Now all of those are great reasons to go to the gym, but did they get you there? No. If the pleasure of going was a good enough reason, you would have done it already! So your commitment to this motivation you want, will be tested by using pain. During the motivational courses I have provided in St Albans, I have found that people are put off by this relatively simple concept which is really just about getting leverage. Leverage is a bit of an American term, but it gives us an idea of how we can apply movement to something that seems to be stuck- and remember that in order to be motivated, you must be moving.
If you think of a great big boulder made of stone that you wanted to move, you could try pulling and pushing it and getting exhausted, but it probably wouldn’t budge easily. However, if you use a lever, you can apply half the amount of pressure, use half the energy and the boulder will move. Our pain reasons (negative/ stick) are going to work like a lever, so here is a list of those applied to the example of going to the gym:
1) There is a history of diabetes in my family. If I do not go to the gym I will be unfit and more likely to be ill like my father is.
2) I am currently single. If my body doesn’t get fit there is a strong possibility I will stay that way. Then I will never have children.
3) If I do not exercise my heart, I will be more likely to have a heart attack.
4) If I get sick, which is more likely when I am unfit, it will take me longer to recover because my body will struggle. I will be aging faster than my peers who will be enjoying their lives.
Just take a look at the two lists of reasons. One is fluffy and one hits you in the gut. One list moves you, it takes you by surprise. Only one of those lists physically creates a shifting internal feeling when you read it. Now imagine that they were your reasons, applied to your motivational problem. Which list is going to get you doing something, pain of getting away from what you don’t want, or the pleasure of moving towards what you do want?
In my private practice, I offer 3 different alternatives to help with motivation. This has been beneficial to the St Albans Motivation Courses, because it means that everybody is three times more likely to find a motivation solution that works for them.
I start by providing a free consultation which takes about 40 minutes. There is no obligation to attend motivational sessions after you have attended the consultation, you can just come along to find out a bit more information about how I work, and I can find out more information about your particular problem.
Now read Motivational Courses using Hypnotherapy, NLP and Life Coaching 3/3