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Hey, guys, it’s Rhode here again and I wanted to take some time out to talk to you guys about a very crucial subject that often tends to get overlooked in the fitness game – – (as well as in life in general) and that’s the subject of “Motivation”. By definition motivation is:
“The act or instance of motivating, or providing with a reason to act in a certain way”.
Intended example, let’s say a woman named Amanda ( I honestly don’t even know any Amanda’s, but I’ve always liked the name) decided to quit her job, Amanda would’ve needed some form of motivation to do so. Something would’ve needed to happen to her to compel her to make such a big decision. Maybe she won the lottery. People who win the lottery are often motivated to kick their present employers to the curb because let’s face it – – – who needs to work anymore when you’re instantly worth 12 times your boss’s annual salary?? Maybe Amanda simply found a new job with a different company offering better incentives. Maybe this new company is offering Amanda double her current income. That mere fact alone (at least for me) could serve as motivation to make Amanda want to ditch her present job.
To put it simply, motivation causes people to act. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Case in point, I once broke up with an ex-girlfriend (who I won’t name) via text (I know it was a terrible thing to do, and I still feel bad about it to this day) which motivated her to drive to my house in the middle of the night and ‘attempt’ to slash my tires. I say attempt because luckily for me, as she was gearing up to perform her latest Freddy Krueger impression on my poor defenseless Firestones, my brothers, who were returning from a night out at the movies, just happened to be pulling up into the driveway and as a result frightened my ex enough to send her speeding off into the night.
By breaking up with her via text (which we’ve already confirmed was a real douche move) she was motivated by anger to act out. Not the best of intentions, but motivation nonetheless. No matter if its good or bad, motivation inspires you to act. Think about it, how many times have you heard something so motivational, something so intense, something so inspiring that you had no choice but to act?! I know I’ve experienced so many of these moments that I’ve actually lost count! Seriously, I’ve lost count!
Motivation is a great starting tool, but people often tend to forget that it’s just one piece of the greater puzzle. Not just in fitness, but in life in general. You can be easily motivated to start a goal, but once the motivation fades it’s your habits that you developed along the way that will make sure you see that goal through.
By definition a habit is:
“An acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary”.
Take, for example, brushing your teeth. Every morning, millions of people all around the world (the clean ones at least) wake up and brush their teeth. A habit they more than likely developed from the time they first were able to talk. Now, most wake up and do it without even thinking. (At least we hope they do). That’s the beauty of habits. Once they’re developed – – -they’re usually here to stay.
According to who was a renowned plastic surgeon back in the 1950’s, it would take his patients about 21 days to get used to seeing their new face. Similarly, when a patient had an arm or a leg amputated, Maltz noticed that the patient would sense a phantom limb for about 21 days before adjusting to the new situation.
These experiences prompted Maltz to think about his own adjustment period to changes and new behaviors, and he noticed that it also took himself about 21 days to form a new habit. Maltz wrote about these experiences and said,
“These, and many other commonly observed phenomena tend to show that it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell.”
In 1960, Maltz published that quote and his other thoughts on behavior change in a book called Psycho-Cybernetics. The book went on to become a blockbuster hit, selling more than 30 million copies.
Now take what we’ve discussed about motivation and habits and apply that to the world of fitness. every day so many people get motivated by one thing or another to finally attempt to achieve their fitness goals, but shortly after their initial motivation fades – – so does their burning desire to better themselves and that’s mainly due to the fact that more often than not, they haven’t developed the proper habits to keep the ball rolling.
When you’re driving in your car, and you’re about to make a left turn, do you make a conscious effort to put on your left turn signal or does it happen without you even thinking about it because it’s become a habit of yours over the years so it happens automatically? Most people are going to go with the latter. That’s how powerful habits can become. You do things without even noticing it.
A habit that I’ve personally developed over the years is one that requires me to drink one gallon of water daily. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing that day I need to consume at least one gallon of water. I’d be walking down the street and it wouldn’t be uncommon for you to see me with a gallon of water. I’d be at the library catching up on a few good reads and you’d probably see me with a nice big gallon of water. Heck, even at work….if you would catch me in the break room you’d probably see me with (drumrolllll please) yup – – -you guessed it – – – a nice refreshing gallon of AGUA! (That’s water for my non-Spanish speaking friends) I’ve been doing that for so long that my day literally gets thrown off track if I don’t. Not to mention it’s a pretty healthy habit to pick up. And if you want to really be serious about achieving ANY goal in life (not just fitness goals) then you have to truly understand that although being motivated is GREAT, developing the proper habits to fully channel that motivation into productivity is key!
Well, I hope you guys found some of this useful and I just want to say thanks for stopping by and reading! Hopefully, this becomes one of your new habits!
And for those of you looking to develop a few fitness habits that are sure to help you gain that lean muscle mass so many of us have been struggling to develop, go on ahead and click on the image below to see what we’ve got to help you out! Enjoy!
