Do you want to lose 20 lbs? Or maybe you want to "tone up" and get rid of some unwanted body fat?
That's great... Do you know what I want?
I want $10 million.
And if I'm not careful I could easily get sucked get-rich-quick schemes that promise instant results without doing the actual work.
The same goes for you and your fitness goals.
The reality is that neither of us will get what we want overnight without serious commitment and consideration of how we prioritize our time, money, and energy.
We all want things. Wanting is easy. But when we go into new endeavors squarely focused on trying to achieve a superficial outcome, we set ourselves up for failure.
You see, there is usually a much deeper rationale behind our decisions and the more we can understand our "why" for wanting certain things, the more we can attach our actions to motivations that will give us the will to push through.
So rather than wanting $10 million, what I really want is a life of geographic and personal autonomy. I want to be able to enjoy Monday mornings without having to go to work and listen to Susan from the accounting department make corny jokes that I fake laugh at.
For you, rather than simply wanting to lose weight, or cut some body fat, perhaps what you really want is to boost your self confidence or to get back to the version of yourself that you know you are fully capable of becoming. Perhaps you want to lead by example for your children.
When it comes to fitness, my motivation is to be as metabolically healthy as possible. Coming from one of the most unhealthy states in the US, where diabetes, cancer, and hypertension run rampant, I have witnessed the sad reality of family and friends living severely diminished qualities of life, along with constant reliance on doctors and medications that arguably make them even sicker.
I am deeply motivated to not follow this path. Plus the healthier I am, the more I can enjoy the geographic and personal autonomy I spoke of before. This keeps me going. It is honestly not "discipline" that get's me to act. Rather, it is fear of the consequences of NOT prioritizing my health and fitness.
Quite frankly I do not even think about aesthetics or physical appearance. It is simply a natural byproduct of consistent daily habits which are driven be a deep-rooted fear of becoming another statistic.
I say all of that to say... you MUST understand the root of your motivations that exist deep within you. Then you mush channel your energy towards the daily habits that will address the root of your motivations. Habits are leading indicators for future life outcomes, so when you develop daily and monotonous consistency with your habits, the superficial benefits will naturally happen.
You must understand your "WHY," and everything else will follow.