I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to maintain motivation, especially keeping momentum during difficult times.
Maybe it’s dealing with an immediate situation when a family member needs help. Or when a car decides to act up. Maybe it’s a work-related “crisis” of one kind or another. Or it could be an internal problem – the flu, a cold, a sore muscle or a sleepless night.
It doesn’t really matter the cause. There are roadblocks to keeping momentum of healthy eating, working out regularly and making consistently good choices, right? In my heart, I know keeping momentum is the key to me being strong and fit.
Here are six ways of keeping the momentum during difficult times:
- Gratitude List – What am I grateful for? Who am I grateful for? What simple pleasure or beauty am I ignoring because I’m in a difficult time? I like to go though and make a mental list – or actually write down – all the reasons I have for being grateful. Some people call it counting their blessings.
- Maintaining Accountability – I like to write down what I accomplished and make note of what I missed. That way, it is pretty clear how things stack up for the week. I look at my Fitbit numbers, report into my coach/trainer and post in my accountability Facebook Group. (Jill and I will be writing more on Becoming Elli’s Closed Facebook Group Community — coming soon!!) Having a community to check in with and get support is a major motivator for me. Some people call it their tribe.
- Staying in the Now – Mindfulness is a big buzz word these days. For me, mindfulness means not worrying about tomorrow or next week and not rehashing my mistakes of the past week. It is remembering to stay present and stop worrying. Worry doesn’t change anything, does it? It just subtracts momentum.
- That One Little Thing – I try to find that one little thing to increase my motion and activity for the day. It could be taking the stairs. Parking farther away from the building in a parking lot. Doing a little jog into the building. Wearing my running shoes whenever I can so I’m “always ready.” Sometimes it might be as simple as just going downstairs to the laundry room and running a load of wash thru the cycle before getting ready for bed.
- Meditation – When I am overly stressed, I try to close my mouth. Bite my tongue, if needed. (Not too hard!) While I try to avoid making those regrettable snap replies, I am not always successful. I need to remind myself to take a deep breath through my nose and out my nose. Close my eyes. Count a few seconds and do it again. Then say something nice – not mean.
- Song – When I know it’s going to be a tough day, I’ll pick a theme song for the day. I repeat it in my head over and over during the day. During some difficult days, I can’t even be bothered thinking of a song. “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey is my fallback. It’s one from my playlist. (This past week Jill wrote about her running playlist. I bet she has some good motivational songs on it that I need to add to my theme song list!)
How about you?
What are your strategies for keeping momentum during difficult times? I’d love to add a few more tools in my bag of tricks!! Please leave a message with your comments and suggestions below or send an email to Chris@BecomingElli.com.
Wishing you the best of luck to you in keeping your motivation – no matter what life throws at you!