Five Ps to Staying Motivated

STAYING MOTIVATED

You might be motivated in the beginning, but how do you stay motivated, days or weeks or months later? I believe that you need to take action to stay motivated. It’s not automatic ( I know I don't always want to exercise). Motivation doesn’t just happen. I came with up five Ps to help you stay motivated when you find it hard to keep going.

The first P is pictures. They say a picture can speak a thousand words and that is true. So surround yourself with pictures that motivate you. Make a vision board or post pictures or post it notes to remind you of your goals and why this is important to you. Think of all of the motivational memes on social media. You will take in these pictures / notes both consciously and unconsciously to help keep you going (even when you don’t want to).

The second P is people. Surround yourself with like-minded people to encourage your endeavors. Get mentors, advisors or a support team (like a Superhero team, think Avengers or Justice League) and they can encourage you when you can’t encourage yourself. Like / follow social media pages that inspire and motivate you.

The third P is progress. As you make progress, celebrate your successes along the way. NSV = non-scale victories for those trying to lose weight. Clothes too big or avoiding sweets are NSVs and should be celebrated (without food). You can make a list and when you cross off the to-do items that you successfully accomplished celebrate that success.

The fourth P is preparation or planning. Put tasks or goals in

your calendar (with reminders). If exercise is your goal, pack your gym bag ahead of time! If eating right is your goal, plan your meals and grocery shopping. The more “ready” you are to tackle those to-do items (whether eating right or exercising) the easier it will be to actually follow through. If you have healthy food options in the house it’s easier to eat them and avoid the cookies or snacks. If your gym bag is packed and ready and to go, it’s easier to go to that exercise class and not skip it.

The fifth and final P is promises. When you are motivated make promises to yourself and to your support team. If you are not motivated later you made a promise and now have to stick to it! For example, join fitness challenges online or with a fitness tracker. Invite friends to exercise with you. That way if you don’t feel like exercising, you can push yourself to go to keep up with the challenge, or so you won’t disappoint your friend.

Hopefully you will find these five Ps easy to follow and you can use these techniques to keep yourself motivated on your journey to success!