#23 - Knotted Physio - Why Motivation Comes and Goes

Hello Everyone and welcome back to the Knotted Physio Blog! I hope you all are doing well and continuing to find ways to stay active and healthy. As always, I wanted to start by saying thank you for all of the support and encouragement on these blog posts. It has been wonderful hearing from many of you and learning about the challenges and victories you experience on your health journey!

Today, I wanted to talk about something that every single one of us has experienced at one point or another. Motivation.

Have you ever felt incredibly motivated to start something new? Maybe it was an exercise program, a healthier diet, a new hobby or even a home project. You were excited, energized and ready to tackle the world.

Then a few weeks later, that excitement seemed to disappear.

Suddenly getting up early for that walk feels harder. Going to the gym sounds less appealing. The goals that felt exciting now feel like work.

Sound familiar?

If so, congratulations. You're human.

One of the biggest misconceptions people have is that successful people are always motivated. The truth is, motivation comes and goes for everyone. Even the people who appear highly disciplined have days where they don't feel like doing the things they know they should do.

The problem is that many people rely entirely on motivation to drive their actions. And motivation is not always reliable.

Think about it this way. Motivation is kind of like the weather. Some days it is sunny and beautiful. Other days it is cloudy and stormy. If you only take action when the weather is perfect, you are going to miss out on a lot of opportunities.

I have seen this countless times with patients. Someone starts physical therapy highly motivated because they are hurting and want to feel better. They attend every appointment, do every exercise and make excellent progress.

Then life happens.

Work gets busy. The kids have activities. The weather changes. They start feeling better and suddenly the motivation that got them started begins to fade.

The interesting thing is that the people who continue making progress are not necessarily the most motivated. They are often the most consistent.

Now, I know consistency sounds boring compared to motivation. Motivation feels exciting. Consistency feels ordinary. But consistency is usually what produces results.

I had a patient several years ago who wanted to start walking regularly. At first she was waiting until she "felt motivated." Some weeks she walked three or four times. Other weeks she didn't walk at all.

Eventually she decided to make a simple rule. Every day after dinner she would walk for ten minutes, regardless of how she felt.

Ten minutes.

That was it.

What happened was amazing. Those ten-minute walks became fifteen. Then twenty. Before long, walking became part of her routine. She no longer needed motivation because the habit was already established.

That is something I think we often overlook. Habits are much more powerful than motivation.

Another thing to remember is that motivation is often the result of action, not the cause of it.

Many people think they need to feel motivated before they start. But often, once we begin moving, exercising or working toward a goal, motivation follows.

Have you ever noticed that the hardest part of a workout is often just getting started? Once you are moving, it usually feels much easier than you expected.

The same thing applies to many areas of life.

Another reason motivation comes and goes is because progress is rarely a straight line. Sometimes we improve quickly. Other times progress feels slow. When results are not immediate, motivation naturally decreases.

That is why it is so important to focus on the process instead of constantly chasing the outcome.

Instead of saying, "I need to lose twenty pounds," focus on walking today.

Instead of saying, "I need to get stronger," focus on completing today's exercises.

Small daily actions have a way of adding up over time.

And let's be honest. There are going to be days when you simply do not feel like doing the thing you know you should do. That is normal. The goal is not perfection. The goal is continuing to move forward, even when motivation is nowhere to be found.

One thing I have learned over the years is that success usually belongs to the people who keep showing up.

Not because they are always excited.

Not because they are always motivated.

But because they have built habits that carry them through the days when motivation disappears.

So if your motivation has been low lately, don't panic. It happens to all of us.

Instead of waiting for motivation to return, try taking one small step today. Sometimes that one small action is enough to get the ball rolling again.

Well guys, I hope this gave you a little different perspective on motivation and reminded you that you do not have to feel motivated every day to make progress.

If you found this helpful, be sure to share it with someone who may be waiting for motivation before getting started on their goals!

As always, Thanks for reading and Go enjoy the outdoors!