You have done some research, found a work out program, and created your diet that is going to push you to your goals. You started out strong doing everything perfectly for the first week and had amazing results. The second week goes just as well, but there was one night you went out with friends or family and broke your diet. This doesn’t stop your momentum and you stay on your train. The third week another event comes up and a couple other things happen that cause you to eat outside of your diet for two nights and you miss a couple workouts. The fourth week consists of only a couple days of your healthy meals and one workout. By the fifth week you have essentially given up and gone back to square one. Sound familiar? This isn’t the case for everyone, but the motivation at the beginning doesn’t compare to when your plan starts to deteriorate. So how do you stay motivated 24/7/365?

Finding that motivation requires you to really dig deep and find what matters most to you. “I want to get in shape and look good naked” is going to eventually fall apart because…

It’s too superficial

The idea of getting in shape normally encompasses the number on the scale and how you look in the mirror. These two qualities are enough to drive one mad. You will probably see some good progress in the beginning in terms of the number on the scale getting lower. But eventually that number stops going down and may even go up. You are doing everything right and using all your will power but the scale isn’t matching your effort. This can cause depression and anger that causes you to lose motivation. To look good just doesn’t work in the long term.

We need to really dive deep into our soul and find what really matters to us. This is where we will find the motivation that will help us create a healthy lifestyle. This can take some time and deep thought, but this is a crucial first step before you begin your fitness journey. Why do you want this? The things that mattered to me were…

Protection

I stay in shape and push myself to the limits to protect myself and those that I love. If my house catches on fire I want to be able to grab both my kids and get them out of the house safely. If I see a car coming right at my children or other loved one I want to be able to get them out of the way. If anything or anyone decides to threaten my family I want the power to protect them.

You already know that life isn’t just a straight line. It goes up, down, left, right, makes a couple U-turns, and even makes you go in circles from time to time. It’s like when GPS navigation first started coming out and it would tell you to get off the freeway just to get back on going the same direction. Life always throws you curveballs and we need to expect the unexpected. I hope and pray that nothing ever happens, but I will always be prepared in the event that something does.

Survival

I can’t protect others if I can’t protect myself. If I were to slip and below me is severe injury or death, I want the ability to pull myself back up. If I need to run from the zombie apocalypse I better have the ability to do so. If something happens and my survival depends on my strength, I’m going to give myself the best chances possible to survive. A strong body has been shown to have significantly better at avoiding injuries in comparison to an untrained individual. The recovery from an injury is also substantially faster if something happens.

My Kids

My children will be the biggest factor that keeps me going and pushing myself to stay in shape. Part of the reason is that I believe “do what I say not what I do” will only go so far. I know that I need to set the example for my kids. If I sit on the couch and watching TV all day, or if I’m constantly on my phone then my kids will follow. I want them to see the affects of putting in the effort to take care of your mind, body, and spirit. Especially in today’s world it is so easy to become complacent with everything. We have so much food available that we can eat anything we want whenever we want. We have so much entertainment that we couldn’t finish everything within a lifetime. I know I need to be the one to get them up and outside to really experience life and keep their eyes open.

The biggest reason why my kids are my motivation is to see them grow old and be apart of all their milestones. By staying in shape I increase my chances of being around for a long time. For my daughter, I want will be there for all her biggest accomplishments, walking her down the aisle for her wedding, and the father daughter dance. I’ll be sure to brush up on my breakdance skill from my teenage years to embarrass her. For my son, I just realized nothing has the same significance as those events. But, I will be an icon that he will have to work hard to surpass. I will be there for his biggest accomplishments, supporting and pushing him every step of the way. These are very far into the future since my daughter is 4 and my son isn’t even 1 haha.

If they decide to give me grandkids one day then I will be there as the very active grandpa. I’m very grateful and blessed that my parents have put their health as a priority for most of their life. It always warms my heart that they have the ability to play with the kids the way they do. After this experience I know that I want to be able to do this for my grandkids as well.

Find your motivation

These are the reasons that motivate me to keep going. When I find myself starting to fall off I take a minute and remind myself why I want this. This motivation goes beyond just wanting to look good. We need to find those deeper reasons why we want to stay healthy or even become healthy. Focus on how you feel and your goals to keep you going. When you find your answer I suggest writing it down to always remind yourself why you do this. So finding your “Why” is THE most important step to keep your motivation for the rest of your life. Leave a comment below and tell me what your why is?