Why
Outside of motivation, determination, and discipline, the thing holding you back is not having a clear or emotional enough 'why.' Before I got clear on why, I could not remain consistent with anything—gym, posting content, and much more. Tying a 'why' to your goals will give you a deeper-rooted purpose that will support you through any storm. I'm here to tell you that if you choose an emotional enough 'why,' it will keep you going.
You may be wondering what I even mean by "why." What I mean is:
Why do you do what you do?
What gets you out of bed in the morning and keeps you up at night?
What do you want people to say about you when you're not in the room?
How do you want people to remember you?
What's the real reason you want to amass wealth? Is it because you've seen your parents struggle for years and heard stories of their upbringing?
Do you recognize that God has you on this Earth for a great purpose?
You need to find a reason that will make you act even when you don't feel like it.
Going Deeper Into Why Not
For a long time, my why when it came to exercise was to look good for others. Why not create a shallow why? This shallow why didn't get me up when I was feeling lazy. It wasn't deep; it was surface-level.
After doing some deep soul-searching, I realized how badly I wanted to be in great health and live a long, healthy, prosperous life. After hearing stories of a family member who had to get his legs cut off because of diabetes and hearing stories of strangers on the internet with health problems they developed because of the foods they ate, alcohol they drank, etc., it supported me in getting deeper with my why.
Lastly, after my doctor told me that I was pre-diabetic and that if I kept going down this route, I was going to get diabetes, this soon shifted my perspective and focus. My parents are currently both in their 60s, and they are thriving, full of energy, doing very well for themselves, and still both very active working out. Seeing my parents like this made me want to change my ways and lead a healthier lifestyle.
Anytime I don't feel like getting up, I think about how I'm fully able-bodied and have the privilege to move my body. My parents are still moving and don't ever complain about any pain, either. This is my aspiration.
Accountability
As you and I both know, the people who get results are the ones who remain consistent. You should be taking action daily, getting 1% better every day. Many of us don’t know how to hold ourselves accountable, and we fall off.
This year and every year moving forward, choose yourself. Find an accountability partner and check in with each other, even if it’s only once or twice every week. It’s scientifically proven that we are more likely to do something when we are doing it for someone else than if we are doing it for ourselves. This is because you don’t want to let your accountability partner down; you’ll start showing up more and, in turn, get the desired results.
Focus on one thing: get specific on something you’d like to change about your life, whether it’s your eating habits, the time you spend on your phone or watching Netflix, or working out. Find your why, start small, and find yourself an accountability partner, someone who will actually hold you to the highest standard. Watch things slowly start changing for you.
If you are just getting started, start with 1-3 small things and move from there. If you try to tackle all your goals at once, you may get unmotivated and lose the drive to pursue them all, so be specific and stay consistent.
Now, go take action!
