Motivation for sports is an important aspect, in some cases not inferior in importance to the training process itself. The initial emotional impulse, under the influence of which you overcame yourself for the first time and got off the couch, will dry up over time, and the desire to give yourself to training will gradually decline – this is normal. Motivation will come to the rescue – an idea or process of a psychological nature that moves a person on the way to his goal.
Recession symptoms:
- During your workout, you are haunted by the obsessive thought 'why am I here and not in a bar / house / party?'. As a result, you stop giving 100%.
- Lack of pleasure from training, which has become something routine and mundane, like taking out the trash every day.
- You stop seeing the immediate results from your workout, as a result of which the duration of the exercises gradually decreases.
Even pro athletes have recessions
At such moments, it is enough for someone to say to himself 'get up and go', while someone is forced to painfully struggle with themselves, to make sacrifices. This article is for those who need help, need motivation. But this article will not contain what is in others: quotes, videos, hackneyed advice. The author himself goes in for sports, he went through all the stages of decline and rise independently.
I will recommend what works – two effective methods to motivate you to exercise. We'll also talk about why you shouldn't waste time on worn-out advice.
What motivation for sports won't work
The root cause of all your victories and defeats is yourself
On the Internet, you can find many of the same type of advice, wandering practically unchanged from one blog to another. The problem is that they are ineffective, in many ways even self-deception. The main rival when trying to apply them will be your mind, which will instantly notice any catch, use any gaps in the theory of such techniques against you. For example, let's take a look at a few common motivations for sports that can be found on almost every thematic site.
Promise yourself a reward
Train realistically, not virtually
As soon as you promise to buy, for example, your favorite ice cream after a workout, and that's it – your body will happily get up from a comfortable chair in front of the fireplace and run to the gym. In fact, your mind will first of all make a reasonable message to your body: if you can buy ice cream after training, then why not skip the unnecessary intermediary between ice cream and the body – workout – and buy it now? Most likely, this will happen: you eat ice cream, you will not go to the gym.
Think positively
The only true motivation is the one that makes you act
The idea is to motivate yourself by visualizing the end result. We presented abs cubes instead of a beer belly, thought how great it would be, and go ahead and pump the abs. The ineffectiveness of this technique during the experiment was demonstrated by the psychologist of New York University Gabriel Ettingon. The point is that a person emotionally burns out dreaming on their couch. This emotional energy should be spent on real workouts, not virtual ones.
Quotes of great athletes
No matter what it says, Bruce Lee won't go to the gym for you.
In fact, after watching a couple of videos or memes, a person will most likely say: 'Yes, this is cool, I will definitely start going out for morning and evening runs … from tomorrow / Monday, because today I have so much to do.' We all know the value of the word 'tomorrow'.
I am not saying that these methods did not help anyone, I just say that their effectiveness tends to zero for very specific reasons – to use them, you already need to have enough willpower to motivate yourself without any deals and rewards. What to do to those who want to study, but cannot overpower themselves?
To do this, you need to force your mind, usually looking for the path of least resistance, to perceive training as something mandatory, and skipping training equates to a real loss and experience really negative emotions from this loss.
Psychological techniques of motivation for sports
Do it today, because we all know the value of what we put off until tomorrow.
These are techniques that are based on specific psychological factors. Zero self-deception, maximum profit. And if you say to yourself 'get up and go' is not enough motivation for you, why not resort to little tricks and life hacks?
There are exactly two of these techniques, but each of them works, which can be seen right away, without distracting from reading this article. These are psychological tricks that actually make your mind look at a situation in a new way.
Form the correct associative array
Make your choice here and now
Have you heard stories that thought is material and that you can make your life better with positive thinking? This is the same story, only without self-deception and tedious visualizations. You and I will play on your own lust for possession and fear of loss, and this, as you know, is one of the most powerful and vivid emotions.
How it's done:
- If your workout is in jeopardy because you’re ready to make a deal with yourself again, imagine yourself as you are without embellishment at this moment. Have a beer belly or saggy sides? Do not hesitate, imagine. The place is not important, the main thing is to easily keep the image in your head.
- Admit it to yourself honestly that there is no good reason to skip a workout. There is something that prevents you from forcing yourself. What is it at this particular moment: fatigue after work, the desire to sit at the computer? In 90% of cases, exactly what you want to do instead of training is bothering you.
- Imagine that in your right hand, stretched out in front of you, you are holding something that prevents you from doing sports right now: your favorite high-calorie sandwich, a joystick from a console, a miniature sofa on which it is so comfortable to lie down after work. Everyone has something different.
- Imagine as brightly as possible that in your second hand, also stretched out in front of you, you are holding what you want to play sports for: the hand of your beloved girl, clothes N sizes smaller, a photo of your daughter or son looking at you with admiration and respect.
- Make a choice here and now: choose one = lose another. We chose a prefix – imagine how you let go of your girl's hand, and she leaves you beyond the horizon. We decided to lie on the couch – be prepared that the children will be ashamed at first, and then completely avoid the lazy, weak-willed and shapeless father. What will be more important to you in the end?
Despite its apparent simplicity, this method has enormous potential for motivation. The thirst to possess, together with the fear of losing, can not only awaken life even in the body 'squeezed out' after work, but can also plunge the body into a stressful state, accompanied by the release of adrenaline into the blood – this is how the athlete-runner's 'second breath' opens when it is already before the finish close, and the enemy is stepping on his heels.
Make a promise in public
The environment can become the strictest arbiters
The method is no less simple and equally effective. On a soft sofa, you can be the master of your word: if you wanted – you gave it to yourself, you wanted – you took it back. But losing credibility in the eyes of friends and work colleagues because of your weakness and softness is a completely different matter! And if in your environment the loss of reputation is an acceptable risk, then your choice is a cash bet for an impressive amount. The possibility of a sudden loss of real money motivates even an inveterate lazy person.
You can start with a solemn promise to your friends and colleagues to exercise at a certain rhythm, and as proof, for example, publish videos of workouts from the gym every day on social networks. Believe me, there will definitely be one or two caring people who will become your strict critics, ready to literally bring you to a public court for any weakness. In the event that you have not yet managed to acquire friends and colleagues, social networks are also suitable for the role of arbiters. Give a promise, for example, on the 'wall' of one of the groups about sports, and you will be closely watched by even strangers, but quite real people.
Money bet – motivation for confident or desperate
A money wager is a great way to fuel your promise. Agree with friends or acquaintances that for each day you missed training, you will pay one of them an indemnity. To exclude deception and cowardice, appoint someone as an arbiter and deposit him a sum of money equal to a week's passes in advance. Now that there is monetary motivation in the argument, your betting partner will be watching for the smallest signs of weakness! People don't like to lose money.
If you are confident in your abilities, you can even capitalize on your willpower. On the popular Internet site stickK, launched by Yale University employees, you can declare your intentions to the whole world, indicate deadlines and put your reputation or money on the line. At the same time, your bet will be supported by other users of the site. Fail – lose your bet, win – earn a little more than you bet.
Deal with weakness once is enough to destroy everything
Conclusion
Motivation is an obligatory stage in the life of anyone, even a professional athlete. The main thing is not to give up slack, because if you once made a deal with your weakness and laziness, with each subsequent time it will be easier and easier to make a faint-hearted decision.
How do you motivate yourself for sports?
