Motivation. What is it and why don't you have it?

Behold my will of IRRRROOOOONNNNN!

We're told that it's aspirational to build up or be born with a will of iron. Stead fast in the face of temptation. Unbreakable.

But.....

Willpower isn't an inexhaustible reserve some people have and others don't.

In fact, everyone depletes their willpower reserves by resisting temptation until they simply don't have any left and then they crumble and eat 15 chocolate cakes.

Your willpower isn't a bottomless pit and it does need replenished. Thankfully the more you practice the better you get and the deeper your reserves get.

At least thats some good news right?

So heres the deal.

It takes about 90 days to build a habit and in that 90 days a lot of things need to happen.

Not only do you need to make physical and nutritional changes to your lifestyle. You need to be aware of the neural changes happening too.

New neural pathways are being forged and cemented as you put yourself through new challenges. Little do you know it but that uses u a hell of a lot of energy, you just don't notice it.

You're using up all this extra energy because your brain is literally rewriting itself every second and reenforcing the new habit.

Yaaaay for neural plasticity!!!!

See this big, squishy looking thing here? Thats a brain duh.

In that brain neurons are rewiring constantly either reenforcing bad habits or building new ones.

Now, most people get a few weeks in but then start to falter as the motivation they had at the start seems to disappear.

This is because building new habits is energy expensive, so, when the inevitable crash and wobble comes along a good trick is to try and reframe the goal.

First things first.

The brain loves tasks and it responds well to attainable tasks. It's not enough to say i'm going to get in shape or i'm going to recover from my injury.

You need to have a clear picture of where you want to go and what steps need to happen to get you there.

These steps need to be realistic and you need to break it down into levels. Like a video game.

You will get to that boss level babes. You're worth it.

Number two.

The brain is lazy and the body is only too happy to go along with its big boss brain. Given the chance they will lay in bed instead of going for that run.

So instead of the steps to your goal being that big, make them small and take them day by day.

Instead of, I will run 5k every morning. Try I will get out of bed and dressed.

Chances are if you get out of bed and dressed you will end up going for that run.

Set the small steps up to help the big steps happen.

Third.

Don't give up.

Reaching goals is never straight forward. If (when) you do slide, the key is to recognise it and get back on track ASAP.

One wobble does not a diet or training plan ruin my friend.

Consistency is much, much better than intensity.

A gym session two days a week is better and will get you better results than a week of hell for leather, then nothing for two months.

So remember, have a goal. Set out clear steps to get there, daily little steps. make sure those little steps set the big steps up for success.

Don't sweat the little slip ups and be as consistent as real life allows.

This is all about allowing the brains threat level to stay relatively low while you're cementing these new habits.

If this happens it allows the brain time to really cement those fledgling neural pathways you're creating.

Lastly, habits are built in the brain not the body. Ten good consistent reps when building a good movement pattern or ten consistently good choices when eating all make positive changes to those brain maps.

Consistency is the key no matter what.

Focus on building the bridge between the body and the brain by training smart!