3 Effective Ways to Boost Your Fitness Motivation

By Guest Blogger Rebecca of the Cultivate Beauty Team

It's often said that those who set and write down goals experience more success. But what about when the motivation to reach these goals fails, or worse still, you get stuck in a deep funk? Don't despair! Here are three effective strategies you can use today to help boost your motivation and get back on track.

1. Go for the Quick Win

When your motivation is waning, sometimes all it takes is a quick win to get you back into the driver's seat. A quick win or "low hanging fruit" is just that: something that's quick and easy to check off your to-do list, even in your state of low motivation.

Your quick win really can be something very simple. For example, getting showered and dressed! Just that small feeling of accomplishment can be all it takes to boost your mood and start building back that positive momentum.

2. Gamify Your Actions

As adults, we can often take ourselves — and life, in general — a bit too seriously. We forget that motivation and working toward our goals should actually be fun! Gamifying your actions is simply about finding ways to make following through and taking action fun. Group fitness challenges are a great example; however, you can easily do this yourself. For example, if your goal is to gain 3 pounds of lean muscle mass, you could challenge yourself to see how many days you can get to the gym in a row or master a new exercise each week.

The key here is to focus on the action and not the result. This is because there's often a lag between taking positive action and seeing results ― so making a game of the results themselves can be quite frustrating! It's like weighing yourself every single day to see if your brand new diet is getting you to your goal weight. While this method works for some, if it's not motivating you, then try focusing on an action instead. Using the same example, you could try focusing on how many servings of fresh veggies can you pack into your meals each day.

3. Experience Your Results Now

If I haven't yet achieved my desired result, then surely I can't experience it now … right? Wrong!

Your mind is a powerful tool, so don't ever underestimate it! If you know how to use your mind and direct your thoughts, it's possible to actually experience what it would feel like to have already achieved your desired result.

Now, you may argue that feeling a result is different to having it, but consider for a moment why you're chasing that result. Most often, it's because of the way we think we'll feel — or allow ourselves to feel — once we have it. By using your imagination, it's possible to tap into that feeling now. The trick is to think about the result as though you already have it. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, think about how your new clothes will feel on your body, how you'll walk, talk and show up in the world. Allow yourself to feel the emotions that go along with that — maybe it's joy, elation or confidence. Tapping into these emotions on a regular basis will provide you with the positive energy to push through obstacles and achieve your goals. Bonus: it will benefit your health, too!

Author Bio:

Rebecca is a co-author and creator behind Cultivate Beauty, a health, beauty and lifestyle blog dedicated to helping women discover their best self. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.