Hey guys, Sean Nalewanyj here of BodyTransformationTruth.com, and in this video and I want to touch on the
topic of what to do when you don’t feel motivated to train on any given day.
So maybe you’ve had a long day at work or school, maybe you’re feeling particularly
physically or mentally tired, or for whatever reason you’re just not feeling it and you'd
much rather just stay at home and relax instead of get yourself into the gym and train.
So what should you do in these situations?
Well, this is going to sound overly simplistic to some of you, but the honest answer is this.
And that is to stop thinking about it, and to just start taking action anyway.
Now, stick with me here because there’s actually more to it than just that and there’s
actually a very important lesson to take away from this.
See, most people think of action and motivation as strictly being a one-way street.
In other words, you feel a sufficient level of motivation, and that inspires you to carry
out a specific action.
In reality, it actually works both ways.
Not only does motivation cause you to take action, but taking action also causes you
to feel motivated.
In other words, if you feel completely unmotivated to do a particular task but begin taking action
anyway in spite of how you feel, you’ll often find that the simple act of just doing
something in and of itself is the actual catalyst that causes you to feel increasingly motivated.
And from there, this processs then feeds back on itself.
More motivation inspires further action, and further action inspires more motivation, and
before you know it, you’re fully absorbed in the original task you thought was so difficult
to begin with.
So, instead of sitting around in your current “uninspired” state and just hoping that
you’ll magically feel some sudden big surge in motivation to get you into the gym, instead
realize that the very act of taking positive actions towards performing your workout, that's
often the very thing that will produce the motivation that you’re looking for.
The state of mind that you feel while you’re sitting on the couch ready to fall asleep
is NOT the same state of mind that you’ll be in while you’re performing your actual
workout.
Instead, all of the small actions that you take leading up to your workout, through your
warmup and through the first few sets of your session, those actions will gradually “shift”
your state of mind in a positive direction, so that when it comes time to perform the
bulk of the actual challenging work, you’ll already be in that pumped up and motivated
state that you were originally searching for.
So again, stop thinking and just start taking action anyway.
Stop creating mental pictures of the work that lies ahead, stop creating “what if
this” and “what if that” scenarios in your mind, stop weighing out the possible
benefits and possible drawbacks of either performing or not performing this partciular
workout.
If you’ve already made the commitment to your muscle building or your fat loss program
and you know that the right thing is to get into the gym and train, then shut off your
mind and just do it.
Stand up, change into your gym clothes, pack your bag, even these tiny little actions will
gradually kick-start this “state-shifting” process.
Have your cup of coffee, take your pre-workout supplements or whatever else it is that you
normally consume prior to training, walk out the door, and just start making your way to
the gym without even thinking about it.
Again, these additional small actions will cause your state of mind to shift even further.
Walk onto the gym floor, put your headphones on, begin warming up and moving your body.
Far more often than not, what you’ll typically find is that by simply taking all of these
individual actions leading up to your actual workout without over-thinking and without
over-analyzing it, your mindset will shift all on its own and automatically produce the
motivation and the inspiration you need to tackle your workout with full intensity.
And by the time you get past your first few sets, the rest of your workout will usually
not only be smooth-sailing, but it will actually be fully enjoyable as well, especially since
you’ve now reinforced in your mind the fact that you are a self-motivated person who is
able to take action regardless of the circumstances.
And here’s the most important take away from this particular video, and that is that
this principle can be applied to every area of your life beyond just your muscle building
and your fat loss program.
Any time you’re faced with a particuar task that you know you need to do or that you should
do but that you're feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated by, you can apply this same “stop
thinking and just take action” principle in the exact same way.
If you have a work project that needs to get done but that you really don’t feel like
doing, then just take some initial small steps without thinking about it and then harness
the reaction of those first few steps in order to motivate yourself further.
If you have an essay for school but you’re feeling uninspired and unmotivated to do it,
then just get the first few lines down on the page and then see where it takes you.
If a friend invites you to go out, but you aren’t in a particularly “social mood”,
even though you know you should get out of the house and go do something, then just go
anyway and you’ll usually see that this “state-shifting process” kick into gear
once you simply interact with a few people.
So the bottom line here is this: if all of the actions that you take require you to feel
fully inspired and motivated right from the get go, you’ll never get anything meaningful
done, or at the very least, you’ll only be a fraction as productive as you could be.
If you already logically know what the “right” thing to do is, then stop relying on positive
emotions (or on the absence of negative emotions) to drive you forward, and just do it anyway,
and you’ll often find in most cases that the motivation and inspiration become an inevitable
byproduct of that process.
So, I hope you find this concept useful, if you want to get some more useful motivational
tips and tricks to apply to your fitness program to help maximize your chances of success,
make sure to head over to BodyTransformationTruth.com and grab my complete Body Transformation Blueprint
System and you can do that by clicking the icon at the top of the video or using the
link in the description box below.
If you did enjoy the video, as always, please make sure to hit the LIKE button, leave a
comment and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future videos.
And make sure to check out my official blog over at SeanNal.com for all of my latest articles,
tips and other updates.
Talk to you again soon.