Hey Gang,
I hope everyone is having an awesome week so far! Today’s topic is something we all have in one form or another. It is the driving force behind many of our thoughts, plans, actions, and behaviours. It is unique in that it can be heavily influenced by our external circumstances but ultimately comes from within. What the heck am I talking about? Motivation!!
The human animal is so very distinctive in many ways. What separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom can be more or less summed up in two words…our brain. The human brain is an extremely complex organ which has elements of a more primitive nature, and those resulting from millions of years of evolution—see neocortex (assumption of divine creationism through evolution here—let’s not cloud our topic with a debate on this topic please!).
Motivation is uniquely human and some may argue that it is the result of the evolution of our most basic instinctual traits into a more elaborate and complicated decision making process. Motivation can be explicit such as a coach urging on his team or it could be far less evident such as with subliminal marketing. Hence we can experience motivation in both our conscious and unconscious mind. Let’s have a look at motivation and how it influences our health, fitness and lifestyle choices (from here on in referred to as HFL).
Why do you go to the grocery store? To buy food to eat and satisfy your hunger. Why do you bring your car to a mechanic? More than likely to diagnose a perceived problem and provide a solution, i.e. fix it so we can drive to work, bring the kids to hockey, etc. Believe it or not, your actions or behaviours in these two examples illustrate how motivation to satisfy a need causes you to perform an action or do something.
You are hungry and NEED to eat. You NEED to get your kids to their activities so you NEED a working vehicle. Motivation in this context is high and it is not difficult to understand your actions; however, when we talk about motivation with regard to HFL, well, let’s just say that things are not so “cut and dried.”
Choices we make in life are normally made out of necessity or perceived necessity to fulfill a need, or because we want something for whatever reason (normally, something we perceive as pleasureable or satisfying). The desire to make a change in one’s life when it comes to HFL can be an easy decision to make but the follow-through, putting into practice the necessary plan or framework to achieve your goals, is often problematic. Despite the underlying reason for being motivated to make this HFL change, the track record for sustained success is fairly low.
I could bore you with this study or that study to back up the fact that despite most people’s good intentions with regard to HFL change, your chance for success is low, very low. In fact one American study (only one study, I promise) on the success of New Year’s resolutions states that in general only 8% of persons making such resolutions achieve their goals (this does not only include HFL resolutions but it gives us a good idea as 3 of the top five resolutions noted are directly HFL related). The results of the study can be found here http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/.
Okay so now everybody is sufficiently depressed as Rich has thoroughly deflated their hopes and dreams for sustainable and positive HFL change. Why even bother to try if we are doomed to failure? Because there are methods and strategies which you can use to overcome these odds and use your motivation to succeed and reach your HFL goals.
Just as using a great mechanic to get your car back up and running is a no-brainer, why would you not consider employing the services of a lifestyle expert to help you with your HFL goals? The expectation that most people can effectively and successfully implement HFL changes without much effort or help is ludicrous. Why not set yourself up for success instead of failure. Use your motivation for making such changes by increasing your chances for permanent and sustainable HFL modifications by consulting experts in the field.
A great trainer or coach will inspire you, provide you with a realistic & successful plan, and most importantly provide the support and accountability to help you CHANNEL YOUR MOTIVATION INTO DEVELOPING GOOD SUSTAINABLE HABITS!!
You will be pleasantly surprised on how successful you can and WILL be! Please do not hesitate to contact me for more info on planning, preparing and implementing your personal framework for realizing your HFL goals and dreams.
See you soon!