1. Make a list.
2. Do it.
Many folks who meet me and are looking to lose weight ask me about “motivation.” “Motivation” is the word they use, not mine. They tell me that they’re trying to lose 10/50/100 pounds, but they just can’t seem to stay motivated and go to the gym every night and eat what they should.
Tyler, can you help me? I want to lose weight, but I just can’t seem to get motivated enough to workout every night.
People don’t need more motivation — there’s plenty of motivation all around us. Between trying to look good at the beach, weddings, reunions, wanting to live a healthy life, escape from high blood pressure, see our kids grow old, etc., we all have the fuel, desire, and motivation to lose weight.
We just can’t stop being lazy.
I’ll go ahead and say that I’m not above anybody. I have my days where I feel like doing nothing, those days when I’ve worked for 16 hours at home and at the office and just feel like collapsing in front of American Idol. Some days I do. But most days, I don’t. I can’t, it’s not an option for me.
Want to know how to stop being lazy? Make a list. You only have 24 hours in a day. Make a list of priorities and make sure you do them, and do them well.
Here’s my list.
1. Work
2. Family
3. Blog
4. Healthy Lifestyle
These are my priorities, in no particular order. I believe if you do something, you should do it well. I give 100% at the office every day, I spend time with my wife and daughter and provide for them as best as I can, and I constantly reply to e-mail/PMs/forum posts on 344 Pounds as well as add new posts.
Lastly, and maybe most relevant to most of you, I make sure I eat right and get some physical activity, which usually involves the gym. It’s a requirement, not a choice I can choose to make.
American Idol is not on my list of priorities. If I have time to watch, or play video games, or go out for a beer with the guys, or mess around on the computer, then that’s great. If not, maybe I’ll have time tomorrow. There’s nothing wrong with watching American Idol. But, you wouldn’t wake up and watch it first thing in the morning before you take your shower, and you shouldn’t do it before you get your daily 30 minutes of physical activity in.
Get fired up. Make a list. Do it. Decide what you want to do with your life and what you’d like from life and work toward those goals every single day.
Be relentless.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
man those last few sentences are true.
simple. short. concise and SO WHAT I NEEDED TO HEAR as they apply way beyond the realm of fitness.
Very easy answer. Not necessarily the one I or others would want to hear but it’s definitely true.
Your posts always seem so timely for me and my situation. Its easy and not so easy – just be a grownup, and do it.
Hmm…read RSS before work or ride my bike…guess I’d better ride my bike! Thanks Tyler
I agree but I the order of my priorities is different. I put family first and healthy lifestyle SECOND. I feel that if you don’t take care of yourself first, you won’t be able to take care of or do anything else well. . you won’t be able to give it 100% if you’re not physically and mentally up for the task. Eating right, regular exercise, being healthy allows you to give 100% to everything else! Tyler is so right! Be relentless!
He mentioned they were in no particular order. :)
One reason it is so hard for people to stick with it is because we, as a society, have gotten used to instant gratification. We have forgotten how to work hard and keep working hard until we reach our goal, and that weight loss is one thing you cannot do quickly (unless you harm your body). We want everything now, now, now, and when it doesn’t happen “now,” we say, “screw it, I’m not doing this anymore, I’m sick of it.” That’s what I went through over and over. So what if it takes 6 months or a year to make progress? You were planning on being around that long anyway, weren’t you? What else would you be doing?
Isn’t the instant gratification the strength we feel after exercise and the happiness we feel after choosing the right foods? I had no interest in working out this morning, but boy did I feel great once the blood started pumping and the sweat started falling
True, that is indeed instant gratification, but I was actually referring to weight loss specificly when I said that. People seem to grow impatient when the weight does not fall off of them in a short amount of time, which, many times, leads them to the decision to give up or quit being consistent.
One of the things I like to repeat to myself is “Simplify and Dominate”. It’s from Steve Reishus’s blog “Let No One Say You Can’t”
http://sreishus.blogspot.com/2010/03/simplify-and-dominate.html
“So here’s my theory on getting to your goals as fast as possible: find the simplest route, and start yesterday. It’s human nature to chase blindly after the next best thing, but to be successful, you have to put in the work and be consistent.”
I think motivation does exist everywhere, but maybe people are not as motivated by what others might see as plain and clear motivation. For some, living long enough to watch their children grow old is not a strong enough motivation. For them, maybe, actually having that heart attack at age 35 is the motivation.
I think people often wait until something bad happens and react. I think we’ve become a reactive rather than proactive society. We can’t seem to register that all this hard work is going to pay off in terms of NOT having to deal with the negative side effects of carrying extra weight. We convince ourselves that we are OK because we dont have high blood pressure, diabetes, back aches, etc NOW. We don’t think abuot 10 years from now.
My motivation is my son. He is 3 and I want to see him reach 30. My mom died at age 51. That’s another motivation for me. I want to live long and healthy and at 31, I want to know I’ll live more than just another 20 years.
It’s hard. Very hard. I work long hours. I’m a single mom. But every little bit counts. Just now, I walked from one site to another instead of hopping in a cab or on the bus. It was a mile and I made it in 15 minutes (It usually takes me twice as long to walk the same distance on the treadmill). We have to make more conscious choices with every little thing that we do.
No excuses!
Just what I needed to hear!
This is something that annoys me about people–sorry to be rude. But I get asked all the time “how did you lose 100 pounds?” When I tell them it was diet and exercise people are visibly disappointed. Like I have some magic pill to give them, or they only have to work out once a week and lose weight. It takes dedication, determination, and like you said–not being lazy. No one can give anyone else motivation, we have to find it ourselves.
Motivation left my journey about 7 days into it.
Determination and sheer will to become the person I was meant to be is what propels me forward.
I come first on my priority list. After I take care of me then taking care of everything else is that much easier. When I leave my house in the morning, the first place I’m going is the gym for “me” time. It has helped immensely in this journey.
I used to be so lazy. Now I just want to move and move fast. Great post Tyler!
Well said my friend.
I agree, well said.
For me I set goals, have to-do list and set priorities.
Right now I have health and fitness as priority number one, then business second, and third social events I guess. :)
I set a fitness goal and work on it until I reach it. For example today I reached my long term goal of 190 pounds. I’ve lost 146 pounds so far. I’m excited. :)