How to Motivate Yourself

*Tips for Motivation*

Tips

BODY/MUSCLES:

• Make a playlist of songs that pump you up and listen to them while working out. 

This is one of the best motivators of all.  I personally get pumped up with rap (Bankhead-T.I, All the Above- Maino ft T-Pain, these are some of my favorites, if you want more suggestions just EMAIL ME).

• Look at transformation videos of others who have had weight loss/muscle building success, YOUTUBE is great for this. 

This video is one of my favorite transformation videos

• Look at GOOGLE IMAGES and find pictures of someone who has the body you want. Print them out and put them up everywhere. 

(The body Ryan Reynolds got for his role as Dead Pool is the exact body I want).

• I have motivational quotes posted all over my mirror; these are great to see every morning.

(“Pain is weakness leaving the body” “Only the strong survive“ “Pain of discipline or pain of regret?”)

• Workout with a friend.

Humans are naturally competitive and my best workouts always come when I am working out with someone else.   In the summer before my senior year I became the strongest of my life. I was preparing for football, which started at the beginning of August, and two of my best friends from my high school football team would join me to work out almost everyday.  We are extremely competitive and when I would do 8 reps my friend would do 9 and we always tried to outdo each other.  They weighed about 30lbs more than me but I managed to keep up with them to a certain point.  I got my squat max up to 340 and my bench max up to 240 and I was only 155lbs.  I am nowhere close as strong anymore because I’ve been trying to do my own thing for a whole year and I chose pain of regret over pain of discipline and I have gotten nowhere. It takes a supreme level of self-discipline to work out to the level you need to succeed, when you are by yourself.  I have realized this and this is why I now always try to workout with friends.

• Start slow. 

Don’t just jump in right away because your motivation most likely will not hold up long enough and you will give up.  When you first start working out again, you are going to be sore.  If you go too hard when you first start out, you might be so sore that you have no desire to even walk to the refrigerator.  For at least a couple weeks go light and ease back into it.

• Ask your parents if they want you to do any lawn work around the house.

This is a win-win situation because your parents will love your initiative and you will get a good workout.

• Good things come to those who wait. 

My problem with working out was that I wanted result immediately yet the best results don’t start to come for weeks.  It takes about 3 months to see solid muscle growth and change.  You will start to notice a difference after 4-6 weeks though, but the real changes don’t come until after 3 months of solid working out.

MIND:

Motivating yourself to improve your mental abilities is much easier than motivating yourself to improve your body and soul.

• Get up from the couch, open a book, read. 

No description necessary.

• Do a puzzle/word puzzle, board game, do a crossword, play Sudoku, play cards.

You can find free games online, ADDICTINGGAMES.COM has a lot of fun games as well.  My dad is a master at FREECELL, which comes with PC’s.  I personally love Solitaire and Sudoku.

• Rap/Sing.

I am nothing close to a rapper but my friend slept over for like 5 days one week and we listened to a lot of music and jokingly had rap battles.  At first I was cursing a lot, but then I cut it out and tried to use the best vocabulary I could and it actually felt like I was stretching my brain, plus I shut down any cursing problem I would ever have…It was also just fun.  Its great to have super extreme discipline but you have to live a little or else all your discipline will be for nothing.

• Make Something/Play an Instrument/Draw or create art.

My friends and I would always make tree forts, skateboard ramps, and wooden go carts.  These things are all ways to stretch your brain that are actually really fun.  I play guitar, piano, and harmonica so I cannot ever get bored.  Drawing is another one of my fun hobbies.

• Ponder/Day dream

I am always thinking up new ideas and daydreaming.  Maybe it’s just because I am creative but it comes easy to me.  My favorite place to think is on my bed.  Find your place and take a few minutes to yourself to think.

SOUL/CHARACTER:

As the sticky note that my dad left on my sink one day said, “Character is who you are when no one is watching”.  Being a nice person during situations when you should be does not make you a good-hearted person.  “You may have a heart of gold - but so does a hard-boiled egg.”  If you do not consistently show your “heart of gold” whether people are watching or not, then you aren’t that person whom you claim to be.

• Practice makes perfect.

Next time your in a situation when you can take the easy way out and be a jerk or just not be nice…don’t.  It takes work to be nice.

• Give compliments.

Even if you pass someone you don’t like, give them a compliment.  Don’t be fake about it just to do it. Give a genuine compliment.   Don’t force something that’s not there.  Think about how good even small compliments can make you feel, and even make your day.

• DON’T give put-downs.

If you don’t give any compliments in a day, there is nothing you can do, but definitely DO NOT give put-downs.  Put downs can ruin a persons day, just as easily as compliments can make a persons day.

• Read articles on self-betterment like those from my website or from STEVEPAVLINA.COM.

Sometimes you just don’t have the answers.  Going to other people or websites for help can kick start you in the right direction.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

In the end, you just have to beyourself.  All of these things are simply ways to kick-start yourself into becoming closer to the person you want to grow to be.  I give this advice not thinking I am perfect, because I know I need to listen to my own advice, I just feel I have a good sense of the things that will lead me to success, success in growing into the person who I have created in my head.   Take small steps and you will succeed.  Don’t try to soak up everything in this article on the first read.  If you can, that’s great, but for most people you will have to come back and read this once a month to succeed and be reminded of what I am trying to instill.