Motivation VS. Commitment
I have to say I am pretty motivated to workout. I know the end results and how amazing I feel after a workout that the rewards cause “happy” feelings throughout my nervous system that keeps me interested in exercise.
When happiness relates to something you do or eat, you don’t usually have a problem doing the thing that makes you happy!
BUT….
There are certainly times that I DO NOT want to exercise.
There are certainly times I DO NOT want to eat nutritious foods.
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When exercise and eating nutritious foods become “DO NOT” times, COMMITMENT is the Only way to reach my goals. I am committed to my goals and therefore they will be accomplished.
What ever you are committed to will show. Are you committed to your husband? Kids? Will you not do the very best for them and no matter how tired you are, you still kiss your kids and husband goodnight?
What about brushing your teeth? Do you always WANT to brush your teeth? Heck no! I sometimes don’t even want to take the time to pee. This is where commitment (and health) take over.
You make time for what is important to you, to what you prioritize, for what you are committed to.
Lesson Learned?
What do you think is more important? Motivation or Commitment? Â <—-answer below and explain why.
If you have been following along with the delicious, healthy desserts from Heavenly Angel’s Dessert cookbook, the 50% off sale is on for a couple more days as requested by my readers getting back from the holiday.
The Post-Workout recipes and Eater Treats will be included FREE until I take the page down VERY SOON.
–> 50% off + Lots of Free recipes, click here
Flavia
Definitely Commitment… to be able to continue to do what you need to do because you know if you do… you will see results.. ithe ability to do what you know will work and having faith in the process… might be relatively short term in the sense of say triceps/biceps which react so well to weights… meaning in three weeks I will see a change in my arms. I think core is somewhat the same.. if you exercise your core your jeans will be looser in 3 weeks if… you don’t reward yourself with food for all the hard work !!!
In my experience, both are equally important for any undertaking – without motivation commitment comes to nothing, and without commitment motivation has no purpose and doesn’t achieve anything. Thanks for the post 🙂
Once upon a time I would have said motivation BUT it never worked long term for me. However, last week I booked a photoshoot for 12 weeks time and since then I have been extremely motivated (and it’s the Easter weekend!!) and that’s due to the commitment I made.
Great idea of yours by the way Flavia Thankyou so much!!
Hi Flavia, great pic btw….I bought your program a while ago and have only managed to watch them thru as opposed to putting them into practice. If I am being realistic at starting and cannot afford the 45-60 mins each workout, what are your suggestions. I feel I need to break it down into bite size chunks and thought of trying to find that extra hour in an already time poor state keeps me from starting at all as overwhelm sets in. My ONLY opportunity is in the morning before kids and hubby awake and that’s where I struggle. I want to do it from home rather than a gym as I have everything I need, but here in Australia, autumn is upon us so the mornings are getting very cool. I dip my toe outside of the blankets and put it straight back in. My first goal is to get to 6 weeks where I have an event coming up. Interested to hear your advice. Thanks
Hey Ingrid, you can’t afford to because you aren’t committed to do so, which I am not saying is wrong. Everyone priorities for all sorts of reasons and sleep and children are for sure priorities. DO what you can do. Waking up even 10 minutes early can make a HUGE improvement! I would suggest just adding 10 minutes onto what you can now and I would keep all the big muscle groups into the workouts and leave out the smaller muscle groups (bi’s, tri’s) when you can’t finish. You will be working them out with different exercises even if you don’t know it! All the best
Wow, this was a very powerful article, just what I needed today! You are right COMMITMENT is so important because you will never be completely motivated all the time. That picture of you is outstanding, your flawless! I purchased the dessert angel’s heavenly recipes when it first came out and they are really good, I love the simply natural protein bars and mini muscle cakes! I try to stay committed to my fitness and health, sometimes my joints don’t allow me to do the workout I was supposed to do that day but I try to ate least do yoga or stretching. Love your work Flavia! 🙂
My personal philosophy is that you can’t motivate anyone, only hope that they get inspired. Motivation comes from within. WE can get inspiration to create motivation by determining our goals and finding ways to inspire us. For example, your blogs, Flavia, inspire me to work out harder and continue to challenge my body in different ways. Committment gets us through when motivation is lacking (since everyone has down days). So, this is why I think committment is more inportant. 🙂 Sorry for the long answer.
By the way, I am having a hard time finding stability balls that keep their air. Could you please suggest a few brands? I have purchased three so far and they all have been horrible and are difficult to even fill up completely. I spent more money on my third ball, thinking I may have been getting what I was paying for, so to speak, but it still is not that great. Thoughts, suggestions, or ideas? Thanks, for your time!
Hey Trelle, have you tried the stability ball by Gold’s? I use theirs and it seems to keep air. I’ve only had to refill it once and that was when I left it outside on the patio overnight. If you haven’t already, check it out!
Thanks, Angela. I will give that brand a try. I have not tried it yet! 🙂
Commitment is for sure more important in every way!
Mondays are usually the hardest for me as they are my heavy leg day, and after a day off, instead of feeling refreshed, I feel lazy. Without commitment to ME, there is no way I would be getting up and just doing it. But, workout done, I feel great, and my day is cruising along.
I am committed to being motivated…Thanks for all your videos that help us do that…appreciate all the info you put out there…
Thank you, Flavia for another awesome article. This is so true! There are days when I lack motivation but I go work out anyway because I know that once I start, I’ll thank myself for it. I used to look for motivation to help me get in the gym everyday and eat clean but now that I’ve made it more of a lifestyle than just about losing weight, it is soooo much easier. The day that I decided to do it for me and how it made me feel all the way around, was the day that I felt like a huge weight had been lifted. I still have a long way to go but at least I know I’ll get there and it won’t be a rollercoaster like it’s been in the past. Thanks again, Flavia 🙂
Ingrid-
What has also helped me was only doing one set for each workout, but completeing the whole workout. It took less time in the beginning, but still held true to my committement. Also, helped ease my muscles back into it. I am now up to three sets, andhave increased my weights. 🙂 Love these programs.
Great post for a Monday…and the day after Easter candy. Bought your program a few months ago and am working it into my routine and I am loving it! (I will send you before and after pics in a few months!) Quick question and sorry if you have answered this somewhere…I am monitoring my heart rate when I do high intensity workouts and it is often above 181 bpm (which is the recommended target heart rate high for my age–28) I am in pretty good shape but have a goal to look more like you. Do you monitor your heart rate during high intensity training? Should I take it down a notch when my heart rate is too high? I just want this fat gone as soon as possible 😉
You probably need motivation to make the commitment, but for me its commitment that gets me to the gym or on that run.
I have gone to the gym and felt very unmotivated but it has been commitment (or habit) that got me there, once there its a good training session. A goal for a half marathon in September makes that run happen, so its’s a commitment although motivation makes it easier.
Commitment! When you don’t feel motivated it’s your commitment to anything that will make you move forward. Motivation last for short period of time. Motivation is always based on a feeling. Real commitment last till the task is complete.
I believe commitment is hugh, without it there’s no need to be motivated because you havn’t commited yourself to any single task. For me I seem to go through patchs where I’m super commited an I do feel more motivated to hit the gym an watch what I eat. Then something major happens in my everyday life an for the slightest moment I lose focus, an before I know it afew days has passed without me working out an not eating right.
I would love advice on how to stay on track long term?
Example when I started at the gym I was 82kgs I worked out everday for 6months an watched what I ate, I lost 12kgs an toned up heaps. Then I travelled overseas for a week, an having to eat out at meals times it was hard to know which foods were best for me to eat. End result 6months work down the drain in a week. An since then I can’t seem to find my motivation again. Im so down-hearted I havn’t be able to commit to myself. Any help would be great. 🙂
For me I just go to the gym. I don’t let anything come in the way, it’s like brushing my teeth. Have a look at today’s blog post.
Hi Flavia,
I started your program today, and tried to do day one “tight and trim thighs”. I was only able to do one cycle of each combo. Is that an ok approach to start out, or should I be doing three cycles of as many combos as i can? It was very difficult for me to finish one cylce of all the combos. I would also like to say that you are a huge inspiration for me. I have been feeling lazy, fat, and sorry for myslef for about two years now and after reading your posts and all your other material I finally feel like I am ready to make a change! Thank you so much!
Great Shelby, thanks for writing. One set is PERFECTLY fine to start. Work your way as you go, there is no need to start off with the full three. Add in a second set in week 2 or 3 and set 3 in week 3 or 4, or take longer if you need to. Can’t wait to hear about your success.
Hey, I hope you you don’t mind but, I printed the pic from this article to post on my fridge cuz that’s EXACTLY where I want to go in my fitness journey.
HAWT!!!!!
That’s a good motivator! But I have found that commitment seperates the girls from the women! I call it being ruthless! I have been ruthless in carving out regular time at the gym. As I’ve stayed committed, my husband has been even more helpful in making sure I get my time in (we have two young boys). As I see results I stay motivated to keep at it even when I’d rather not! I’ve turned down lots of (tempting) things to make it happen. My BFF is also into working out and we cheer each other on through texts because we live 2 hrs away from each other. Also the articles from you and your hubby are awesome when I feel my motivation lag.
When it comes down to it, all the motivation in the world won’t get a butt off the couch. You need to have a good enough reason to keep you committed. I tore my meniscus in January and i thought “like i’m going to let that stop my momentum!” I worked too hard for too long to let it slide. I worked around it and have made progress despite the injury. My mom also just ended up in the hospital with a brain tumor. I took a week off because of all the driving and time at the hospital but, that time at the gym has helped me stay grounded. It gives me a chance to unplug and de-stress. Ultimately by taking care of myself, I take much better care of the people I love.
Thanks everyone I really appreciate all your comments and personal information. This is a great blog to come to get some great tips from lovely ladies….keep it up, it helps all of us!