By January, 40% of Americans will adopt New Year’s resolutions and nearly half of them will try to lose weight or get in shape.
But 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail in February and gyms will experience a decrease in traffic after the first and second months of the year as those who took New Year’s resolutions to put on. if in shape they lose strength.
As a Binghamton teacher and former Olympic weightlifter, weightlifting world champion and strength trainer, I have spent much of my life in gyms and gyms across the country. People often ask me, “How can I be motivated to exercise?”
Motivation and short-term goals
Years ago, when I was at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, one of the sports psychologists told me that motivation is a lie.
It took me years of experience and research to understand why, but I think I was right.
Personally, I have no trouble getting up on a cold, dark morning to train when a competition is approaching. But when there is no goal or immediate goal in place, getting up so early is much harder.
Motivation is driven by emotion and can be positive, as long as it is used for a short-term goal. For some, a New Year’s resolution can serve as a motivator. But because motivation is based on emotion, it can’t last long.
Think of it this way: no one can laugh or cry indefinitely, and that’s exactly how we know motivation will fail.
Emotion is a chemical release that produces a physiological response. If someone trying to get in shape trusts this reaction to drive them to work, it’s almost certain they’ll burn out, just like with a resolution.
When people buy gym subscriptions, they consider their best intentions, but commitments are made in a charged emotional state. Motivation helps with short-term goals, but is virtually useless for goals that require a longer duration.
In other words, don’t totally discount the value of motivation, but don’t count on it to last long because it won’t either.
Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com
Discipline gives results
If motivation doesn’t help you achieve your goals, what will you do?
The answer is discipline. Discipline, as I define it, is the ability to do what is necessary to succeed when it is more difficult to do so. Another way to think about it is to have the ability, not necessarily the desire, to do what you need when you least want it.
Failure to get up when the alarm goes off, inability to stay away from a party night before game day, or eating a donut when committed to not producing processed sugar are discipline failures. , not motivation.
The keys to discipline are practice and consistency. Discipline means repetitive and sometimes boring action. There are no shortcuts. You may appreciate the motivation during the first three weeks of successfully attending the gym, but after that you need to prove discipline.
There is another clear line that defines the difference between motivation and discipline. Motivation in itself usually fails to build other qualities needed to move forward, but discipline does. Discipline develops confidence and patience.
Discipline generates consistency and consistency generates habits. These are the habits that will ultimately define success.
[ You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors. You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter. ]