Life can be crazy sometimes.  It’s inevitable.  We start the day, the week, the month, maybe even the year, with the BEST intentions and then find ourselves repeatedly falling short! We convince ourselves that we are unworthy and incapable of making even the SMALLEST CHANGE and that we are doomed to lives of mediocrity–or worse–FAILURE! DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR???If so then it’s time to toss out those negative thoughts and get practical!!! Having “good intentions” is not the same as “living with intention”…one is a passive approach and the other is an active approach.  If you want to be successful, you have to move from the passive into the active.  It’s not impossible, but it does take practice. 

Here are five (5) practical tips to help you get motivated:

FIND WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO…AND DO IT OFTEN!

I love lifting weights for example.  LOVE. IT.  I don’t do it because I want to look a certain way or because someone told me it’s healthy for me (though clearly I love the way I look and feel), but in order to do it day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, I’d better enjoy it.  I have a girlfriend that HATES weight lifting.  WITH. A. PASSION.  She did it because she felt she “had” to. If weight lifting isn’t your thing, try something else…and keep trying till you find what IS.

HAVE A PLAN!

For those of us who are Moms, think about it like this:  What would your day look like if you planned NOTHING?!  I’m not talking about taking a break from reality, snuggling with the kids in your jammies all day and eating Cheerios for dinner (and technically, ladies, that IS a plan).  I’m talking about your daily routine.  You get up at a certain time.  You feed the kids breakfast.  They get dressed…and so your day begins.  You may not plan days in advance.  In fact, you may not think that your “routine” is a plan, but in fact, your daily habits, routines, and patterns ARE PLANS.  If you want to be consistent in what you do each day and time management is your Achilles heel, then sit down and write out your plan.  Writing out your plan serves TWO PURPOSES:  1) It allows you to think before you implement and 2) It allows you to share your ideas with your partner, if having them on board helps you to put your plan into action.

SET SHORT TERM GOALS AND CELEBRATE THEM!

Do you ever bite off more than you can chew?  Say YES when you should clearly say NO?  Set crazy goals with no clear direction as to how to achieve them, then actually get upset when you don’t?  Yeah, me too.  Setting short term goals doesn’t mean you’ll ALWAYS be successful, but it sure increases your chances.  Setting short term goals also reminds you that this is a journey, not a race.  Each time you set a short term goal and actually achieve it, it feels like absolute victory.  If you’re just starting out, or just getting back from a long hiatus, you should approach your goals literally be ONE DAY AT A TIME.  Yesterday is behind you…don’t drag it with you like a ball and chain.  Tomorrow isn’t here yet…worrying about what you will or won’t do is a waste of time. Plan? Yes. Set goals? Absolutely!  But focus 100% on today.  Each day you have a chance to give 100% effort.  If you choose to give only 80% effort today, you can’t give 120% effort the next day to make up for it.  Life doesn’t work that way.  The Goal Setting Exercise we did in Fit MOMs Connect yesterday was a PERFECT example of your ability to set a short term goal and then CRUSH IT!  You all did AMAZING, but even more than how you DID, think about how you FELT!  THAT’S what we are cultivating here.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

We’re all familiar with the old adage:  “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!”  Learning new habits, practicing new skills, thinking about things differently, trying new approaches–these things don’t happen all at once and they happen at different times for everyone.  Just like our teachers told us in elementary school, “Keep your eyes on your own paper.”  Don’t compare your answers to the kid at the desk next to you.  Sure, we all want reassurance that we’re answering the questions correctly or that we’re doing the same thing as everyone else, but remember that your journey is going to be different than anyone else. You bring your own unique strengths, qualities and experiences to the equation and you are just as capable!

FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT!

Some days you just don’t feel like it.  Sometimes those days become weeks and even years.  If you’re feeling OBE (overcome by events), check in with yourself.  Have you had persistent, long-term feelings of sadness, helpless or hopelessness?  If so, you may be feeling more than just “disorganized” or as if your life is “out of control”, you may actually be experiencing depression.  Depression is common among women of childbearing years (just ask me, I suffered from Depression off an on for about 12 years in my early 20’s and 30’s beginning with the birth of my first child).  If you feel TIRED all the time and life is an EFFORT, stop beating yourself up and get it checked out.  While there’s no blood test for Depression, deficiencies in your Thyroid or Reproductive Hormones, Iron and Vitamin B12 deficiencies can all feel very similar to Depression and are measurable and a simple fix.  If everything checks out O.K. and you’re still feeling blue, you might have some additional steps to consider.

If, however, your days feel more like a teenager might feel skipping school, then stop and consider WHY.  Sometimes you have to get up and show up until you get through your slump and there’s just no way around it.  Joining an accountability group (if you’d like to join mine, look for the “Sign Up Badge” on my Home Page here), asking a friend to hold you accountable, or signing up for a class so you won’t back out, are all ways we can work through those times when we are feeling the least inspired.