Last Updated on May 2, 2016 by Michael Brockbank
A lot of us need that extra kick in the morning in order to practice healthy living. It can be quite difficult to convince yourself to exercise when your eyes first flutter to attention. Personally, I know I’d rather catch a few more winks before getting ready for work. If you have as hard of a time as I do, what can help you get inspired to get up and focus on better health?
How to Get Motivated for Healthy Living
There are several ways you can give yourself that added nudge in the morning. While not all of these may work for everyone, these are my top eight methods that can get me ready to go. Many of these are quite simple when you put them into perspective.
1. Get a Competitive Persona
Personally, I love the aspect of competition in just about anything. It goes to show you how good you really are when compared to other people. This is what drew me to Exercise.com in the first place. Although it doesn’t have the competition it once did, it’s still fun to see how I stack up against everyone on the site. My wife competes often with her friends on Fitbit for total steps in a day. There are plenty of ways you can get into a friendly competition for just about any aspect of healthy living.
2. Visuals from Apps
I love data, charts and numbers. My wife thinks I am a bit of a geek because I have spreadsheets that cover all kinds of things. In fact, I developed one that can show an estimated date of when I will hit my goal weight. Apps on mobile devices are also incredibly useful. Most humans get more meaning out of visuals, which is why charts are so popular in the business dynamic. Apps that can show your progress can help keep you motivated to continue. The hardest part is finding the best one for your needs.
3. Setting the Tone with Music
Music can be a powerful motivator. In fact, studies have shown that it’s more prominently used to, “regulate arousal and mood.” If you want to feel sad, slow love songs are often the music of choice. When I listen to upbeat, fast-paced songs, I feel energized and ready to work out. Spend a bit of time and find the songs that make you want to get up and move. Setting one of them as your alarm ringtone on your phone can help get the body going first thing in the morning. I have quite an extensive playlist of songs that put me in the right frame of mind such as the theme to the 1980s “Superman.” But, I’m also a bit of a geek.
4. Setting Goals, And Meeting Them
It’s one thing to set goals, but it’s something else to actually meet them. Don’t set your goals too high. I’m a big fan of breaking down ultimate objectives into smaller ones. For example, I want to lose more than 100 pounds. However, I focus more on what I can do today to meet that goal. Keeping my calories 500 in the green according to MyFitnessPal will help me lose at least three pounds per week. Create daily objectives that will feed directly into your end game.
5. Personal Revenge
They say that living well is the best revenge. I tend to believe in such sentiment. For me, I want to demonstrate just what I could really be to all those people who rejected me in the past. I don’t dwell on revenge being the most driving force behind healthy living, but it would be nice to go to my home town a completely different person. As long as you’re doing things to improve yourself for the better, revenge could be a powerful motivator. As sad as it may seem, you can derive drive from this negative emotion. Just don’t let it consume you. It’s often better to forgive those who wronged you rather than dwell on how they made you feel.
6. Blog About Your Experiences
For me, I like to write for this blog. Before Crossing Colorado, I wrote a bit on my free blog at MyFitnessPal. Writing about what you learn helps you remember while sharing information to those willing to read. It’s come to the point where I use my visitors as inspiration to work on healthy living. I don’t want to look like a fool to those who visit the site. It’s nice when you receive compliments or likes when you write about your experiences. It’s a bit of an ego boost, really. Now, I have been starting a vlog at YouTube to reach a wider audience. This way, people can actually see my progress.
7. Using the Buddy System
The buddy system can be greatly helpful when you want to exercise or eat healthier. A lot of us have issues when trying to accomplish weight loss on our own. Since my wife is starting “Lean for Life” today, the whole house is in the mindset for living well. So now, I’ve got all kinds of inspiration surrounding me. Find someone that is willing to take the same steps as yourself. Even a stranger on a health app can be inspirational when it comes to staying the course. I’ve met people from all over the world that are in a similar situation as I. It’s nice to know that I, absolutely, am not alone.
8. Develop a Superhero Complex
I’m a geek, remember? A superhero complex isn’t really a bad thing to have. I often worry that I would not be physically capable of handling an emergency should something happen to my family. Sure the comic books are drawn a certain way to accentuate muscle mass. Many of them are unrealistic in the real world. However, that doesn’t stop me from wanting to look like one. In fact, my wife is working on dressing up as Black Widow for Halloween. I’m leaning towards Wolverine or Captain America, but you get the point.
These are what drives me to continue healthy living. Whether you find inspiration through music or have a friend with whom you can lean on, it’s all about finding what works for you. Get inspired and change the way you live your life. It may impact everything from personal to professional lifestyles.