Long term motivation, how to get it and keep it

As I mentioned the other day, I have found my new motivation for the next two years! I thought I would take some time to share with every one my thoughts on how I’ve kept my motivation going for the past year (and beyond).

Eating healthy and exercising for life requires motivation on a grand scale and for the long time. It’s not just about losing weight for the short term - but more importantly it is making healthy choices for a life time to keep your body strong and fit. I have found the best way to keep motivated is to find something that I can be excited about and look forward. It doesn’t have to be anything grand, just something I feel passionate about that helps me stick to my plans even on the worst of days.

Someone once told me when I was young that true love meant acting as if you were in love even at those times when you didn’t feel it. It took me a few decades and a few years of marriage to understand that — but now that I do, the same principal applies to maintaining motivation to achieve any goal - act motivated even if you don’t feel to get through a rough patch. Keeping a goal in mind, keeping my focus on the long term outcome helps me make choices and stick with my healthy eating plan even when I’m feeling hopeless and totally unmotivated. Making it through a rough patch can be very motivating also because it gives a real boost having successfully kept on track.

Another way to keep with a healthy eating plan when feeling hopeless is break it down into smaller goals, reasonable steps with sensible measureable goals, reaching each one gives a sense of accomplishment which helps fuel motivation to keep going to the next small goal.

Find something that excites you, that you are passionate about, that engages your mind and your heart. Not only does it help keep your mind off food, but having a passion, hobby, charity, or what ever it is that stirs your imagination, ignites your creativity, or captures your heart, will also fuel your motivation to get healthy, to get fit and have more energy.

For me my long term motivation is my daughter - I want to be around a long time for her. On a smaller scale is a short term goal - an awesome vacation in two years. There are many other things, some small and some large, that I want to accomplish. These are the things I keep in mind to get motivated, to keep going on days when I’m feeling down , and even if I can’t muster an ounce of motivation I hold on to the dreams and remember what motivation feels like until the rough patch passes and motivation returns.

Small goals, big goals, small and large rewards — keeps the motivation going!

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