Motivation Vs Habit

I've come to realize, over the years, from experience and observation, motivation is useless. How long does it last, really? One day? One month? One year? If you base your decisions on "motivation" alone nothing will ever be efficiently completed. This goes for anything in life whether it is fitness, clean eating, studying, mastering a new skill, or anything that requires effort. Now you're probably thinking, "well what am I supposed to do then?" Don't get me wrong, motivation is a great thing to have and it will help tremendously, however, relying only on motivation will get you nowhere in the long run. Waiting for motivation is the most useless thing anybody can do with their time. I have learned that you have to just create a habit with fitness like with anything else. Habit equals success.

For example, if your goal is to run every day, get up and run every day whether you feel like doing it or not. Force yourself to get up and go out the door. Take your first steps towards your goal. If you're feeling tired, get out and tell yourself you'll at least walk. What are you going to accomplish sitting there compared to running? If you force yourself every day to get up and "just do it" as the Nike ad says, you will begin to form a habit. It will become part of your every day activities such as brushing your teeth...or even sleeping. It becomes something that your body will just do automatically, and when skipped, your body will crave it and you'll feel that hole in your routine. It's amazing what the brain can actually accomplish. In this scenario, running is only an example. This can be done with literally any activity you wish to maintain every day. If you keep this mentality, then your dreams are all conquerable. You just have to simply do it.

Talking to others and seeing their struggle makes me want to help. I have been there too. I know the feeling of not wanting to move. I know the feeling of rather wanting to watch TV, and I was able to conquer my fears and the laziness that had created a wall in front of me. I want to spread that to as many people as I possibly can. Remember, habit is key.