Hey Hero - ready to climb?

Motivation, or rather, a lack of, is one of the most common reasons given when I ask "why don't you exercise regularly?"

And I get it, I really do.

Whether we want to call it "laziness", "can't be bothered", "too much effort", or whatever, it really all boils down to the same thing; a lack of motivation.

Lacking motivation or feeling lazy certainly isn't something to be ashamed of! It's super-common and there are plenty of reasons why we often don't have the energy, inclination or willpower to get up and do whatever challenging thing it is we're meant to be doing.

Motivation is a big topic but as this is an intro article, I'll just cover something I thing is really important to keep in mind.

Motivation broadly comes in two forms; extrinsic and intrinsic.

Extrinsic motivation is the shallow stuff. The quick wins and short term goal stuff. "If I go to the gym three times this week I'll treat myself to...." etc.

That can be really useful for kickstarting a new habit and just getting going. However the real gold is in the intrinsic motivation.

The intrinsic is your "why". Ask yourself a handful of times and the conversation will look something like:

"Why do you want to lose weight"

"Because I want to look better".

"Why?"

"Because I don't look great and that makes me feel low"

"Why is that a problem?"

"Because I lack confidence and want to improve my self-esteem"

And that's it.. that's where the motivation will come from. The deep and meaningful. The thing you need to remember every time you "can't be bothered" to go for that quick jog round the block or to make that healthy meal.

There are loads of tips, tricks and hacks to help you when you're stuck in a rut, but they're often the extrinsic drivers that get you going. And then you stop. Again.

For long-term, lifestyle-creating, health-generating awesomeness you need to understand your "why" then keep it front and centre so you can pull it out when you need it.

Good luck!