Finding Motivation- When You Don't Feel Like It

“But I don’t feel like it”... I would say time and time again… To be honest, I’ve never felt like working out- being out of breath and sweating was not something I eagerly embraced. I’d much rather catch up on my DVR… And, when it comes to food, who really feels like eating celery when you could have queso?

Then, I was reminded of something I had heard in podcast I had been listening to. They were talking about a couple in marriage counseling. They didn’t spend time together because their relationship was so strained that they didn’t feel like spending time together. They were waiting for their feelings to magically change before putting forth any action or effort to spend time together. The marriage counselor, however, sent them out on a date, compelling the action, and guess what—the feelings began to follow the action. Their feelings toward being together began to change.

I believe this illustration applies to other areas too, especially making a lifestyle change to become a healthier version of you. I learned that I couldn’t sit around waiting to feel a certain way and then act upon that feeling. Rather, I needed to change my action first, and then my feelings, attitudes, and actions would follow suit. Even though I didn’t feel like struggling through workouts and making better decisions in the kitchen, I believed that if I would JUST DO IT, my feelings toward it would change. I would feel better about myself, I would physically be more energized, and I would be more likely to do it again the next day because it would begin to form a habit.

And you know what? It worked.

So, I would encourage you today don’t wait to feel like you want to do it, or you will probably never do it. Put your goals into action and see how your feelings toward it come right along too.