The secret to massive motivation to lose weight
Want to lose weight but are not motivated enough?
Do you struggle with ongoing motivation to make healthy eating choices and working out and do whatever it takes to reach your ideal body weight and thereafter. Today, I spilling out the secret to creating massive motivation.
Hi there. How are you doing? Welcome to Episode 10. Today, we are talking about “motivation”.
So lemme give you 3 scenarios….very recent ones & these are also the most common ones.
So a few days back, one of my colleagues contacted me and as she was describing her desire to lose weight, this is what she said…
“Anu, I was really motivated to exercise and eat healthy and maintain my body weight in my twenties but now in my late thirties, I just don’t have it any more. I do want to lose weight & make healthier choices but I don’t seem to have any motivation to actually get up and do what it takes. I lack the motivation. Help.”
Another scenario that happened a month back…a friend of mine who was 70 kgs overweight in her twenties…she had lost 50 kgs which is super recommendable…and its been a decade she did that…she told me that although she wanted to lose another 20 kgs and get to her ideal dream body weight, she just isn’t motivated enough. She does eat healthy and even go for long walks but the motivation to go the extra mile isn’t there. She even told the exact steps that she thinks will take her to her dream weight and that she evens keep making plans in her head as to when she will be doing them but when the actual time comes, she experiences zero motivation to get into action.
And then one of my neighbours casually said, Anu although I love my walks and want to lose weight, there are days when I’m simply not motivated to get up and go for my walks and eat healthy. In fact, I even try to talk myself into believing as to how amazing I will feel once I finish my walk, but that also doesn’t help. So my problem is motivation. If only I was motivated enough, I would be a totally different person and have a totally different body. I know this….
So, do any of these examples sound familiar.
Do you also struggle with motivation sometimes, if not all the time…
Motivation to eat healthy…motivation to eat just enough and not overeat…
Motivation to not eat that much of sugarer eat more of vegetables and fruits and less of junk…motivation to start or maintain your exercise regime or take it to the next level.
Motivation to lose the extra weight and then stay there for life…
Or motivation to lose the last 5 to 10 pounds…
Whatever it is, if you wanna learn the secret to ongoing motivation and what it takes to get to your ideal weight and or consistently make choices that serve you, then today’s episode will be a game changer.
You know I see so many women give up on their desire to accomplish their ideal body weight & live in a body they truly love, not because they lack the ability to do so….far from it…simply because they lose their motivation to do so…
So today, I will decode “motivation” in a way that will be practical and totally applicable in your life whether it is to lose weight or reach any other goal from today. Cool…
Now, Let me start by the laying out the biggest assumption about motivation that is completely false and it stops us from accomplishing whatever it is that we desire in the most efficient and fastest way…
And that assumption….that myth actually is that
Motivation is the spark…the driving force that gets us into action mode. Right.
This universally accepted definition assumes that motivation comes before action.
Well, what if I told you that this is completely false and misunderstood.
The truth is motivation comes from action…
What!
Yes, action precedes motivation. It never is the other way round.
You could sit down and watch a highly “motivating” movie or a documentary or attend a seminar or read a lot of books and still not be motivated…
Haven’t you noticed it…there are times when such things do motivate you into action mode but there are a times and lot of times, such things fail to cause any motivation…and this is because of this very fact…
Action precedes Motivation.
Motivation is the result of taking action…
We keep waiting for motivation to spring us into action but that is simply a recipe to keep waiting and waiting….and to undermine the capacity at which you produce results.
How this plays out in life is -
Lets say you get up in the morning and wait for motivation to strike so that what you had planned the night earlier that is to go for a run…that is never going to happen. It doesn’t happen because it doesn’t work that way.
Sure, there will be times when you do have some desire…some sort of motivation to go for your run, but more often that you can imagine, you will not have it and if you don’t how this works, you will keep waiting and waiting and waiting… I have been working out consistently for 5 to 6 times a week from the last 15 to17 years and I love the way I feel after my workouts but more often that you can imagine, I don’t want to leave my cosy bed early morning. And this is how our brains are designed.
This brings me to my next distinction which is called the motivational triad. What this means is our brains are motivated to action towards pleasure, to move away from pain and to expend the least amount of energy doing the same. This motivational triad served us very well when we were caveman & cavewomen and ensured that we survived. The pleasure that time meant food that we humans got sometimes & that too after extreme amount of effort and pleasure meant sex to keep the species from extinction and pleasure meant staying within the community to fight together all the harsh elements and raise the kids…and the pain meant moving away from predators and the weather. All this was nature’s way to make sure that we humans lived. We still have that neural circuitry firmly installed in our hardware but now we also have the most evolved part of the brain….
So as they say, what got us here will not take us forward. If you do not use your higher pre frontal brain to guide and direct your actions, the default is the primitive brain….that will make sure that you inside the cave that is your house, all day long, watch the netflix, have the chips, the chocolate, chole bhature and the alcohol and that’s it. That is the default design which if you are not aware is completely sabotaging your life. Why…because now you have too much and too intense artificially created pleasure….the pain is not mostly physical, its emotional & you don’t have to expend any effort in order to get that pleasure. What this means is that the motivation to get out and do what it takes to show courage and determination and stay resilient in the face of harsh circumstances is actually fulfilled by false pleasures. So until you really understand that the default pattern of motivation in your brain is not to be relied at all, you will keep wondering why your life is not working the way you want it….why you still overeat and why you desire to lose weight but are not motivated to take action or take consistent action….right.
So I want you to remember that most of the times, the default impulse will be to eat the cupcake and not the salad and to stay in the bed instead of working out. And once you know this, you no longer have to be at the effect of this primitive neural circuitry. You can and you must reclaim you higher pre frontal human circuitry that can overcome the default impulses which are to take the easy route. Right.
And connecting this with what I told you first is the key.
I.e motivation the kind that keeps you going is actually the result of taking action. Once you take the action, the nature rewards you with dopamine. And dopamine is the neuro transmitter that is generated in ur brain that tells to keep going. Its the little natural dopamine hits that you create once you take action.
You see all the top level athletes, musicians, craftsmen, entrepreneurs…all the elite people who are at the top of their game. They do not rely on motivation to get started. They are completely aware that when they get started, then motivated is created. And as they keep going, they are motivated to finish what they start.
But to start their craft, their dance…that is upon them.
And guess what is needed to get started…it is simply their willingness.
Your desire to lose weight, your desire to create a business, your desire to create an amazing relationship, your desire to run a marathon….
Your desire is the engine of creation.
In my opinion one of the powerful exercises that is imperative and must not be taken lightly is creating a compelling reason to achieve your goal.
So definitely a part of creating motivation is your “why”. Your big fat WHY…Why do you want to lose weight. Really , really getting clear on this. Why does it matter to you?
What emotions are you after? What is at stake? What would it mean about you, once you lose the weight? Right…
But, here’s the thing…
Your “why” is not enough.
The why gives you power and immense clarity while you set your goal. It creates a vision that gives direction to your brain…
But your why is not enough to create ongoing motivation to take consistent action. Whattt… Yes, I sait it!
Your why is not enough to spring you into action.
Yes, years back, I used to think, it was all about why. But then I realised that why is not the complete story. Even having a strong why at times will not get you out of the bed…or say “no” to that gulab jamun that your relative is offering you. You may craft irresistible why and still not take action.
So what is the secret to that elusive motivation to get started and keep going throughout the process of losing weight and thereafter…what is it?
The secret is -
Drum role please…
Not relying on motivation to get started or to keep going.
What…
Lemme repeat that again….the secret is not even relying on motivation to get started or keep going towards your goals
Yes, it may sound like a bummer but this is the key to approaching and understanding motivation.
Listen, you can meet or read auto-biographies of the world’s best, most sorted highly accomplished & successful sportsmen, entrepreneurs, craftsmen, scientists, celebrities, athletes…people who are best in what they are doing…and if you ask them, hey, what is the secret to your massive motivation, you know what answer you are going to get…motivation, what motivation…motivation is bs ! Ya..We don’t rely on motivation! Absolutely not…
So, What I’m saying is the idea that motivation is even required to get started and to keep going is a huge myth.
It’s an idea I want you to get over with…like…drop it completely.
It simply doesn’t serve you and it doesn’t work this way.
The fact that motivation is a result of action is true but your reliance on motivation is a problem. The truth is motivation waxes and wanes…meaning its there at times and not there other times and so you cannot rely your dreams upon its presence or absence. Period.
So here’s the thing….
The million dollar secret that will surely get you started and keep you going is - your commitment.
What if stopped relying on motivation and simply start to honour your commitment? Now that is a completely refreshing & a powerful way of looking at your goals.
See motivation means waiting for the spark to get up and take action towards what you desire
Commitment on the other hand is you getting up and taking action towards your goal because you said so. Period…because it matters to you!
Motivation relies on how you are feeling at the moment while commitment is completely the opposite. It is in-fact taking action especially if you do not feel like taking it. It simply is honouring your word, honouring your promise to yourself just because you said so. Just because you know that every action towards your dream matters….because your dream, your desire matters. Right…because you know that overriding your primitive programming to not take action when you don’t feel like is exactly the reason why you must take action…because you know that, every action towards your dream no matter how small is exactly what shifts your identity from someone is a slave of their impulsive brain to someone who is honing the skill to override that & using their highest human brain.
Highly successful people….people who reach the end line & then maintain their results set a goal and then keep taking massive action, no matter what…they commit to not quit, motivated or not. They simply follow the process…the plan all the way through…They keep feeling like a winner with every single followed plan.
So motivation is the pride you feel of taking steps ford, no matter how small or how big. It’s an active phenomenon, not a passive one…that you get hit by sitting on a couch. Start taking action and motivation will be created as a result of it. Don’t rely on other people or even your self to motivate you. It simply doesn’t work this way. Set your goal weight & then honour your commitment to move forward towards it.
That is it my friends. I hope you found this lesson & the distinctions I shared about motivation valuable. Hey, it would be great if you could leave me a review on iTunes. That would help in my mission & spread this message to more amazing women like you. I will talk to you soon.
