One of my best friends since childhood is getting married in just two short weeks and boy has it ever kicked my workout motivation into high gear. Perhaps it is all those dress fitting appointments and having to face up to the reality of my measurements that has sparked my renewed commitment to fitness and eating healthfully, but whatever it is, how could I not be happy and curious?
Like all of you, I too can fall off track with my motivation. With all of life’s competing demands, I am just as susceptible to losing focus on what I want and what is really important as the next guy. That is why I am grateful when life reminds me about the importance of conscious intention.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love to workout. As a former professional athlete I look forward to my “me-time,” which I get with my daily workouts. However I have noticed that my habit for working out does not automatically come with the same intensity it did when I was training for a purpose (to win a championship for instance).
That is why I am so grateful for this wedding. You see it has given me a renewed sense of purpose in my daily workouts. That being said, we don’t always have the luxury of a pending deadline with very clear-cut pain vs pleasure leverage (see my MoMonday videos).
So how do we ensure that bring that same level of intensity we need to achieve big results?
What I teach my clients is that high performance takes commitment, dedication, a lot of motivation and conscious connection with your why factor (again reference my MoMonday videos found on my YouTube channel-see homepage). The psychology of success requires just as much maintenance as anything else you value: your car, your finances, your important relationships, etc.
Think about this wedding for example-I am killing it at the gym now because I know how I want to feel standing up there next to my friend. I know I want to feel confident in how I look. I know how I don’t want to feel standing up there too; like I could have done more. Connecting with the pain and the pleasure of my decision-making is the spark that I needed to kick my workouts into high gear.
This is my challenge to you today:
-Connect with your “Why Factor”: what is the purpose behind your goal. Why do you want to achieve it in the first place?
-What is the pain of staying the same (be as specific as possible)?
-What is the pleasure you will experience the day you achieve your goal (again be specific)?
-Be as specific as possible and embody the experience of pain and pleasure as if it were happening today.
The average person won’t go through the efforts of training the mind like this. That is what makes them the average person. You are NOT average and that is why you are reading this article right now. High performance is all about going above and beyond, going the extra mile. Your choice to do the above exercise is what separates you from the average person and what will support you in your quest for an above average performance.
Remember to make every performance count!
-Coach Susan
