Before I get too deep into sharing my fitness content, I want to take a step back and look at what is really at the start of anyone’s fitness journey: the motivation to actually do it. I know I struggle with this daily, and I know that it’s a significant concern to people wanting to get more active. I think simply looking at all of the health and fitness content that’s out there can be extremely overwhelming and can discourage people before they even start. It always seems like you have to adhere to a certain diet or have a certain routine and if you don’t, you fail and have to start back at square one. There is pressure for you to be consistent, motivated and happy while doing it. That is extremely unrealistic, and I hope to share a different message that highlights the realities of starting a fitness journey.
A Little Background
First, I’d like to share a little bit about my relationship with fitness as a whole. My first introduction to fitness was through school sports. For most of my middle school career, I was involved in volleyball, and then I started to play lacrosse at the end of middle school and into high school. I took some golf lessons earlier on but didn’t end up sticking with it. Through these sports, I gained an elementary excitement for fitness. I remember looking forward to volleyball practices mainly because it was a place where I could socialize with friends and classmates and learn something new. It also pushed me just enough so that I was challenged and out of my comfort zone but not so much that I decided it was too hard. I was excited to be on a team and wear the uniform, and I liked winning.
I also distinctly remember practicing my overhand serve in my driveway at home with my dad and being determined to improve it. Volleyball gave me my first real taste of what a team really means. It showed me my capabilities and weaknesses and, at its simplest, kept me busy. Toward seventh grade, I turned my interest to lacrosse. My school in particular had extremely good lacrosse teams, and it was kind of the sport that everyone did (at least in my mind). A lot of my friends had started it when I started volleyball, and I was convinced to join in. I started two years later than everyone else, but I was excited to have a new sport under my belt and yet another place to be with my friends.
Lacrosse brought my understanding and relationship to fitness up to a whole new level, especially when I reached high school. At the beginning, I saw it mainly as a social event since so many people were doing it. We were split up into three different teams throughout middle school, each at different degrees of skill-level, and we worked to move up to the “best” one. When I started, I knew nothing about lacrosse other than what I had seen just going to my school. I didn’t know the rules, the positions, or how to throw and catch with the lacrosse stick. I was used to being indoors and confined to a much smaller court.
It was definitely interesting participating in a spring sport, especially practicing at the beginning of the season. I have so many memories at practices, games and clinics where we were running all over the field in freezing weather. I had so much to learn, so I started from the bottom and had to learn quickly to have any chance at being with my friends at practice which was my main concern at the time. Although I didn’t find it as intuitive as volleyball, I figured it out and spent the rest of my middle school days having fun on the field.
Now, high school was another beast entirely. Gone were the days of fun and games and sitting on the turf chatting with friends. Lacrosse became significantly more serious and the pressure to perform increased. I know that’s how it normally goes in sports, where earlier years are dedicated to fundamentals rather than focused solely on performance and skill; however, it felt like such a shocking transition. It also didn’t help that a lot of my friends that I started with started to quit due to burn out or other reasons. I lost my social circle, so the sport became more lonely. On top of that, I was surrounded by people who were exceptionally good at the sport. Coaches were more intense, conditioning was more intense and practices were more intense. I think at this point, I was physically in the best shape of my life. However, I ultimately got cut from the team at the start of junior year and never looked back.
Reflections
Looking back at my experiences in sports, I can see that I associated fitness strongly to the social opportunities it brought me. I was mainly motivated to participate because it gave me an outlet to talk with friends and, essentially, play games together which is something I still love to do. However, when I reached high school and started to struggle with lacrosse, that gave me a whole new perspective on fitness and sports. I was no longer excited or motivated to play because I had lost the social “function” that sports previously served as. Lacrosse was honestly such an important lesson for me because I had to navigate through loneliness, comparison and the physical difficulty that came with it.
In college, I had the opportunity to study abroad my sophomore year in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Cavehill in Belfast
Here, I started to find that joy in fitness through hiking. I think just being in a new country, let alone a country with so many beautiful trails and places like Northern Ireland, is enough motivation to get out an explore. I found that hiking brought a new community and allowed me to meet new people. I loved finding new hiking spots as well as just walking around different cities.
Flash forward to this summer: I started prioritizing fitness again. I’m not exactly if there was one specific event or idea that prompted it, but I remember thinking to myself “What do I like?” and having to really think on it. I knew I had to get some real hobbies, so I started with walks in the evenings. Some we with friends, but most were by myself. It became a time for me to decompress, reflect on my day and relax a little. I took up some other activities, such as pickleball, tennis and running, with friends which was enough motivation for me. However, I really did look forward to the time I spent by myself.
My Advice
I know a lot of people who want to start out on their own fitness journey or who have tried multiple times are concerned with the difficulty of finding motivation to start and/or keep going. I don’t have an answer that’s going to be true for everyone, but I will attempt to share my experience. Motivation can be hard to find, especially when it comes to fitness. Even this morning, I woke up to run and really struggled to get out of bed. I think the thing that ultimately forced me out the door was remembering my “why.” We talk about this at the beginning of my hot yoga classes, but it’s important to set an intention. We set it at the beginning of the class, and when the routine gets difficult, we can come back to that intention as a well of motivation.
For me, I’ve been wanting to be more consistent in my running. So, this morning, when I wanted to stay in my warm bed and sleep in, I thought back to that intention of consistency. Now, was it reluctant? Definitely. But it paid off because I got in a great run, saw the sunrise and ran my fastest pace yet. There’s something to sticking to promises to yourself. Personally, I find it easy to keep promises to other people; however, I tend to be less strict when it comes to keeping promises to myself. I’m learning how to respect myself more and not slack off on goals or intentions just because “it’s only me.”
My second “trick” to motivation comes down to making that time mean something substantial. In the past, I’ve definitely tried to get back into fitness just for the purpose of “being fit.” While this can be an source of motivation, I personally didn’t find it to be a lasting motivator, and it led me down a road of unhealthy thinking. Now, I intentionally carve out time in my day to spend time running or doing yoga because it fulfills me. I find something spiritual in that time alone where I can find joy and gratitude for a healthy body, clear my mind and learn something new about myself. When I do activities with friends, I want to be intentional in being present with them. So, finding a deeper purpose, whether it be to challenge yourself or to fulfill a personal value or mantra, can help motivate you.
Although I don’t have all of the answers or a cheat code to motivation, I do hope you’ve found something helpful. I’m also still figuring out how to create a sustainable routine and mindset just like you! If you do have stories or advice of your own you’d like to share, please feel free to leave it down in the comments or submit it in my contact form!
