How to overcome lack of motivation to exercise

Today’s article comes from or inspired by a book I'm reading at the minute called “The Compound Effect.” 
 
So, the Compound Effect is basically the consistent doing of small things over and over and over to get a big result. So, I guess it's like… you can liken it a bit to a pension.
So, we put a little bit of money in. You know, when you deposit in a pension, you put a little bit of money away, and over the course of 30 or 40 years, you have a nice pot of money that you can retire with. And it's the same thing with everything we do. And like with success in anything, and it doesn't matter if it’s about weight loss or health… you got to have a reason for wanting to do that in the first place.
 
So, if you're depositing money into a pension, you're doing it because you don't want to work until you're 80 or 90 years old, okay, and you want money at the end.  And for a lot of people, it's a bit of a scary thought to have to work till those late years when you should be retiring and enjoying yourself. Right?
 
So, think about your health and fitness because I think we are so quick to allow ourselves off the hook in so many things. You know, in the moment, what happens is you feel like not doing something. And there's no real instant effect of it or consequence.
It doesn't really matter if it worked out today, it wouldn't make a big difference. But what happens over time is that you know, you end up with heart disease, obesity or diabetes, and then it becomes an issue.
So, it's all by having a bit of perspective into your future and your health. And a compound effect is about doing simple things over time. 
 
So, there is a really good analogy that they used in this book. If I laid a plank of wood on the floor, and said, “If you walk that plank, I'll give you $20 at the end of it. You'd be like, “that is easy”, because we like to do easy things. If I then put that plank of wood between two buildings exactly the same thickness, and say “20 bucks at the end”, you'll be like, “probably not quite enough for me”. You might want the 20 bucks, but you don't want it enough to walk across that plank and risk kind of falling over. 
 
Now, if I change that again, and go “Well, the buildings are on fire and your child is on the other end, and the only way to get them off is for you to walk across a plank, to save them” … you’d be across that plank straight away. Because all of a sudden, the reason that you're doing the plank walk is different. Does that make sense?

So how to overcome lack of motivation to exercise or achieve a healthier lifestyle?

What we see is our most motivated clients at Growing Younger are the ones who have just been diagnosed with a health issue, high blood pressure, heart attack, or maybe it’s on the horizon… diabetes, all those really significant health threats, because up until that point, they've not done anything.

They've been “on the fence” and they do bits here, there and everywhere… not really committed. And the reason for them trying to achieve that weight loss or that fitness goal has never been significant enough. It's never been a priority. It's never been enough. And as soon as the prospect of being sick or dying or heart attack becomes clear, all of a sudden, the reason for doing that thing becomes massive. And all of a sudden, they're like a bull at the gate and they do everything they possibly can. All those, you know, negative habits and things are going to go. 
 
We've had people that drink lots and lots of wine and you know, all the time they've stopped doing it. Even though they've done it for 30-40 years, they've stopped, okay, because the reason was way more significant. 
 
So, what is the reason for YOU? For me, it was never to be fat. I was 30 years old as a fat person and I didn't want it to be anymore. And everything I do now is a result of that hanging in my head. Every single day, get up and do exercise, eat healthy, choose that food over this food because I do not want to be fat again, I'm going to ask you, what is it for you? 
 
And if you're not sure, and if you're overweight, and if you have high blood pressure, or if you live with diabetes, there's a couple of things you can do to really spark this. Jump on Google and just type in:
“What are the negative effects of not looking after my health and fitness when I have blood pressure?” Or
“What are the consequences of having high blood pressure?”
“What are the consequences of having diabetes?”
Look at it, immerse yourself in it, look and read every day and make sure you know all the horrible side effects. This exercise will very likely spark something in your head to make you take action because most people will only take action based on fear. Okay? Very few of us will take action based on pleasure. So, you know, it's a fear-based action is that what most people do.
 
So, manufacture some fear in your life. You've got to go do that walk every day, go to the gym, you got to eat those healthy foods. And go and do it. 
 
I mean, God you know, one of the biggest things people say to us is “I have not got any motivation”. Motivation doesn't come and strike you in the head. You have to manufacture it. You've got to have a reason. You have to have a really significant goal ahead of you to be motivated. And if you haven't done that you will never be successful. It has to be a priority. It has to motivate you. It has to get you out of bed in the morning. It has to be purposeful. And it has to be very, very significant. 
 
For most people it is moving away from some kind of pain. Because if you don't, you're always going to be stuck in the wrong spot. So, my advice to you is if you want to lose weight, you want to reach a health goal – you’ve got to start with a reason. The big WHY. Then you got to start taking action and if you don't do any of those things, then nothing's going to change for you.
 
Leave a question or comment down below. We'd love to hear your thoughts. 

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