence, and the extra energy that typically results from improved health could increase their capacity and allow them engage in more of the generous behavior that fulfills them. Furthermore, relying on a sensible exercise program and a truly healthy diet to lose weight will more than likely improve their quality of life, and this is a benefit that should be meaningful to anyone. In short, the key to building motivation is recognizing an honest and realistic way to associate your goals with a stronger sense of urgency, and basing the association on personal values is an excellent way to accomplish this.
A great example of this concept comes from Andre Agassi’s autobiography. Andre’s time as a professional tennis player can easily be regarded as a dramatic transition from a young and flamboyant punk who took his talent for granted to a mature and dedicated veteran who made the most of what he had. Although he hated doing the very same thing that brought him his fame, he eventually recognized his passion for helping others and chose to use his tennis talent to pursue it further. This passion inspired him, and recognizing a way to associate it with tennis gave him the motivation that he previously lacked to fully commit himself to his career as a professional athlete. As a result, he was finally able to live up to his potential as a world class tennis player and enjoy consistent and long term success. More importantly, this helped him achieve his true goal of establishing the highly successful Andre Agassi Prepatory Academy which provides underprivileged children in Las Vegas with a good education and an opportunity for a better life.
Be Inspired By Enjoyment
A much more simple approach to cultivating inspiration, and one that doesn’t require much thought at all, is enjoyment. People who enjoy exercising and eating nutritious whole foods generally don’t have much trouble making these healthy habits a consistent part of their lifestyles. For example, I’ve always enjoyed working out and playing sports, especially tennis, and as such, it’s very easy for me to stay active. Likewise, with my appreciation for the importance of a healthy diet, I’ve become more aware of preferences that I have for certain whole foods and look forward to meals that include them.
Just about anyone should be able to identify a few physical activities that they find enjoyable and a variety of nutritious whole foods that they find delicious. The key is being open minded enough to discover what they are, and once this happens, healthy living will very likely become much easier. Those who find a way to enjoy healthy habits will likely find that their commitment to them seems effortless.
Change is Difficult
For many people, a large part of the reason why implementing healthier habits is so difficult is the discomfort of changing their existing habits. A strong source of inspiration, whether it be based on personal values or simple enjoyment, helps to overcome this sometimes overwhelming obstacle. Although habits relating to health are often the hardest to change and are most frequently related to diet and exercise, finding a strong source of inspiration can help a great deal in making any type of change.
Another common problem with change is starting out with too much ambition. For example, someone who exercises hard every day or excessively cuts calories will be more likely to lose their motivation regardless of how strong their source of inspiration is. As such, balance is critical, and within reason, doing less often provides more benefit than doing more, especially when the only other alternative is doing nothing at all.
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Hey Vin,
Great to see you back. I agree that gimmicks do little for long-term motivation. Establishing goals or coming up with a reason why changing habits is important to you is much more effective. Thanks for the reminder.
Thanks, Beth! I’m glad you agree and appreciated the reminder.
Vin, I can’t believe how timely this post is for me. Two years ago I became very strongly motivated to change my health. I had previously been motivated solely by weight loss, which worked for me in that arena (through dieting and overtraining) but was ruining my health. My emotional health was so terrible at that time it threatened my relationship with my family. When I realized that I might lose everything that was important to me, I found the motivation to leave the goal of super-skinny jeans behind and solely pursue health regardless of weight. The changes were difficult because I had damaged my metabolism to the extent that weight gain was necessary for healing, but I quickly saw improvements in my physical and emotional health, which kept me going.
So now, two years later, I feel like I’m 75% there. Significant improvements have been made but I feel like I need to take it to the next level, but I often slip into less desirable eating habits and need the motivation to make the next step. I appreciate your insight here and I think this will help me quite a bit in finding that motivation.
Hi Elizabeth, thank you for sharing your experience. What you describe is the exact type of situation that this article is based on. To me, it seems common for people to become deeply focused on superficial goals without really considering how it might impact other aspects of their lives that are more important. In my opinion, there are few things that are as meaningful as health or family, so I’m especially glad that you mentioned them.
Good luck with that last 25%! Knowing that a healthy approach to weight loss is better for yourself as well as your relationships is a great place to start. Perhaps it would help to look at this in a slightly different way by reminding yourself that less desirable eating habits could detract from these values just as excessive exercise and dieting has done.
Hi. Great to see you back. You’re right, change is hard. You make some great points. I know a whole a lot about nutrition but I never tell anyone. Why? Because I have a hard time being consistent about any of it. I know how much my quality of life would change if I could just do it. I just don’t. Small steps, I guess. Good to hear from you again. I hope all is well.
Thanks, Don!
Perhaps it would help to be more specific when you consider how the benefits of healthy living would improve your quality of life. For example, having more energy might not be much of a motivating force if you’re not truly excited about the prospect of what you’d do with it. Just a thought.
Hello,
I completely agree about the latest fad productds – to me they are akin to fad diets – they don’t work and they don’t last. That sounds slightly depressing! But it is about doing something that you enjoy, which will become part of routine just like cleaning your teeth. I think sometimes expectations have to be lower (and I would rarely say that!!) but expecting to get tones up, lose a stone and have a life overhaul in a couple of weeks just isn’t realistic.
I coach a lot of people in areas of health and I like to ask them to set goals around what they can consistently do, on a long term basis rather that what they want to achieve looks or weight wise.
I loved your ideas about where to get inspiration from.
Many thanks,
Kate
Hi Kate, thanks for your comment!
I totally agree about the importance of a routine. Taking this a step further, it’s important for people who have goals related to long term health, weight loss, or fitness to make sure that their general approach can realistically and agreeably be adhered to long term. Similar to what you said, the new routine needs to become a regular part of their lifestyle, and their success will depend on how well and how long they stick with it. Realistic expectations are certainly an important part of this.
Hi,
I love posts like this! I’m fascinated by the topic of inspiration.
Finding a source of motivation is difficult because as life progresses so do your priorities.
For example when I was a teenager, my reasons for practicing my basketball skills were because I loved the game and I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of the girls who used to come and watch us play.
Later, my first 5k run was completed because I wanted to challenge myself. Now my motivation for working out is because I want to stay healthy and have a better quality of life. Three different reasons but they have similar results. I don’t think its a bad thing to find something new that motivates you as long as you understand that the new thing may eventually wear off.
Hi Ralph, thanks for sharing your experience!
I agree, it’s important to realize that sources of inspiration may change just as one’s values may change. However, deeper values are much less likely to change, and as such, when they’re used as a source of inspiration, the motivation this provides is likely to last a long time as well.
My ego is invested in my health. Unlike many of my friends and peers, I can’t stand the idea of my physical and mental health peaking at 18 (high school). I’m now 25 and in the best shape of my life. My goal is to be in even better shape at 40.
Hi Ibrahim, thanks for your comment!
I feel the same way. It’s not so much about ego for me, but I want to maintain better than average mental and physical capabilities well into my old age. Athleticism and intelligence are two things that I value greatly, and as long as I do, they’ll continue to be a strong source of motivation. Even on a more basic level, simply not allowing physical or mental limitations to compromise the quality of my life is very motivating as well.
Vin –
I just stumbled upon your website and really love the articles and insight. One of the programs that helped me from a motivation standpoint has been moving from individual exercise to group exercise. I discovered Crossfit (www.crossfit.com) a few month ago and it is really motivating for me. It gives a ton of variety in the workouts, measures myself against prior times/scores, and is set up in a supportive group environment. I agree that the fads like P90X, Insanity, etc are great to start off with but quickly fade because of the lack of variet and interaction.
I believe in coaching and know that it helps when you are not only responsible to yourself, but when you also hold yourself accountable to others who you make commitments to. Thanks for the great work.
Hi Rick, thanks for your comment.
I completely agree that working out with a partner or a group is definitely a strong motivator. This is why it’s so commonly recommended to have a workout partner. I’ve never worked out in a group environment, but I suspect that it’s just as motivating, if not more, and is a great option for someone who can’t find a partner.
I read Andre Agassi’s book and agree with what you said there – I found it a huge inspiration and was able to apply some of the things that I picked up there to my life. I also gained a huge amount from an amazing course I did, which I feel I should share with you – it really got my life back on track. I’d been lacking in confidence and dealing with negativity around areas of my life, but the strategies that Sarah Merron of Fire Dragon Coaching teaches really helped me focus on getting the best out of myself and others around me. She runs courses in Cairo and the Maldives, so it’s a fantastic way to see the world at the same time. Here’s the link if you should ever head that way, I found it had a very powerful effect on my life: http://www.nlp.firedragoncoaching.com/destination-egypt.html
Hi Donna, I’m glad to hear that you found Andre’s book to be inspirational, and thank you for sharing the course you took!