Exercise and the Myth of Motivation

Motivation is an unsustainable myth. At least in the sense that most of us understand it. The idea that we need to feel some kind of way in order to take action toward our goals is BS. We shouldn’t be reliant on a fleeting sensation for anything, especially not our health and fitness. It’s time to be the grown-up in this mind-body relationship.That’s our work IN this week. We’re looking at why we do what we do and how understanding the myth of motivation can help us take radical responsibility for our actions and enjoy the long term consequences of our health choices.

As a part of my mission to bring a legacy of resilience through movement, each month you can join me for a hike on the bike trail followed by a free trauma informed vinyasa class back at the studio on Main Street. Go to savagegracecoaching.com to see the calendar and join my newsletter, Yoga Life on Main Street, to stay up to date on all the latest studio news, events and gossip. And now… on to this week’s episode.

It’s time to stop working out and start working IN. You found the Work IN podcast for fit-preneurs and their health conscious clients. This podcast is for resilient wellness professionals who want to expand their professional credibility, shake off stress and thrive in a burnout-proof career with conversations on the fitness industry, movement, nutrition, sleep, mindset, nervous system health, yoga, business and so much more.

I’m your host Ericka Thomas. I'm a resilience coach and fit-preneur offering an authentic, actionable realistic approach to personal and professional balance for coaches in any format.

The Work IN is brought to you by savage grace coaching, bringing resilience through movement, action and accountability. Private sessions, small groups and corporate presentations are open now. Visit savagegracecoaching.com to schedule a call and get all the details.

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Transcript

Ep 201

Exercise and The Myth of Motivation

Motivation is an unsustainable myth. At least in the sense that most of us understand it. The idea that we need to feel some kind of way in order to take action toward our goals is BS. We shouldn’t be reliant on a fleeting sensation for anything, especially not our health and fitness. It’s time to be the grown-up in this mind-body relationship.That’s our work IN this week. We’re looking at why we do what we do and how understanding the myth of motivation can help us take radical responsibility for our actions and enjoy the long term consequences of our health choices.

According to the dictionary, motivation is the reason behind acting or behaving in a certain way or a general desire or willingness to do something. It is an internal state that causes us to make choices and take action towards some goal. By that definition people can act and behave in ways and for reasons that they may not be consciously aware of.

When we discuss motivation in the context of fitness and health goals it is often an external source like a trainer of a particular fitness goal like a 5 k or a marathon or we want to be a certain size for a wedding without the understanding of that “internal state” piece. We expect that someone else yelling at us in a boot camp or our unexamined goal will be enough to keep us on track in the face of all temptation. And then wonder why we fail.

The truth is nothing outside of us can motivate us. This is a key shift in understanding behavior change if you’re a fit pro. We need to be more than a cheerleader for our clients and it takes more than the carrot at the end of the stick to get each and everyone of us where we want to go no matter where we start. 

We talked in last week’s episode about the importance of the “Why” and how that needs to be bigger and more important than any excuse in order to be able to reach our health goals. That means that no other person can create that or sustain it for you. Even if you’re paying them to do it. Something has to shift in you. An internal state of reward that is present no matter where you are.

I had a trainer once who told us that people only do things for 2 reasons. Love or fear. And any motivator you can think of can be reduced down to either one of those to. I’ll give you an example. You can start a workout program because you have a family history of typw 2 diabetes and you don’t want that to be you. (Fear) or you can start the same program because you love yourself and your family and want to be there for them for a good long life.(Love) Now which one do you think lasts longer? Which one keeps you showing up for yourself more consistently? 

That shift is part of the stages of change. Even if you haven’t heard of them you might recognize them. There are 6.

Precontemplation

Contemplation

Preparation

Action

Maintenance 

Relapse

So let’s look at these in relation to exercise.

The precontemplation stage is when we are ignoring or denying the problem. These are the folks out there who have no intention of moving, ever. They hate exercise. Or they have decided that it’s not for them. THey have decided that how they are is how they are and there’s nothing that can be done. There’s a lot of fixed mindset in this space. THis is not you though because you’re listening to this podcast and that makes you curious

The Contemplation stage is where you start to consider the possibility of doing things differently. In this case somehow becoming more physically active. You’re not actually doing anything, just thinking about it. Weighing the pros and cons and considering your options. Maybe you’re here. Maybe you haven’t exercised since junior high track when you swore you’d never do another wall sit as long as you lived but now you’re wondering if gardening would be fun but you’re struggling to just tie your shoes. Maybe you used to love exercise but an injury knocked you off track. Maybe your doctor said you better get in shape or you won’t be around much longer. Everyone gets to this stage a little differently. Some people never make it out of this stage. Because they can’t find a why big enough to outweigh all the excuses.

The preparation stage is exciting because here is where you decide what it is you want to do. There are many ways to exercise and get more activity into the day. They all work. So there’s no wrong answer. You can get stuck here though if you approach the options with an all or nothing mindset. For example, I’m going to run 3 miles every single day or not at all. Or I want to do this kickboxing class but it’s full so nevermind I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Or maybe you try it and you really hate it. And rather than try something different you head back to the couch. Let this stage be an experiment. 

The action stage is where you settle on what and you begin taking steps toward your goal. Hopefully showing up for yourself in a regular consistent way. And that’s the hardest part. Showing up for yourself. Literally putting yourself in the place to do the thing. Even when you don’t want to, when you don’t “feel” like it. Just show up. Not for your trainer, not for your instructor, not for your doctor…for you. In The 4 Agreements this is being impeccable with your word. In the beginning you may need to really lean on your why to stay consistent. And that's important because every time we do that we trigger a natural dopamine release.

Dopamine is a hormone/neurotransmitter in the brain responsible for feelings of success and  reward but even more than that it’s a molecule of motivation or drive toward a goal. We trigger that release by repeating our reason why. ANd dopamine helps reinforce that what we’re doing is a good thing. It can turn anything we do into a habit. 

The maintenance stage is when you have committed to that exercise/activity habit for a long time. You know you’re there when it’s harder to skip your workout than it is to just do it. That’s when you know that dopamine has been doing its job for you.

The 6th stage is Relapse. Relapse is when you “fall off the wagon” so to speak. Maybe you skip a week of exercise for illness, injury or travel. Personally I hate that this is included in the stages of change because this is real life and those things are going to happen. The question is what do you do when it happens. You have choices. Do you stay off the wagon or do you jump back on. And how you respond might be a change from how you may have responded to set backs in the past. In which case if in the past you might have given up and this time you get back into the groove you can celebrate because that’s a big win and a behavior change like that can ripple out into other areas of your life.

Underneath any and every goal from weight loss to becoming a world traveler, is this core of behavior change. If we want something to change for us physically mentally or emotionally, then something must change. We have to take some action and along with it radical responsibility for the choices and the consequences of that action. If I choose to sit on the couch and binge netflix for 9 hours straight (which I have been known to do from time to time) the consequences of that choice are mine. If I choose to do 100 squats, pushups and crunches every day I get to own those consequences too. It’s actually a beautiful thing. 

Exercise doesn’t require external motivation. All it requires is showing up. You don’t have to like it. It doesn’t have to be fun. It definitely shouldn’t be comfortable. In fact, to be effective you don’t want to be comfortable. You want to focus on the afterglow. The post exercise rush of endorphins including dopamine to keep you coming back. Every time you come back you’re stoking that fire, achieving results and moving toward your fitness and strength goals. 

Show up, start where you are, ask your body for a little bit more and give 100% no matter what that looks like on any given day. Your body, mind and spirit will thank you.

Thanks for listening! 

Hey if you want to try some of these things in real life I’m leading an accountability group that is doing all of this live for the next 4 -6 weeks. It’s a virtual course called choose your challenge. And you can start it any time. It includes live connection calls every week with me and the group and it is totally free. Calls are recorded too. Links for that are in the show notes. 

If you're looking for ways to handle the effects of stress, physically, mentally and emotionally through the body head over to savagegracecoaching.com/theworkin you’ll find all the show notes for this and other episodes plus lots of free resources. And if you’re in a place where you are ready for more and you live in the Dayton Ohio area I’m taking private clients for trauma informed yoga and trauma release exercise in person and online. So book a discovery call and we can have a real life conversation. And of course I’d be ever so grateful if you would take a moment to like and subscribe to this podcast wherever you’re listening. 

Thanks again everyone and as always stop working out and start working IN.