This can work for exercise as well. No matter how much you love your exercise program and how much fun you have doing it, it should still be hard work. Harder than sitting on the couch, that is for sure. As I have said many times, consistent motivation is going to be tough for 99.9% of us and there will have to be some times you go into the gym when you really would much rather be home sitting on that couch.
This is one reason why we need goals. Could be a very specific fitness-related goal ("I want to lose 10 pounds by X day"), a little less specific ("I want to fit comfortably into a certain pair of jeans") or even just purely routine-related ("I want to do 3 boxing classes every week this month," or "I want to be in bed by 10pm every night this week").
When you hit those goals, it is wise to celebrate on some level. Doesn't have to be anything big, just something. Something to reward yourself for accomplishing something. A present even. Maybe it's a nice dinner out, maybe something you've wanted for a while, maybe something related to your workout like a new pair of gloves, or maybe it is even something you were going to buy anyway, like new shoes, but you just time the purchase to coincide with your goal. And it doesn't even have to something you buy. Any kind of reward or at the very least, celebratory acknowledgment of you following through. You could even just listen to that very same song, "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang every time you reach a milestone and whether you actually like that jam or not, it will become a positive thing. I used to have a playlist I put on in the car every Friday after I left work (getting through the week was my goal at the time) and it was fun and actually made me happy during the day, thinking about how I was going to do it.
Of course, improved health on it's own is certainly a great reward. Probably even the best reward, but it is a long journey so it makes sense to break it up on the way with little celebrations. Besides just the niceness of giving yourself a present that you deserve, there is a Pavlovian effect at work too. Your brain associates celebration/reward/happiness with doing something you may not be intrinsically motivated to do and over time, this can turn into more intrinsic motivation. It's like how I don't ever mind the work of putting up holiday decorations because holidays represent something special and fun to me.
But what if you aren't able to hit your goals? That is okay. Don't negatively reward yourself by feeling bad. Figure out what prevented you from getting there and how to deal with it next time. Maybe even try increasing the value of your reward to both potentially motivate yourself more and more appropriately celebrate what has become a particularly challenging goal.
Another thing I would advocate is telling people about your goals and when you achieve them. Most of us don't want to brag so you don't need to make a big deal but usually if you simply tell someone something that you attempted and did, they will be likely be happy for you and that in an of itself feels good. Plus, there is some accountability created there. You don't want it to necessarily turn into a lot of pressure, but it does help you stay on track. Once you tell other people what you hope to achieve, you have made it a lot more real and thus, more likely to be followed.
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