“I just have no MOTIVATION. I don’t have motivation to eat healthy. I don’t have motivation to work out. I just don’t want to do it.” Have you ever heard yourself saying this?
In this episode, I talk about how motivation is something we create and that we have to take action in order to create motivation.
I explain why we can’t just wait for motivation, especially if we’re living with stress because trying to muster up motivation does not work.
“There is no mustering of motivation ever.” -Katrina
In this episode, you’ll learn…
00:30 A big mistake that most people make is that they wait for motivation before trying to get healthy.
01:52 Trying to muster up motivation does not work.
02:11 We gotta take action, even if there’s no motivation.
03:27 When your brain is triggered by stress, whether it's from internal stress or external stress, you’re going to want to seek pleasure.
05:58 The problem is that if we wait too long, we will be waiting forever and we will never do what we really intended to do.
06:29 You must take action, despite lack of motivation.
08:38 First, we need to invite God into your health journey and ask for his strength.
09:45 The second key ingredient for taking action is that you really need to understand why you’re even going to bother taking that first step to begin with.
13:14 And third, we take small baby steps.
Are you ready to put God at the center of your health journey and to finally achieve your health and wellness goals? Join me every Thursday to learn how!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Get your FREE “What is your Why?” Worksheet in the Healthy Free Life Starter Kit
Episode 002: Invite God Into Your Health Journey
Connect with me!
Follow me on Instagram: @healthyfreelife
Connect with me on Facebook: @healthyfreelife
Visit my website: www.healthyfreelife.com
Until next week... bye for now. - Katrina
“I just have no MOTIVATION. I don’t have motivation to eat healthy. I don’t have motivation to work out. I just don’t want to do it.” Have you ever heard yourself saying this?
In this episode, I talk about how motivation is something we create and that we have to take action in order to create motivation.
I explain why we can’t just wait for motivation, especially if we’re living with stress because trying to muster up motivation does not work.
“There is no mustering of motivation ever.” -Katrina
In this episode, you’ll learn…
00:30 A big mistake that most people make is that they wait for motivation before trying to get healthy.
01:52 Trying to muster up motivation does not work.
02:11 We gotta take action, even if there’s no motivation.
03:27 When your brain is triggered by stress, whether it's from internal stress or external stress, you’re going to want to seek pleasure.
05:58 The problem is that if we wait too long, we will be waiting forever and we will never do what we really intended to do.
06:29 You must take action, despite lack of motivation.
08:38 First, we need to invite God into your health journey and ask for his strength.
09:45 The second key ingredient for taking action is that you really need to understand why you’re even going to bother taking that first step to begin with.
13:14 And third, we take small baby steps.
Are you ready to put God at the center of your health journey and to finally achieve your health and wellness goals? Join me every Thursday to learn how!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Get your FREE “What is your Why?” Worksheet in the Healthy Free Life Starter Kit
Episode 002: Invite God Into Your Health Journey
Connect with me!
Follow me on Instagram: @healthyfreelife
Connect with me on Facebook: @healthyfreelife
Visit my website: www.healthyfreelife.com
Until next week... bye for now. - Katrina
Episode #005: How to Get Motivated When You Don't Feel Like It
A big mistake that most people make is that they wait for motivation before trying to get healthy. And I get it. Everyone tells you that you just need to motivate yourself, or you just need motivation. And it's easy to fall into that trap. But let me ask you, do you think that everyone that you know or see that is healthy and fit, do you think that they waited for motivation to come knocking on their door before they chose to start eating healthy or to start working out?
No. And you could actually end up never getting healthy if you hold onto the belief that motivation is required in order to get healthy. So, how do you start taking steps to get healthy if you have no motivation? Well, that's what we're going to be talking about today because it can be really hard to get motivated when you're trying to do something that you really don't want to do.
And so you're like, "I just have no motivation. I don't have motivation to eat healthy. I don't have motivation to work out. I just don't want to do it." Well, we're going to be talking about that because especially if you are under extra stress, lack of motivation is at the top of the reasons why people choose not to get healthy.
So what do we do? How do we get motivated? Well, here's what you need to know. I want to give you the truth right up front. Trying to muster up motivation does not work. There is no mustering of motivation ever. So instead, what we need to do is this: it's going to be a tough pill to swallow. You ready for it?
We need to take action. Yup. Let me say that again. We gotta take action, even if there's no motivation. We still have to take action because motivation is created by you through action. It is not something that just happens to you. It doesn't come from the air. It doesn't come from the sky. It doesn't come from inside you. Motivation is created by you. It's created. It's an action created by you. So listen, if you're struggling with motivation, first, let me tell you why this may be happening. And then we're going to talk about what actions to take to help overcome this lack of motivation. We need to first understand what is going on inside of our brain, as it relates to motivation, especially those that have more stress in their lives Because the more stressed that you are, the less motivation you're going to have. You see lots of things happen inside your body and in your mind when you are stressed and we're going to dive deeper into stress in future episodes. But for now, let's talk about stress related to motivation. One of the things that's happening is that stress ignites the pleasure center of our brain.
It stimulates the reward center of your brain. So when your brain is triggered by stress, whether it from internal stress or external stress, so whether from physical, emotional, or mental stressors, or even stressors you may not be aware of like imbalanced hormones or inflammation, you're going to want to seek pleasure.
And so most often something that we're going to reach for in those pleasure seeking moments is going to be something that brings you a sense of pleasure to your brain.
If I were to say to you, go find something pleasurable to eat in your kitchen right now. I bet you you're definitely not going to go look for an apple. You're not going to look for a salad and I bet you, you're not going to look for a drink of water. Because these things don't bring instant pleasure.
They bring long-term stress reduction and long-term health and joy and happiness, but not instant pleasure. So when your brain is seeking pleasure, you're going to go for something pleasurable. Often it's sugar or simple carbohydrates like bread, chips, cookies, chocolate ice cream. You get the picture. Because these are simple carbohydrates, your body quickly gets the sugar into your bloodstream, which then hits your brain, and your brain is like, "Yes, that's what I was looking for." That's when dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter, gets released in your brain and you have the feeling of a high, and it feels really good for the moment. But that's not the end of what's happening in your brain when it's under stress. Your brain also minimizes motivation.
Because it's under stress and it's like, "Hey, we just need to stop doing anything that's not critical." So if you're trying to do something that takes some effort or some work for you, like exercising or making dinner at home, after a busy day at work, instead of grabbing tasty fast food, you're going to have decreased motivation to do those healthy things because your mind does not see those or deem them as critical.
So now under stress, we have increased drive for pleasure, which leads to cravings, and then we have decreased motivation. Great. So this basically means that we want to sit on the couch, watch TV and eat ice cream- not quite what a healthy Christian would do. So we sit there and we say, "Oh, I just have no motivation."
And we beat ourselves up. So then what happens? We just wait for it. Day after day, week after week, year after year, we are waiting for the motivation to come and to help us to do something. But the problem is is that if we wait too long, we will be waiting forever and we will never do what we really intended to do. Years from now, we're going to look back and regret that we never did that thing, which is to take action, to get healthy. But there's hope. There is a solution. So as I mentioned earlier, motivation does not come to us. It does not come knocking on our door. We have to create it. So how do we create it? Well, you must take action, despite lack of motivation.
Let me repeat that. You must take action, despite lack of motivation. We have to choose to take action because nothing in and of itself starts with motivation. And when we start taking action with God's strength, Guess what? Then we will wait for the result because it's the results that we get from taking that action that's going to keep us motivated. Okay. Again, it's the results that we get from taking action that's going to keep us motivated. It is not the initial motivation that's going to make us do something. It's the taking action that leads to a result, which is what's going to help us want to continue to take action.
And, Oh my goodness. It is such a beautiful thing. Like when you start working out, it really kind of stinks for the first several days. Right? Okay, really it's for the first several weeks or maybe even months that it stinks, but then suddenly, at some point, you start feeling stronger. You start having more energy.
You may even start seeing that your thighs are smaller and that you can see a little bit of muscle forming in your arms. And then you're like, "Oh my goodness. It is actually working." It's that action day after day of exercising, that eventually leads to the results that you want. And that is what motivates you to stay the course.
You're motivated because you don't want to lose the results you have finally gained. And you're also like, "I surely don't want to go back to square one again." Right? And it's the beautiful point in the journey where motivation comes in and helps you to keep going.
Okay. So now you understand that motivation is something we create and that we have to take action in order to create motivation. So now let's talk about how to get ourselves to take action, cause you may be like, "Great Katrina. If I don't have motivation, how in the world do I get myself to take that first step?" Well, here are three key ingredients needed to get yourself to take some action. First, we need to invite God into your health journey and ask for his strength. I talk about partnering with God in depth in episode two of the Healthy Free Life Show. So be sure to go back and dive into that episode if you haven't already. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. And if God has called you to it, if God has called you to restore your temple, which, honestly, he's calling all of us to do that, we don't need to wait to hear his audible words that he's calling us to temple restoration. This is his Holy temple and it deserves to be well cared for.
And so we're going to ask for his strength and I truly believe that if we have the heart to care for his temple, that he's going to give us that strength to start taking that initial action. And then he will give us the strength to help us to see it through to completion. But listen, he's not going to do the action for us. He's not going to take that first step for us.
We must take the first action and then we pray. And then we take the next faithful step and then we pray and then we take the next faithful step. And that leads to the second key ingredient for taking action is that you really need to understand why you're even going to bother taking that first step to begin with.
Why is it important to you to take action? Listen, the goal is not to get healthy. The goal is to be healthy. That is really what we are after. And why do we want to be healthy? Well, because of all the benefits that being healthy provides, right? We're going to have more energy to do what we love. We're going to have more confidence.
We're going to be able to pour out from a place of abundance instead of a place of lack. We're going to be able to fulfill our God-given purpose. We're going to be able to go and do and be all that God created us to be. Right? This is what we are after. This is our prize. I want to give you a little encouragement out of scripture in first Corinthians nine, starting in verse 24, where Paul says, "Don't you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize. Run in such a way to win the prize. Now, everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything.
They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead I discipline my body and bring it under strict control so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified." So Paul says, I discipline my body and I bring it under strict control.
And I think it's just encouragement for us because Paul's motivation is the prize. What's going to be our fuel to start taking action is the prize that's set before us. And I believe that our prize is our why. Why do we even want to be healthy? Why does it even matter? What is your why? What is your prize that you are after? Knowing your why is super important, which is why I have included an exercise in the Healthy Free Life Way Starter Kit, to help you to discover your why.
And listen, we need to go beyond the outward appearance. We need to really dig deep and say, well, why do I want to lose weight? Why do I want to be free from this disease? Why do I want more energy? What is that going to be able to help you to do?
So, if you would like me to walk you through, step-by-step on how to get to the root of your why along with prayers and a seven day devotional and my Glorious Food List and so much more, then I wanna encourage you to go to kit.healthyfreelife.com. Again, that's kit K I T dot healthy free life.com to request the free starter kit.
Okay. You've partnered with God. You know your why. You know why you're going to try, right? Well, guess what? Now it's time to take the action. This is your third key ingredient that you need to get yourself to take action.
But don't think that you have to start taking some sort of massive action. Okay? We can take small baby steps. That's what I am totally about is baby steps towards health and freedom. It is the only way that I have ever seen that works long-term. And so we just need to start by taking one small action and then again, and then another step and we're going to trust and we're going to await the result.
We're going to await that breakthrough, trusting that our action will lead to results and it's restoring our temple and it's bringing it back to a place of health and restoration. Your next step matters. So, what is your next step that you need to take today in the right direction towards your prize?
The prize of a healthy free life? What is it? It could be as simple as eating a glorious food breakfast every morning. Or maybe it's to go drink a glass of water, like right now. While you're listening to me, you can go pour yourself a glass of water and drink it and then maybe fill your glass again and then take continued steps
in your day to drink adequate amounts of water to stay hydrated. And then you do that today and then you get up tomorrow and you do it again. And then the next day. And then you trust that as you drink your water day after day, that you're going to experience all of the positive results of drinking more water, which is you're going to have more increased energy.
Your bodily functions are going to be better. I'm a registered nurse. So I can say it. You're going to have better poops. You're going to have more supple skin. You're going to start just feeling great. Your cravings are even going to be reduced just by simply drinking more water. Then once you have experienced those results, you're going to become motivated to drink more water.
You will become a water drinker. So listen, no more waiting for motivation. Just decide to take one small action. So, what baby step will you take today towards your healthy free life? Then it's time to go and do the thing. Now I will leave you with this encouragement from Hebrews 12: 1-2,
"Let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith."
Until next time. Bye for now.