How Motivated Are You?

Earlier today I went to the gym at 8am with my friend Kiera, and we started talking about motivation and discipline. We were discussing what gives us energy to wake up early in the morning and get our day started. She and I go to the gym at 8am together every week so waking up early has sort of become our routine. Kiera said that waking up early in the morning isn't always easy for her, but she does it because she knows she has things that need to get done. I strongly agree with this. Do I always find waking up early easy? No, but this has never stopped me from doing it. That is discipline.

Kiera and I, on several different occasions, have agreed that waking up early makes us feel more fulfilled within our 24 hour day. If you give yourself more time to get things done early, it gives you the whole rest of the day to rest and relax, but if you stay in bed for half the day then that's precious time wasted. Kiera also made the point that waking up early can also make you more tired and ready for bed faster because you've been up the whole day, as opposed to waking up at 1pm then staying up late because you feel as if you haven't been awake for that long. (There of course, is nothing wrong with taking a quick nap during the day if you need to replenish your energy.)

Photo Credit - Google (Lightning McQueen)

Motivation and discipline don't just apply to waking up early. Having a routine, cleaning, going to the gym, and getting your work done are all things that require motivation and discipline. I was scrolling on TikTok a couple weeks ago and I came across a video that I- no joke- think about everyday. The TikTok was this girl asking people what they use as motivation to keep going to the gym every week. A lot of the comments were actual advice, some were funny jokes, and others were comments along the lines of "I just do it". While this may seem to be a bit of a rude response, I relate to it so much. When it comes to going to class, studying, waking up early, going to the gym, or doing literally anything else: I simply just do it. I think of that scene from Cars 3 when Cruz asked Lightning how did he know that he would become a racer and Lightning responds, "I don't know. I just never thought I couldn't". Everyone has different methods for keeping themselves motivated, but it all comes down to the mind. If you continue to talk yourself out of achieving/doing the things that you need, they may never get done.

Do I believe that it is easy to stay motivated? Of course not. I understand that everyone has different things that they struggle with or extenuating circumstances that may hinder your motivation. Just remember, motivation doesn't have to be extravagant. Anything that sparks purpose and action within you is motivation, and discipline is when you use this motivation to get things done. You won't always do things because you want to, but because you know that you need to. Growth and change aren't always comfortable, but that's also the beauty of it. To be able to look at where you used to be and compare it to how much you've grown in the present is truly a remarkable feeling. Becoming extremely motivated doesn't happen overnight, but I believe the satisfaction of showing up for yourself and accomplishing things is motivation in and of itself.

Photo Credit - Pinterest

Everyone has their own tactics for staying motivated. It's important to listen to your body and rest when you need to, take mental health breaks, and find what works for you. Once you realize you can achieve the things you want just by changing your self talk, you'll find it crazy that you once believed you never could.

I hope you all have a great rest of your week and an amazing end to the month of February!

With love always,

~Side Note xoxo !!