On Staying Motivated and Committed To Your Fitness and Well-being

Are you staying committed to your practices? You know, the ones that bring value and richness to your life in many ways. Do you feel motivated to get better, stronger, more flexible and confident in your body each day?

Did you know that within the first week into a New Year, over 50% of people’s Resolutions fail. For the other 50%, most of these dedicated and disciplined troopers will eventually also fail in enduring to make an everlasting change. Within the first 6 months 80-90% of people will already give up on their New Year’s Resolution.

Here’s a little recipe that will help you stay committed to your fitness path this year:

1. Remember Your Deepest Meaning Behind Your Practices

What do you value the most about living in a healthy, strong and graceful body? Contemplating this question and reminding yourself daily of your
answers is a huge motivating factor behind keeping you committed. A goal of wanting to lose 10 pounds just is not as fueling as most of our deeper
reasons that really make a difference in us living our lives fully. Some of the factors I value deeply about living in a healthy, strong and graceful body include:

1.    I have more energy.
2.    I am a more positive person.
3.    I can keep up with my daughter and will continue to be able to keep up with hers.
4.    I enjoy being naked with my husband. Yep, making love is better when I feel my best!
5.    Giving to myself in this way (taking the time for myself and my body) makes everything I do better. I approach my daily routine with gratitude and joy.

2. Make A Realistic Goal For Your Daily Practice

Yes a DAILY practice! Real commitment is not an hour on a day and take 6 days off. Commitment is staying in the game consistently. HOWEVER, the amount of time that is really needed daily to keep your body and mind healthy and in shape could be as minimal as 20 minutes a day.

Warming up and cooling down is essential, and in the middle work your max effort. Do this daily and you will feel, and see, the fruits of your commitment in no time.

Making the time to sit quietly will greatly increase your mental well being. Try starting with 5 minutes each day. Oh, and remember to enjoy one day off a week for rest and rejuvenation.

3. Keep Your Focus On Where You Want To Go

Stop with the excuses already! It can be so easy to let the voice in your head run on and on as if it were playing a bad recording. There are countless
reasons your mind will come up with to cleverly try to persuade you to give up. Keep your focus on where you want to go! Turn down the volume of those
whining voices and turn up the volume on all those reasons you journaled on earlier; your real reasons behind staying committed to being your best you.

4. Surround Yourself With Positive Influence.

So true this ancient Indian Proverb: “We become the company we keep, so keep good company.”

Surround yourself with the people that make you feel good about life, who motivate and inspire you. This is huge because “Birds of a feather flock together.”
I have a friend who is the sweetest, most loving woman I have ever met. Just being around her makes me a better person, for sure.
Her generosity and sincere love for life is contagious!

In the same way, finding an instructor that you really resonate with, one that motivates you to be the best you will really help keep you moving when your fuel seems low.
Also, consistently plugging into a class keeps you in touch with others in the community that share your love for movement and a healthy lifestyle too.