Why you lose motivation and what you can do about it.
Why you lose motivation and what you can do about it.
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Hey guys!
How are you doing? No, really. Honestly.
Are you still staying on track and being consistent with the goals you made for the new year? The truth is, we are most motivated at the start of the year and then that motivation begins to slow down. But why? What happens to that fire and drive? Why does it diminish? Where does it go!!???
Well, today, we’re gonna talk about all that!
Here are some of the main reasons you tend to lose motivation:
#1. You get bored!
When you’re working towards something, which usually takes a lot of determination, time and patience, it may seem like it’s never ending. Day after day, it feels like you’re not even accomplishing anything, even though you’re working SO HARD. And sometimes the tasks may seem mundane and boring. So of COURSE you’re going to lose motivation if you’re bored doing something day in and day out.
What to do about it?
Get creative – have fun! Okay so maybe eating healthy and meal prepping is the most boring task and you dread it every week. So, turn it into something fun! Invite friends over to have a big cook fest! Meal prep with friends and fam, and put on some good music! It’s like social hour while you’re getting your healthy meals prepped for the week. Trust me, it’s a lot more fun when you’re doing it with people you love, rather than alone. Plus, you may even motivate them to eat healthier!
Now, if your workouts seem boring, then maybe it’s time to switch it up. Your workouts SHOULD NOT be boring – they should be fun and you should look forward to them. So, try something new. Try a new fitness class. Workout with a buddy. Or alternate different styles of workouts throughout the week. For example, do Pilates one day, yoga another and weight lifting on other days. Mix things up! It’s all about variety (and that’s also how you get great results!).
#2. Results aren’t happening fast enough!
Okay so maybe you want to lose 5 lbs, or be able to do 30 burpees in a minute (ugh can you imagine!!!) or do 3 unassisted pull ups – all awesome goals! But you didn’t reach your goal in a few days, a week, or even a month. You get upset and you lose motivation. It’s natural to get frustrated and just throw the towel in.
What to do about it?
Know your goal and accept that it’s going to take a long time to reach it. Think about it this way – if it wasn’t tough and grueling, would the end result be worth it? Probably not. When you FINALLY reach your goal, you’ll be even more proud of yourself because you know how much work it took. Set realistic goals and be okay with the fact that it might take a while. Results take time.
#3. You’re not being honest with yourself!
Are you sticking with your plan? Are you staying true to one YOLO meal a week? Or are you sneaking in more YOLOs than you wanted? Are you committed to your workouts? Or are you slacking on a regular basis? A lot of the time, we aren’t seeing results, and therefore lose motivation because we aren’t truly being honest with ourselves and our actions.
What to do about it?
- Ensure you get the job done by:
- Writing down your to-do list
- Journaling your food intake
- Make your workouts fun
- Being proud of yourself and rewarding yourself for accomplishing your tasks. Maybe even reward yourself by relaxing and watching your fave TV show after your workout. Or having the most rejuvenating bubble bath at the end of the day. Stay true to your goals and your plan. That’s the ONLY way you will see results.
#4. You’re procrastinating!
Oh this is a big one! We are all guilty of it. We want to do something. The drive and desire is there, buttttttt let’s just put it off for a few hours. What if you intended to do your workout at 9am, but decided to meet a friend for breakfast instead. But then after your meal you decide to go shopping, then one thing leads to the next and your workout is missed that day! Okay, one day isn’t the end of the world, but if these habits keep happening, you’ll never reach your goal, right?
What to do about it?
Stay committed. Write down what tasks you need to do that day and make SURE you finish them. Make them a priority. Your friends will understand if you’d rather have lunch than breakfast so you can get your workout in, or if you need to reschedule your shopping date until later. Once you get into the habit of procrastination, it BECOMES a habit! And that’s one you don’t want. Say no to procrastination when the thought creeps up. You’ll be much happier with yourself when you get the job done!
With all that being said, motivation is a mindset. Motivation comes and goes. People rely on motivation and they think they should be motivated all the time and that’s how they will get the job done. But that’s not true. If you only worked out and ate healthy when you were motivated, would you get where you want to be? Probably not. Trust me. Even I have days when I’m not motivated, but I don’t let that stop me. I push myself to get into the office and work because I KNOW that I won’t regret it. And you know what? It’s usually on those unmotivated days when you have the best workout, or do your best work.
Be honest, how are your goals going so far? Let me know in the comments below. Let’s keep each other accountable!
43 thoughts on “Why you lose motivation and what you can do about it.”
There are Array43 comments posted by our users.
Something that is very important! Thanks Cassey ❤️
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Thanks! I really feel less motivated this passed days, but after reading this, I need to re-motivate myself to accomplish my goals!
<3
I just read this post, and honestly it might just have saved my life!!!!! (well, not literally)
Especially #2 spoke to me so very deeply !!!!!
I’ve been following POPPilates for over half a year now; started with the 5 min series, did the Beginner’s Calender, did a bit off the workout calenders, and finished PIIT1.0, and yet … I do not see the results I’d like to
I am terribly perfectionistic, and even more I am impatient with myself; when I do something it has to be JUST right, wwith perfect results at first try. When I don’t manage that I often get disheartened, feel like a failure and stop …
see #3 …
I haven’t been consequent in the last half year
I’ve been cheating with my eating! and often had pauses in my workouts, sometimes several weeks!
So it’s logical, of course, that I am not seeing the results I think I should have, yes?
But somehow it took this post to make me see that!
So THANK YOU CASSEY
Thank you also for the reminder that things. take. time!
I often try to tell that myself; be persistent, be patient, work for it …
but it’s hard to believe myself sometimes lol …
So I really, sincerely want to thank you again for reminding me to be patient
It will be hard, but reading this gave me new courage and hope and I’ll be continuing PIIT1.2 tomorrow and the day after and after etc, and also stick to healthy clean eating with renewed enthusiasm!
Thank you !!! 😀
Thank you so much for this post. I really needed it. x
This year I have gotten much more motivated and serious to live a stronger, happier, and healthier life. However, when it comes to eating healthy, I sometimes feel like I can never achive it. I want to put more good into my body but sometimes its just so hard. I get cravings and even binge and that really puts me off. I then think that working out won’t be worth it if I cant eat right. I’m at a time where I’m not sure how to deal with this situation. Pease help!
This post was definitely what I needed, life get’s really busy, and you feel like you don’t have time to workout! But I try to always find the fun in working out 😉 Because I know that I’m doing something good for myself, and I’ll thank myself later on. Thank you for yet another motivating post, I’m really so blessed to have discovered the amazing commuinity that is Blogilates xxxxx
So I love the calendar! I signed up for it in January and I worked out almost everyday….that’s huge for me!! I also found that working out makes me want to eat healthier and I discovered a love for avocados!! I can’t get enough! But.. this month it has been harder to workout because I got a job and have struggled to have a morning routine. I go to bed early but just can’t get myself out of bed early enough to workout. I’m not giving up though!! Thanks so much for motivating me with the vids and calendar!!
… Also I don’t tweet but I’m interested in more stretching! 🙂
Thank you. I seriously needed a boost! I fell off the wagon. Trying to shakily get back on. I was on such a roll. And now I HAVE a bunch of rolls. lol
Great post! I am finding it difficult to get myself motivated to get back to the pool. I have been doing it just about every day now for over a month, and I have just skipped a couple days. You are right, I am bored! Although it helps my body feel better, and it is a great workout, it just gets so monotonous!
So today, I am mixing it up – I have always wanted to learn pilates, and today is the day!
I also like that you said this: “People… think they should be motivated all the time and that’s how they will get the job done. But that’s not true.” That is totally me. I write a blog about Living and Loving Life and somehow I get so wrapped up in being motivating, that I lose sight of the bigger picture! Thanks for the eye opener!
I needed to read a blog post like this for real ! I´ve been struggling with being constantly sick and eating antibiotics and it´s effecting my daily routine in a way when I can never completely finish a monthly workout calendar and there goes my eating habits as well.
Well after eating well all week, I rewarded myself with a heavenly brownie! <3 I have 4 more days on the beginner calendar (and I'm nervous to go on the normal one!) but this is my second time around and believe me, knowing you should have worked out and you didn't hurts far more than any sore muscle! I wear my celebrate my soreness everyday!! 🙂 Keep on going guys!! Can't wait to be at the point of taking After pictures.
i can relate to this so much because i know i give up a lot but i always get back up even if i know i cheated a few times in a week or did not workout at all. i know its super hard to be motivated but i don’t let myself to feel bad about it i would always find a way to stay on track and be positive.
This is a great blog post! I have recently started to add more variety as you mentioned and I have noticed that I have been more excited to workout. Changing the usual of what I tend to do has made my workouts more interesting and fun! One thing I noticed I need to work on is being patient on results and staying truly consistent to my plan. I think I will start being more proactive on writing my tasks down on a to-do list and checking them off as I go will help with motivation.
Yes this is good advice. Too easy to lose motivation and give up!!
Madison xx
MY BLOG: http://www.bymybedside.com
Who wants to motivate each other? Need some partners to inspire and be inspired. Follow erina.gav on instgram im going to create a group chat and add whoever wants to join. So we can share feelings pictures and motivation. Just created the account so barely any followers
I’ll definitely give a follow when I set up my instagram ?
awesome cant wait. We can be workout buddies
We have such similar names! I’ll also follow once I set up a Popster Instagram!
When it comes to me, I might go through a phase of not working out because I get very depressed or unhappy with the rest of my life. Whether it is my job, or someone says something to mean to me, outside factors like that make my very unhappy and depressed, and it’s hard to convince myself to sleep, let alone work out. When I get in a depressive state sometimes I lose sleep, and then I’m exhausted and I find it even harder to work out. These last few days I’ve been crying a lot, so I stopped working out for a few days. But reading your post convinced me to work out, and I feel better now. I wish I wasn’t so emotionally sensitive.
I find you a real inspiration, Cassey! Thanks for everything!
Ah man, Cassey I was doing so well in 2016 and had my goal weight in reach and now I have gained all of it back. I don’t know how to get my same motivation back, something died in me the beginning at 2017 I am really struggling can you give me any advice that would help me?
Cassey, you are so sweet. I’m really excited for the March calendar because my hammies are tight too! I did really well in January with your challenge (lost about 10 lbs which I haven’t been able to do since having my baby last January) but haven’t done much this month, this article is just what I needed. Doing your reset diet and this month has more than showed me if you really want to feel good, you need to put good stuff in you. You are a true inspiration and I love how genuine you are 🙂 One challenge for you though: Workouts you can do with a baby! lol
Because I hadn’t lost any weight & only gained I was frustrated and incredibly upset. I lost ALL desire to do my piit workouts once Piit 28 became a group on facebook. I was seeing CONSTANT weightloss success stories from everyone. It broke me & I relasped into my ED. I felt like a failure. Even though I had made it to 100 days and even though I became a certified POP instructor ANND even though I had completed the 28 day reset, because I didn’t see the results I felt like I hadn’t accomplished anything important 🙁 This makes me sad. Recently I’ve gotten my self back into routine & I’ve challenged myself to go harder than I had before… I’m both nervous & excited for the future.
It went the same way right here. I was following the monthly workout plans, but there was no success at all. I started pushing myself harder and harder until I couldn’t take the pressure anymore. Afterwards I felt horrible. I still feel unmotivated to start over again and my days are packed with stuff as well. At the end of the day I’m just too exhausted. It makes me sad though..
Thank you Cassey! can you help us momma who are postpartum get rid of the lower belly fat. I have been doing your work outs in the morning and some elliptical cardio. But I still have un-wanted postpartum lower belly fat I can not get rid of. I need help!!!!!
I’ve lost my motivation… my boyfriend broke up with me last year sometime and I was more motivated than ever! I worked oit every day and I loved the burn. <3 But then… I met someone who is… very much not active/healthy at all and I fell in love with him! So now I never workout and drive everywhere and I feel physically crappy in my body. I just need to get back to my workout schedule but it's difficult when there's someone telling you that "you're so skinny and beautiful and amazing already, don't workout!"
Seriously Cassey, how do you always get my moods? With every blog post or email it seems like you hit exactly the issue that I’m facing at that moment, it’s crazy 😀
But for real now, thank you so much for your motivation, I’m at a real low point right now but you inspire me and manage to get me back on track.
Love you POPsters! <3
Cassey, you’ve been a real inspiration to me recently – both in my fitness journey as well as in my journey as an entrepreneur. When I felt low on motivation I would go to this website or watch an interview with you on YouTube to understand how you’ve stayed motivated and kept working. I’ve been on a roll with the Blogilates calendar as well as my daily to-do-lists for my work as an independent professional in the arts and services industries, even though I went through a bad phase at the beginning of 2017 (external factors, such as politics, had something to do with that…). I now know that motivation and inspiration can come and go but by just getting the job done everyday I will stay on track and I will regain my motivation, because results are coming in. Thanks! (ps Also, you inspire me to paint my nails in really cool colors 🙂 )
I find it hard to be motivated with everything to be honest so after reading
this I think I can give it a go! Eat healthier, do the workouts, prioritize things and get out the house!!
I am totally the one that gets frustrated when I don’t see results reflected in the scale. I KNOW that the scale isn’t the only thing I can use as a tool to track my progress.. but somehow it’s the only one that really has the power to completely axe my motivation. I have so much patience when it comes to my business, to everyday life, but not when it comes to my journey. It’s one thing I constantly need to work on and it’s come to the point where I’ve stopped even weighing myself, since I’m ultimately working out to be healthier!
I have been really struggling to find motivation lately. This was a good reminder of practical ways to counteract my tendency to take the easier route. Thanks for all you do!
When I lose motivation I always remind to myself that” I did so hard work in a past days and do I want to lose everything I did just in one day?” it helps.:) Btw you need to believe that you will get that dream body, when I want that so hard-I keep pushing myself while doing workout!
I’ve going through a plateau phase with my food and fitness where a lot of things are feeling kinda meh. I think I’ll give myself a LITTLE bit of slack this next week and see how it plays out, hopefully when reading week is over, I’ll be back on my regular fitness game!
Best decision I made to help with motivation was hiring a trainer. I found someone who was just starting out and charged a reasonable rate and meet with her once a week. She gave me a meal plan to follow and knowing I have to weigh-in with her every Sunday keeps me on track. I have my YOLO meal after I train with her to “reward” myself for doing well all week and kicking butt at training. I’ve been at it with her for 2 months now and I’m working out WAY more consistently than I ever did before.
Honestly, Ive got a combination of all of these to varying degrees! But i think procrastination is my worst habit and it’s eating away at different areas of my life. I need to get a handle on my workouts and meals (Especially during the weekends). In fact, im here because im putting off a workout smh. Let me get off my butt!
Girl yes. Thank you so much for writing this blog. Last week was a killer and unfortunately I just couldn’t workout and I definitely had a few YOLO meals more than I planned… I worked overtime like crazy and I also had TONS of homework. I even had to cut out my dance rehearsals and other dance classes which made me incredibly sad. I worked out yesterday and I can feel I’m getting back into it. Made myself a protein berry shake this morning 🙂
One week of “life being extra crazy” but it won’t deter me!
I definitely need to be honest with myself and keep myself accountable. I’m trying to get back on track this week so I’ll have to keep these in mind.
I’m finding it hard to make time with so much schoolwork. Also, I am constantly being judged by my family over my eating choices which makes me question exercise and healthy eating.
Good! Realizing is the first step!
This is a great reminder. I definitely procrastinate and that makes me lose motivation really quick. I also get frustrated when I slip up once and then feel like I ruined it all.