Why is it that we so often start things that we fail to finish? We start a diet and for that first week we follow it religiously but then we start to cheat a little and by the end of the second week we’ve fallen off the wagon entirely. We buy ourselves an expensive new gym membership and a pair of high tech running shoes and a month later both are collecting dust. Why is that? Do we sabotage our best efforts at self improvement or are we fooling ourself about our intentions in the first place? Self improvement and motivation, it is a tricky balance at times.
## It’s not that I don’t wish to lose weight, it is that I can not seem to stay the course.
Let’s use this as an example: the biggest difference between those folks who become authors and those people who simply want to become authors is that the former want to write their novels while the latter really only want to have written novels. In other words wanting to see the results isn’t the same thing as genuinely wanting to do the work. Wanting to BE there is not the same as wanting to GET there.
## I start these fitness training programs with the best of intentions I just seem to lose focus.
That is because there is a difference between intention and motivation. Intention is nothing more than writing a cheque to your future self, motivation is the desire to make sure that you are able to cash it. Intentions come cheap while real motivation is priceless.
## I tell myself everyday at the gym that I need to keep going but some days it is harder than others.
Here’s the thing; you must want it, not simply the end result but the process as well. Not simply the destination but the journey. You can attempt to convince yourself that you want something but unless you’re able to flip that switch pretty quickly it will become progressively harder and harder to do. You must be present and invested in process each step of the way. That is what it means to be motivated.
## Maybe I simply should not bother.
Hold on! No one is saying that can’t find motivation. Whether it’s something as difficult as fitness training programs or as simple as attempting to follow healthy meal ideas the essential component in being able to follow through is mindfulness. Be mindful of the present moment and your choices. Take both pride and pleasure in your new routines. That’s how motivation is nurtured and ultimately thrives.
Self improvement and motivation; the two go hand in hand. Once you genuinely want to affect a meaningful change in your life and are motivated to follow it through then, and only then, will real changes start to happen for you.
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