Fitness Motivation – Self Discipline

Fitness Motivation_I-Make-time

I was asked a very good question by Jason Zynkin from zynkinnews:

“How do you motivate yourself to start the process? I might be different but so many times I promise myself that tomorrow, I will go to the gym, swim in my pool, walk on the beach …even take the dog for a walk…
Then surprise surprise I end up doing nothing. Something else occupies me or I use something else as my excuse to not follow through on it. I want to do it or maybe I deep down do not…it confuses me and annoys me regularly.
I conclude that the most difficult part is actually following through on making a decision…How do you change this?
With everything else in my life, I do it and complete it with total devotion…I just need help to get me going…it is difficult.
I look forward to your reply and thanks for visiting my blog which is part of my incredibly busy schedule in building my business (easy to commit to this!!)….Jason, Zynkin”

This is something i get asked often so i thought i will write a post about it.

I am sure at some point you have asked yourself the following questions:

How do i motivate myself to start?

How do i actually get started?

How do i follow through with my decision?

Why do i lose focus?

The truth is all the above questions boil down to this – Self Discipline.

What Is Self Discipline?

Self discipline is being able to get yourself to take action regardless of your emotional state. Yes i know it is easier said than done, right?. Imagine what you could accomplish if you could simply follow through on your actions and dreams no matter what. The pinnacle of self-discipline is when you reach the point that when you make a conscious decision, it becomes virtually guaranteed that you’ll follow through on it. Self discipline can empower you to lose any amount of weight. It can wipe out procrastination. But, self discipline needs to be combined with passion, goal setting and planning.

Self discipline is like a muscle. When a muscle is worked it gets stronger right?, Yes everyone has different strengths, and some people are stronger than others, but eventually that muscle will get stronger. However when you stop exercising that muscle it will get weaker. Self discipline works the same way. Just as it takes time to build muscle strength, so does it take time to build self discipline.

How To Get Started

The basic method to build self discipline is to start with a small challenge. Think about this; would you go into the gym and start lifting heavy weights or run 5 km on your first day??..No, you would start slowly. You would life light weights or run half a kilometer and build yourself up. Its a big mistake if you try to push yourself too hard when trying to build self discipline. If you try to transform your entire life overnight by setting dozens of new goals for yourself and expecting yourself to follow through consistently starting the very next day, you’re almost certain to fail.



Set small goals for yourself and take it slow.

Lets consider Jason Zynkin’s (quote above) as an example:

Jason keeps on promising himself that tomorrow he will go to the gym, swim in my pool, walk on the beach and take the dog for a walk and still do his normal day to day work activities. Now that is a lot of “promising” for one day. What Jason should do is pick one of those things just to start. For example, Jason could choose to just walk the dog tomorrow. He could set a time in which to just walk the dog everyday for say 30 min. By doing this one thing he is slowly building up his self discipline and of course getting exercise and so is his dog.

The bottom line is, self discipline is up to you. You need to make time in the day and set small realistic goals.

How Do I Do It 

My schedule is also very hectic just like most of you. But, i make time everyday for my own training. After spending a day driving around to peoples houses for personal training, the last thing i want to do is train myself. I get home exhausted. But i have built up my self discipline that when i get home i put my bags down and head outside or to the stairwell and do my own training. I often have that little voice that says to me “take a break tonight, you will train tomorrow”, but i have become stronger than that voice. I will tell you that after i have trained i feel re-energized and full of energy.


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Here is a great video to watch on Developing Self-Dicipline

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