It’s rainy, I’m sluggy and the last thing I feel like is rolling into the gym for a workout. The first thing I feel like is laying in bed and reading a mystery by Stephen Carter.
Working out at the gym. Reading in bed. Not a fair comparison.
But, after a few minutes of griping and complaining (yes I know this isn’t good behavior, but I’m AWARE that I’m griping and complaining, so my practice of mindfulness is ongoing) I wash my face, pull on my sweats and get the keys. And all the while I’m working on my motivation.
We’ll always face situations where the last thing we want to do is the very thing we’re doing. And whining your way through it isn’t going to make it any easier. That approach usually doesn’t produce great results either.
I know I do a better job – or at least have a less painful experience – when I ramp up my motivation. One way to do that is to contemplate and understand the importance of the task at hand. It is crucial to my purpose that I have a healthy body. So, I’m headed to the gym.
But, if the motivation to cook dinner, workout, call the client, or do anything else, eludes you, here are some other things to try. And yes, I know they work, because I’ve used them to build motivation for everything from cleaning the cat litter to getting my behind to the gym and even drafting a book proposal.
1. Turn up the good memories. Remember a time when you took on the activity and felt great. Really, really great. Emotions are the driving force behind action. If you can think of a time when you felt energized and excited while doing the very thing you’re feeling unmotivated to do now – you’ll be unstoppable, says NLP practitioner Yvonne Oswald. Enhance the good memory with color, sound, positive emotion. I thought back to a workout last week when I was buzzing around the gym. I felt energetic, healthy, strong and excited about how long and hard I exercised. Those good feelings inspired me to get going again.
2. Imagine what others would say. Visualize your on-the-job success from a third person perspective. Imagine the applause, or the boss patting you on the back, or the graduation ceremony – or even a child that doesn’t claim to hate what you cooked for dinner. Seeing yourself perform successfully, the way others would see you, tends to help us appreciate the larger implications and deeper significance of what we’re about to do, according to researchers at York University in Ontario. When I think of how my daughter will be happy and proud to have me around 20 years from now, it isn’t all that hard to hop in the treadmill for 30 minutes.
3. Focus on the aspect you do like. Every activity has it’s pros and cons – even a let’s-go-and-get-it-over-with visit to the in-laws means you probably won’t have to go again for awhile – so it’s your job to find and focus on the pros. Today’s workout means I get an hour to myself to listen to one of my audio books – time I’d rarely (read: NEVER) get if I stayed home.
Now that I think of it, I can’t wait to get going.
From the Greatest Hits File: A version of this post ran in 2010.
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I, too, have had recent reluctance for my workout (I think it’s the incredible heat– even if I do work out inside). Thinking about the good parts (reading while on the elliptical) definitely helps me move forward! Great suggestions.
Great post and I would add one thing…work out first thing in the morning if it’s a chore for you. Research shows that exercise adherence (i.e. sticking to a regular workout program) is highest in those who exercise first thing in the morning compared to any other time of day. That jibes with my time management theory of “eliminate the ugliest,” or do the thing that you most do not want to do, first. Often it’s going to the gym. At work, it might be calling an editor to discuss a late check or making a dentist appointment…which is why I try to go to the doc or dentist first thing. Eliminate the ugliest and your day can only get better…plus you feel vindicated by doing something you really didn’t want to do.