Let’s face it, most people do not make it to the point of making exercise a firm daily habit in their lives. Why is this? It all comes down to motivation. A lot of people are motivated at the beginning, but as time goes on, it soon fades. Is there a big difference between these people and the people who are able to stay motivated? I say no. It is something that can be learned. It’s just a matter of finding what works and to keep trying new things. Here are the top 10 things that I have found that keep people motivated.

10. Tell your friends that you are going to start and exercise routine. Tell everyone you know. Don’t hide it away. The more people know the less likely you will be to just quit, after all, all eyes are on you waiting to see how you perform.

9. Encourage others. As you encourage others, you are doing two things. First you are encouraging the people you are directing it towards. Secondly, you are absorbing what you are telling them. It sticks with you. You will find yourself believing it even more, not just for others, but for yourself as well.

8. Reward yourself. As you move on in your exercise routine, reward yourself from time to time. Whatever your goal may be, find ways to give yourself little treats. Get new clothes or new shoes. Tell yourself that you will go see that play if you reach ______.

7. Talk positively to yourself. It works the same as encouraging others, except it’s intentionally at yourself. Working to change your mindset will really help to set a good habit. You are more likely to want to do something you like, than want to do something your dread. Wake up in the morning and tell yourself you want to exercise. Soon… it will be true.

6. Make new friends. While stepping in to something new, you are sure to meet new people that have the same interest. Making friends is a fun way to keep things interesting, and you will be building a foundation that will help keep you going. No man is an island (or if you are, that’s why you need to be exercising).

5. Take pictures of yourself. I hear from an unbelievable number of people that pictures are what really set them in motion, myself included. We can look at ourselves in the mirror, but the majority of time we are looking outward at the world, and not at ourselves. Our self images do not always change as our bodies do. Pictures do not lie. Take pictures of yourself, put them by the refrigerator, in your work out space, on the couch where you normally lounge. Wherever you need to motivate yourself.

4. Think of all of your reasons. You probably have a lot more than just one or two. Write them down and put them in a basket. You can dig through and pull them out as you need them. Having trouble thinking of some? How about…Looking better, feeling better, more energy, better skin, better health, lower cholesterol, better heart health, better sex life, better immune system, improved brain function, being a good example to the people you love, concurring goals… just to name a few.

3. Learn new things. When you enter in to something you are new to, there will be so many new things to learn. This can help keep you excited and motivated, not to mention make you better at what you’re doing!

2. Track your results! In order to know see that what you’re doing works, you need to track your results. This should be done in several ways. You need to keep track of your weight, but not too often. Maybe once a week. Take measurements once a month or so. And take pictures about once a month. Your results will help to motivate you! But be careful not to over track your results. If you are tracking your results every single day, expecting to see a big difference, you could find yourself discouraged.

1. Post your results! By far the number one way I have found to stay motivated is to post your results. Most people have some sort of social media outlet like Facebook or MySpace, or a multitude of others. Maybe you have a blog that you start to keep your progress. Whatever you do, just get it out there. When everyone knows that you’re going to be posting your results, and you know that you’ve got ten days left… you’re going to be making sure you hit every mark that you can.

Be intentional about putting these things in to play and you will find that you have yourself a new, very healthy, very hard to break habit!