I love exercise but I really have trouble being motivated to
actually do it. I know when I do exercise I feel great. My mood improves, my
perception of my body improves and I feel healthier and more energetic. It
should be really easy for me to exercise as I have an exercise bike in my house
which is in a convenient place and I enjoy using it but I still find it hard to
actually get up and do it.
I recently came up with an idea to motivate myself to
exercise and so far it is really working. I realised that I needed a tangible
reward. Just being fit, losing weight or being healthy is not a strong enough
motivator for me. These things are good goals but I don’t feel that I have
enough control over these things to achieve them in a reasonable time frame.
With that in mind, I decided that my reward would be a new pair of skinny
jeans. I have been meaning to lose a bit of weight and get some new jeans but
we are trying to save at the moment so I didn’t want to just go out and buy
them. I wanted to be able to work for
them somehow.
| In my mind I believe I will look like Nina Proudman in my skinny Jeans |
In the world of credit cards we don’t really ever save up
for smallish purchases anymore but I have come up with a way that I can “save
up” for my jeans. I have decided that in order to get my jeans I need to exercise
for 30 days for 30 minutes. Seems pretty easy doesn’t it? So far (this is day
6) it feels easy.
Of course there needed to be rules so that it could be a
little flexible. The 30 minutes is usually done in the morning but if I need to
I can do it at night or do a bit in the morning and finish off later in the
afternoon/evening. There is also a small penalty for missing a day. If one day
is missed, three extra days are added to the total. It is really not worth
missing a day.
 |
| Where all the "saving up" action is happening |
So far it seems like such a great plan to achieve regular
exercise with a great reward at the end. I am wondering to myself “Why didn’t I
think of this before?” Apart from having a sore butt and sore legs, I am
feeling great and I am very much looking forward to those new jeans. Now I just
need to decide which ones I am going to buy.
What motivates you to exercise? Share you motivation tips to encourage us all.
