The other day I ran into an old friend and fellow baby boomer. We hadn’t seen each other in almost fifteen years, since she had moved to another state due to her husband’s job relocation. It was great catching up on old times and as our conversations continued, Donna (not her real name) told me that she always felt tired and lacked the energy she once had. Although her health was good, she had put on over 10 pounds in the last five years and had been unsuccessful in taking the weight off. And what about exercising? She said that she didn’t have the patience to work out, “it’s just too boring.”
When I suggested that she try to find an activity that would be more interesting, she admitted that she just couldn’t motivate herself to do what needed to be done. Donna had always looked good even after having 2 kids. She had never exercised or watched her weight, and now it was too difficult.
What is it that causes people to give up? Some will tell you that it’s because something happened in their life, others believe it’s genetic, and maybe it’s just laziness. But no matter what the reason, it is possible to overcome with a change of attitude.
Decide to Make a Change
It’s never too late to get fit, even if you’ve never exercised or participated in sports a day in your life. Fitness becomes even more important as you age to keep your body and mind functioning properly. There is a whole world of things to do, places to see and new things to learn and you should feel as good as you can in order to enjoy all that.
In order to get motivated to do something, you must make a conscious decision to do so. I can give you all the reasons in the world why you should exercise, but it will do no good unless you are ready to make a change.
We are like children. If we are forced to do something we will most likely rebel and do the opposite. A decision to make a change in one’s life must come from within and in most cases the change must be gradual or it won’t last.
Anyone that is in touch with reality today knows that physical activity is vital for good health. Yet, the majority of adults do not participate in any type of physical activity on a regular basis. Many start, but most drop out sooner or later. Many of the best health clubs rely on yearly contracts to make big profits because of this very simple fact. How many people do you know have signed up at a health club and never use up their membership? Within 6 weeks after joining a gym the average person stops working out. Knowing you need to work out is not enough. It might give you the motivation to start but that alone won’t keep you going.
If you don’t get some kind of satisfaction from the activity itself, the likelihood that you’ll stick with it is slim to none. The reward for doing the activity must be in the feeling it gives you when you do it.
If you decide to take a brisk 10 minute walk after years of doing no exercise, it could give you a great feeling of accomplishment. It’s something you initiated on your own and succeeded at and it can motivate you to do it again tomorrow for a few minutes longer, and the next day and so on until it becomes a part of your daily routine and what you are about.
Although the reason for initially engaging in exercise is usually motivated by factors such as improved health, fitness or weight loss, if you don’t enjoy the exercise or get satisfaction from it in some way, it’s unlikely that you will continue. What will keep you exercising is the fact that you are gaining something positive from it.
This is even truer for sports. Winning the game is a very important motivator, but a good player is one who is also motivated by the satisfaction he gains from scoring the point or the teamwork involved. It’s his love of the sport that will motivate him to play well in the long run.
We can motivate ourselves to get fit by making the activity more attractive, more fun. Many find listening to music makes their jogging more enjoyable. Another motivator is to participate with a friend or join a group with similar goals. Perhaps seeing the sun rise is what gets you out of bed and into your running shoes every morning. For many people taking up a sport can be a more interesting option and can be just as beneficial.
When I first began exercising on my cross trainer, my motivation was to get rid of an aching lower back which had kept me from getting a descent night’s sleep for years. But I soon got bored and began slacking off. I decided to move my cross trainer from my bedroom into the living room where I had a large TV screen and no one that I would bother at 6AM. I recorded movies and my favorite TV shows and watched them every morning while on my cross trainer. The idea was to get my mind off the exercise. Well, it worked! And still does, 5 years later. If the movie is very intense I have been known to forget myself and double my exercise time. I must add of course, that I no longer suffer from lower back pains.
My husband listens to music while he swims. He found a waterproof walkman on which he records his favorite music. He gets into the music and into the rhythm of the strokes and nothing can stop him. He says that some days he feels like he’s flying.
Get Motivated and Stay Motivated!
The promise of weight reduction, relief of pain, improved fitness or improved health can motivate us to begin an exercise program or participate in sports.
But in order to stay motivated for the long run, we must:
- Feel that we are doing it for ourselves, for our well being, because we want to and not for or because of someone else
- Enjoy the activity or find a way to make it more enjoyable
- See results from all our hard work. There is no greater motivation than the personal gratification of a job well done.
