The Cruel Beast of Motivation
Motivation. A wonder, powerful force for change.
But the frustrating reality is; it often comes in waves, with these waves not always aligning with when you need them. Often you will lie in bed at night, full of motivation for your run/class/healthy eating tomorrow. Then the time it comes to do it, the motivation vanishes & then what?
Enter, our friend consistency. Yeh… he’s not as fancy, less bells & whistles, more beige really. But he’s the real deal when it comes to change. I say it all the time, but consistency is truly the magic that creates the motivation. Do the thing, see the changes, then get motivated to keep showing up because you’re already reaping the benefits
The key is to set up a realistic environment to allow these changes to be achieved, and achieved sustainably. The biggest thing I have noticed with the studio, perhaps our greatest barrier, is where we now fit into people’s lives. Pre Covid, people showed up each week because they booked & committed. As lockdown restrictions eased studio classes were one of the last sectors to be allowed to run, by which point, after nearly 2 years of getting used to life without going to a class, a lot of people got busy without us. Then, suddenly that time simply isn’t there blocked in the diary anymore
Each week we often put Monday on a pedestal & to adapt the phrase ‘we overestimate what we can do in a day, but underestimate what we can do in a year’, I think this applies for a week too. We hope that somehow that motivation will just stick around, allowing us to be super achievers to fast-track our way to our goals
I think another huge issue in motivation is the fact that often we are doing things because we think we should, which can be a recipe for failure. I’ve spoken before about this culture of exercising for punishment/reward & it means that often movement can really offer a triggering experience. We can be motivated because we feel like we should burn off that take away, or earn that night out, but really, what if we shifted that mindset? What instead if we simply explored lots of different movement types & found some that we felt we could do consistently, focussing instead on gradually, sustainably building our strength, flexibility, ability to lean into life’s challenges with confidence in our bodies, being in tune with our bodies & minds & gaining the benefits on a regular basis to avoid the rollercoaster of chasing that motivation
Some tips I often share with people who say they ‘keep meaning to come to class but…’:
Book a class. Committing & having something written down helps it become part of your skeleton framework & makes it happening more realistic
Take advantage of our £15 unlimited trial week pass to explore all the different classes
Sign up to Flow, Connected our online studio to give yourself the chance to jump into a little bit of supported movement when you do hit those motivation highs
Bring a friend, or say hi to the person on the mat next to you. Commit to seeing them next week - not only does it feel good to feel part of a community, it feels good to know someone will be looking out for you
Wear clothes that help you feel good. That may well be your 25 year old shorts with your school name tape still in (true story), or it may be investing in some new active wear that you love, you look forward to wearing & you feel confident in (this can be new or second hand, there’s lots of great sustainable brands out there, let me know if you’d like to know more)
So, see you on the mat?
Love Katie