WOW!
Time flies!
It's almost mid-February of the year 2014. This is the first blog entry of the year. I apologise for not updating my blog since mid-October 2013. I guess I am not much of a blogger after all. I accept that fact. My blog is just a way to record my journey to a healthy lifestyle as and when I have time to write an entry about it.
To tell you the truth I have not been following a strict regime of diet & exercise since it got too hectic at the workplace. Alhamdulillah Allah has granted bountiful rizq to me. With that comes greater responsibilities and greater tests! Life is a test. And He has tested me. I had gone through a rough patch in my life. Thanks to Allah and the people I love around me who supported me, I got back up, dusted myself off and walked again.
That brought me to the topic of this entry. Ever since I started running actively, I follow the motto above "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." Once something becomes a habit you don't have to think about it twice to do it. It becomes second nature. The real question is "How to get yourself motivated?" I hope the article can conjure up some ideas on how to get motivated.
Just for the record these were the running events I had entered since my last blog entry.
JB10k Run December 3, 2013
Newton Challenge 15km December 29, 2013
Upcoming event will be in 2XU Compression Run 21km March 2, 2014.
Get motivated. Get into the habit!
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Motivation is based on 3 vital principles: Attitude, strategy and drive. Any person with powerful motivation can overcome any obstacle because he is confident with himself. Yet most people do not know how to motivate themselves.
The number one thing to do is to set a goal. If you have no clear goals you will just drift around without purpose. Once you have defined the goals, apply the 3 principles.
Attitude: Love what you do and you will have a positive attitude to it.
Strategy: Positivity without strategy is folly. Define how you are going to get to the goal, and implement it.
Drive: Visualise how it would be like to actually achieve your goal. The bit of excitement and happiness you feel will be many times more when you do achieve it.
There are many ways to keep that drive going and also to prevent it from dipping. The following is a long list of the many things you can do to keep yourself motivated. We can put this into three broad categories:
Physical
Physical Time Outs helps you fight 'staleness syndrome' by moving your body. Take a walk, climb the stairs, or do calisthenics, and you will find new energy buzzing within you.
Watch your lifestyle, as a good lifestyle consisting of exercise and a healthy diet gives you better stamina and motivation. Incorporate high energy foods, and work them out - it will give you even more energy in the long run.
Take a vacation, as being physically in a different place revitalises the spirit and helps in achieving more.
Humour is a great way to energise your day. Laughter is also proven to decrease sick days, increase brain activity, strengthen the immune system, lower depression and pressure. Each of these affects your morale.
Walk tall, hold your shoulders back, stay alert and stride with confidence. It's amazing how your mind follows your body when you control it as such.
Socio-environmental
Motivational Support System can be created by having friends to listen and support you as needed. Friendly external pressure can stoke your passion to achieve your goals.
Avoid negative people. Some people are energy vampires and prefer for you to rot with them rather than help you achieve your goals. Never indulge in negative gossip, because it will eventually stifle your own optimism.
Create a motivating environment such as having a clean, organise work desk filled with inspiring objects. It would be great to have a visual representation of your goal on the desk such as a family photo or a picture of that long vacation you are working towards.
Mental
Celebrate and reward yourself, don't wait for others to do it for you. Yes, do have them for support but don't rely on peoples' compliments or gifts - you are your own best coach!
Personal pep talks helps you motivate yourself. It is found that we have over 600,000 thoughts per day, with 75% of them being negative. So weed out the negativity and tell yourself that you can do it!
It's not a 'no', it's a 'not yet'. Keep your mind positive. View setbacks and failures as a natural progression to your success.
Keep a journey map, progress log, or goal scrapbook. These help you track your progress, hold you accountable, and let you visualise your impending success.
Work on your strengths. You should spend more time grooming your talents and strengths than trying to fix your weaknesses. This is the path of least resistance, and helps you achieve your goals faster - and in your style.
Convert your weaknesses by reframing them in your mind. If you are 'worrisome', instead consider yourself 'meticulous'. If you are 'anxious', rethink it as 'concerned'. Simply by reframing your weaknesses into strengths, you will find that over time your actions will adjust accordingly as well.
Simplify your life by focusing on what you truly need to achieve. Clutter, both physical and mental, are energy sappers and absorbs your time needlessly. Avoid doing tasks that have no benefits for you to achieve your goals.
Implement the power hour. Dedicate a full, uninterrupted hour of intense focus on specific tasks that helps you achieve your goal. Turn off your cell phone and any potential distractions.
Fuel your passion for knowledge. Spend 20 minutes a day learning and reading on what you are passionate about. You are here, aren't you?
The above are simple, yet powerful techniques that can keep you going. You will need to do more than reading though, so go out there and work towards your goal!
