Getting motivated!

Staying motivated can be extremely hard, especially when the weather is so cold or you've just lost your drive!

I have a few ways that I stay motivated and I would love to share them with you to hopefully help you push past your fitness plateau and continue to push yourself to achieve all the goals you have set for yourself! Two of my fav ways to stay motivated is by setting goals and creating vision boards.

Goal Setting

I believe setting goals really is the best way to get to where you want to be. Setting goals keeps you on track, keeps you motivated and gives you a feeling of accomplishment when you have completed the goal.

Step 1 – Identify your goals, make sure the goal you are working for is something you really want, not just something that sounds good. Identifying your goals will help you get to where you want to be.

For example, what are your fitness goals?

- To lose a dress size and tone up

- To stay active

- To be happy with your body inside and out

Step 2 - Write down all the steps you will need to do to achieve this goal. Believe me seeing is believing and when you map your goal out it will become easier to achieve.

For example: I want to lose a dress size
Action Plan: I plan to exercise 4-5 days a week, I will eat healthy and drink plenty of water, I will do X amount of cardio sessions a week and X amount of weight sessions. It is important to list ALL steps you will need to do to achieve this goal. Take action and achieve your goals!

Reviewing your goals daily is a crucial part of your success and must become part of your routine. Each morning when you wake up read your list of goals and visualize the completed goal.

I have focused specifically on fitness goals in this post as this blog is aimed at helping you achieve your health and fitness goals but goal setting is very important for all aspects of your life. Go through the same process and map out your financial, education, family, career, social and spiritual goals. Setting goals in each area of life will ensure a more balanced life.

Vision Boards

A vision board (also known as a dream board) is a display of the things that motivate you, and should be placed where you will see it everyday. Your vision board should include things that you are motivated by and things you want to eventually have. Some great examples of what to include on your vision board are;  

• Photos of people you look up to, this may be your favourite fitness model, your business inspiration (think Richard Branson or Donald Trump) or even a family member that inspires you.
• Photos of the cars, houses, boats you would like to own
• Photos of places you want to travel to and holidays you want to take
• Your favorite inspirational quotes

A vision board can be motivation to get in the gym and achieve that body you desire or it can be that motivation you need to achieve other goals that mean something to you!

Now I believe there are different ways we can make vision boards.

Option 1 - One way of making a vision board is to get a piece of cardboard, get all your pictures and simply paste them onto the board and then display the board in a place you will see it on a daily basis. Suggestions: Bathroom, bedroom, back of a door, above your make up mirror etc

This is NOT my vision board - This is an example for you to understand what a vision board looks like

Option 2 - Another way of displaying your vision board is in your phone – this is what I do.
Although I have had vision boards in the past, I tend to stick to creating vision ‘folders’ for myself in my phone so I have easy access to it everyday and whenever I need it, it is just a click away.

Within my phone, I have separate folders dedicated to what motivates me. One of the folders is a fitness inspiration folder with pictures of all the people that inspire me to achieve my goals. I will flick through these folders regularly and in particular just before I am off to the gym I will look at one of the amazing bodies in my folder to give me a huge boost of motivation for me to get in there and achieve my own goals! I also have folders for other inspirations such as houses/cars etc

  

I have this picture of Jenifer Nicole Lee  in my phone under fitness inspiration - She is one of my BEST fitness inspirations! Have a look at her website and read about her story. She is a GREAT inspiration!  

 "The difference between a goal and a dream is the written word -Gene Donohue"

xx