stop looking for motivation

January’s coming to its tail end, how are you doing?

I hope you’re still working hard towards your goals and haven’t given up. It’s usually around this time where motivation takes a hit. I’m sure for many of us motivation now is a lot lower than it was around January 1st. And that’s ok, that’s normal.

I’ll be super real with you, I’m feeling it too.

I’m definitely feeling less motivated than I was in the beginning of the year with my own goals. But don’t get me wrong though, less motivated doesn’t mean I’m working less hard or thinking about giving up. None of that. I’m still working just as hard as January 1st. It just everything definitely feels harder and needs a little more extra effort without the pump of motivation.

I know a lot of times we give up on our goals when motivation is all dried up. We’d quit, look to start over, and feel like we can’t start again till we find motivation again, then end up on some quest seeking motivation. I’m sure you’ve been through that cycle. I definitely have. Many many many times. My whole life was basically that cycle all the way up till 2015 when I started this last weight loss journey.

So today I wanna remind you to stop looking for motivation.

Motivation isn’t required for you to make progress. Motivation isn’t required for you to hit your goals.

It’s definitely nice to have when it’s around, but when it’s not around you gotta find it in you to keep doing the things you need to do to inch towards your goals. Whether that’s sticking to your diet when you really don’t feel like it, or getting a workout in when you’ve had a long day, or choosing to cook your own meals rather than getting convenient take out, you gotta keep choosing the thing that helps you move forward even when you least feel like it.

I’m not saying you gotta go all hardcore and don’t give yourself breaks, I’m saying that motivation comes and goes. If you genuinely need a break absolutely go and take it. It’s just you can’t bank on reaching your goals through pure motivation alone, it’s unrealistic. It’s unsustainable. You gotta recognize that in this journey of losing weight there are days that’s gonna suck in the short term, but putting the work in is what brings you closer to your goals long term.

Motivation is nice, but motivation is fleeting.

It comes and goes. It’s like the weather.

A day of perfect weather could brighten up your mood, and make your whole day feel smoother and easier to deal with. A day of complete shit weather can make a perfectly normal day feel heavy and harder than usual. But good or bad weather, you still gotta get to your job, you still gotta get to school, you still got responsibilities you gotta fulfill.

Motivation is similar.

With it or not, you still have responsibilities to fulfill if you’d like to reach your goals.

Remember the journey’s not about being perfect.

It’s about giving your best efforts every single day. Some days you might have had a hard day, your best is only 30%, and that’s totally fine. Some days you maybe extra motivated so you’re hitting beyond 100%, that’s great too. Doesn’t matter what the percentage is, as long as it’s above zero it means you’re moving forward, you’re making progress.

Chain up enough of these non-zero percent days together, you’ll start to see the results for yourself. There’s no rush. This isn’t a race to the finish line. There’s no bonus getting to the finish line faster, nor is there a penalty getting there later.

What matters is just getting there, and staying there.

Take it as slow as you need to.

You can do this.

—Po