“I just need motivation.”  “I’m just lacking motivation.”  “Ohhh, Heather, I’d love to come to your class, I just need to be motivated.” “You’re so motivating!” Another perennial favorite? “If only I had your motivation.” 

Have you ever uttered these words, or had these thoughts? 

In my recent blog post, I talked about accountability. The idea that everyone wants it, no one thinks they have it, and that’s the secret sauce to making their fitness routine work for them. Right alongside accountability, is motivation. This is the other key piece all of my clients - past, present, and future - seem to think they lack. 

So why is motivation something that we're always wishing for? Why does motivation seem like an unattainable thing that we just can't quite get or get enough of? 

My challenge to you: I'm going to say that motivation is not the problem. 

Motivation comes from within. 

You're already a highly motivated person. 

You've been very successful in your career. 

You've done all kinds of things in your personal life, great things with your family. 

Those things require motivation. You have to get up every day to be successful at a career, follow through with going to class to get a college degree, all the things that go into taking care of your family. If your house was on fire, how motivated would you be to get in and get your kids out? Pretty motivated, right? Or if you knew you would lose your house, or lose your job? How motivated are you to get up and go to work every day? Pretty motivated.

Those things require motivation, and you're doing it well. So that's not the problem. 

Motivation is a muscle that has to be exercised. It's something that has to be trained and learned and honed. And when you think about the examples above, you’ve been practicing this your whole life. 

The problem with our health is that the motivation isn't as glaringly obvious sometimes. And we are practicing it, we are constantly seeking out motivation to be healthier. We're actually doing the opposite. 

What did I just say? 

In reality, we're constantly seeking out ways to be lazier. Because that's just human nature. To take the path of least resistance do the easiest thing. 

When you're lacking motivation, you're actually lacking a why. 

Your “why” was the house was on fire. And so you ran. Your “why” is because you have to save your kids, right? 

You're wise, you need a house, you need a roof over your head. So you go to work. 

But often, you're lacking a “why” when it comes to your health, and that's where you're lacking the motivation. 

How do you find the why then? Where does this elusive why come from? 

Start with Why

I know it’s been played out. But I'm serious on this one. It's a real deal. Author, Simon Sinek. He wrote a book called, Start With Why. And it's all about understanding that it's not the things that you do. It's the reason you do it. 

To apply this to your health, it's not about eating right, exercising, and meditating and all those things. Those things are great. The reason we do all those things is to achieve a higher goal. It's to be healthier, leaner, stronger. When you pick your goal, for example, to live till you're 100. That becomes your why. You start doing the things to meet that standard. Why should I eat vegetables? Because they are rich in antioxidants. Why should I exercise? Because muscle improves my bone health. Those individual actions will help you reach your why. 

The Answer is in the Process

I recently recorded a new episode of my podcast, HomBOD, with my partner Ashley Stewart (Season three is kicking off this week!)  If you've never listened to my podcast, Ashley is a professional organizer. And she helps her clients in the same way I do. We help them with motivation. We help them find their why. Ashley and I created an episode on this exact subject. We shared how our clients don't necessarily need motivation. Instead they need the process. They need the “how” and they need the “what.” And they need to understand how to implement it. You need support with the process how do I make this work? How do I eat healthy every day? How do I get myself exercising every day? How do I get time for my mindset every day?

See the difference? 

So when you're thinking to yourself stuff that you're lacking motivation or that you need someone to motivate you. Stop and think and ask yourself, “Am I really not lacking process?”  Because if you're considering the fact that you need to be motivated to do something means you already want to do it (as in “I need motivation to work out.”). You don't say that unless you desire to work out. There's a reason you want to work out. What's the reason? 

I invite you to take a moment to journal on this:  figure out why -  not the what, not the how the why - but the why do you want to do this? I’m willing to bet you will find that elusive motivation you've been seeking. Feel free to reach out and share your why with me, and if you need support with the process, let’s schedule a call together, because you're way more likely to accomplish it when you share it with someone else.