Hey YOU!!! Drop down and give me 20! 1...2....3...4....COME ON BOY!!!!! Yo momma ain't gonna help you do these!! I can smell the piggy fat sizzling BOY!!! HOT damn.. Gets me EXCITED!! Oddly enough some people actually like this kind of treatment when it comes to exercising. We're all different and depending on what gets your ass in gear, I'd say will also be the key to reaching your goal or dropping like a fly in the process.
The Nuts and Bolts
There are basically two categories for motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation means internal motivational factors that drive you to succeed. In contrast, extrinsic motivation includes all the external elements that push you to succeed. We all have both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors when it comes to doing something, but one of these is actually 5 X more likely to help you reach your goal. Can you guess which one that is? You have a 50-50 chance. If you said intrinsic motivation you'd be correct. Now give yourself a gold star and swift slap in the face for even having to ponder that question. If you had problems with that one then that often means external elements in your life determine what you do, so you had difficulties recalling memories of intrinsic motivation pushing you to succeed in areas of your life. Well my friend, we need to change this.
Who are the Winners?
Most successful sports athletes, movie stars, CEOs and business owners are intrinsically motivated to succeed. This means that their drive comes from within and isn't totally influenced by the external circumstances of their lives. That's why these people are so persistent with their goals because they aren't allowing external factors to fuel them, but instead use beliefs and personal philosophies to energize them for the long haul. This also contributes to the fact that no matter what external elements change in their lives they keep going because the external circumstances don't drive them to begin with. On the contrary, if your drive comes from external factors (social approval, prize, competition, money etc) then once these components disappear often so does your energy and desire to reach your goals. In essence, intrinsic motivation is like nuclear fuel, while extrinsic motivation is more similar to hot air. At this point, you might recall my opening page that talks about the reasons most people exercise and diet: more SEX, energy, vitality, positive attitude, and confidence. As you can see, most people are driven to exercise and diet for the wrong reasons and that's why most people eventually fail at their exercise and nutrition goals. Once they get more sex, energy, and confidence they suddenly lose the drive that was pushing them in the first place. This is bad bad bad bad.
The difference
I'm sure you've notice some people are able to maintain their exercise and diet goals, while others constantly fail. Why is this? Mainly because these individuals have discovered the slew of other benefits that come with persistent exercise and diet (intrinsic motivation), so they're able to stick with the program over the long haul. Also, they've been doing the exercise and dieting for over 6 months, which is usually the required time to adopt something new into your life and make it a permanent component. After 6 months, exercise and diet are no longer chores, or extra daily assignments, but instead they are simply a part of the day like eating or sleeping.
How to achieve intrinsic motivation?
First off, you need to be a little selfish and believe you are personally worth more than sex, mates, money, social approval and/or more than worthy to enter the VIP after parties at the playboy mansion.Basically, you need to be exactly like my ex-girlfriend. Of course, this is easier said than done, but just wait. Next, come up with an exhausted list of direct and indirect benefits of diet and exercise. Don't copy my list, but instead take some time and make a list that is true for you. You're perspective is unique, so it is the only vision capable of driving you exactly where you need it most.
Example List: (I=intrinsic) (E= extrinsic)
1.) More respect (I) --> more job opportunities (E)--->higher pay (E)---->bigger house (E)
2.) Healthy heart (I)--->live longer (I)-->cardio endurance (I)-->better sex life (I/E)
3.) Less fat (I/E)-->easier to move (E)--->more energy to do things (I)---->feel like living and experiencing more (I)
4.) Positive disposition(I)-->like to try more things (I)-->learn more things(I)-> grow mentally and spiritually (I)
5.) Like your appearance more (E)-->positive attitude/better mood (E)->more confidence (I)-->the world is your playground (I)
After making this list then you need to do a little analysis. Separate the items that seem to be externally driving you from things that are intrinsically driving you. When you come up with these two separate lists, you need to go a step further and ask yourself why these intrinsic motivators are so important to your life. If you make a well-defined list, you will begin to see that everything you listed is vital for your intellectual, spiritual and physical growth as a human being. Without developing these intrinsic factors fully you cease living and instead opt out for a life of mediocrity and passivity. You basically have two options in life: You can have a dream/goal for yourself and everyone else, or you can be a pawn piece in another person's dream/goal. If you take the latter, you give up your freedom, birth right, and human potential. If you go with the former, yes it is more scary and harder to make your own way, but it is the only way for true success and to grow to your fullest potential. Even if you fail a few times along the way, everything you learn can be harvested to make you stronger and smarter for next time. Again, perseverance is key. At this point, you may think I'm likely to veer off into a discussion about religion and God, but lucky for you I don't have enough memory on my computer to write that book. I'd like to close by giving you a few last things to think about. Extrinsic motivation will only work for a few weeks or months at best until it fails you. Instead, you must draw on your powers of intuition, emotion, philosophy and belief to conjure the fuel for a lifetime of exercise and sound dieting. Indirectly, you will be empowering yourself for a change that will propel you to new planes of existence. Yeah, I know it's deep..
Vital Game Plan
So, here's the deal-e-o. I want you to make 10 goals for your exercise and diet routines. 4 can be extrinsic, but the other need to be intrinsic motivators and very well-defined. Using the intrinsic motivators you need to brainstorm and see how these benefits/goals will bring about a better person in spirit, mind, and body. Next, I want you to find an old shoe box. You're going to use this box to place your goals and pictures inside. I can hear the whining and moaning commence. To that I only have to say SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!!!!! Now, get online or find a magazine and cut/print pictures of 2 different types of role models. One needs to have the body of your dreams and the other needs to have spiritual and intellectual aspects you admire. After you have these, every day I want you to add something to that box that motivates you intrinsically to achieve these results. Simply cut it out of a magazine, print it off the internet, or handwrite the idea very slowly on a piece of paper. After creating this list and your spiffy motivational treasure chest, you must review the contents twice a day (morning and night), and any time you aren't achieving your exercise and diet goals. Remind yourself of the life you can have, as opposed to the life you will unfortunately acquire if you don't get your ASS IN GEAR!!!! Personally, to remind myself where I don't want to end up, I cut-out a picture of a homeless man and his dog wasting away in a street alley sipping on a bottle of Jack. This seems to do it for me. This strategy in-time will help you create a mental image of your future self. In other words, a GOAL!! If you follow the rules of the game, you'll be surprised what all of these efforts can do to your level of motivation. I've engineered deep psychological principles into this strategy that naturally enhance human motivation. I can do this because besides studying exercise physiology, sports psychology, nutrition, and every social science you can shake a stick at, I'm also a psychology major and proponent of Behaviorism and Cognitive psychology. Yeah, that's right. B.F. Skinner and Albert Bandura are my home boys. Wazz up now?; ) Best of luck!