Exerecise Staying Motivated

In my late teens I turned into a bit of a slob. I stopped exercising altogether, starting drinking lots of alcohol and generally ate crap. When I started university I would rarely rise before midday and if I did I would always skip breakfast. I've never been a naturally slim person, so as a result I piled on the kilos and weighed about 20kgs more than than I do now.

But this article is not about what made me decide to take off the weight or how I managed to keep it off. It is about the fact that once I had decided to exercise regularly again, it became part of my daily routine and has been consistently for the past 15 years.

The one thing that most people ask me when I talk about my love of exercise is how I stay motivated. How do I drag myself out of bed every morning for that run or gym session?

I can't deny that at first it was extremely difficult and it took all my available willpower. But as I was losing weight and looking so much better, that was all the motivation I needed. But once I reached a healthy weight and the gloss of it all had worn out I needed something more to keep me on track.

My solution was simple and has kept me going for all these years. I simply don't think about it. When the alarm goes I get straight out of bed and get going. I don't stop to think about the run I will be doing or the spin class I will be attending as that is when I'll start over thinking and potentially talk myself out of it. Turn on the auto pilot and in no time you'll be out the door and right into it.

So if you are having issues with motivation I'd suggest you try the same. Commit to it and then just go. Don't think, just action. It's certainly worked for me!