Happy Motivation Monday!  I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, if you celebrate.  I was fortunate to spend some wonderfully relaxing time with my family – you can always find updates on my day-to-day life by following me on Instagram!

Have you ever heard someone say “I just made up my mind to be healthy, and that was it!”?  I have, and while I’m very impressed, I don’t think that complete shift in mindset is realistic for most people.  I personally have to repeatedly motivate myself to maintain the healthy behaviors that I know make me feel best, and I think most people have similar experiences.

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The need for daily motivation is OK!  It doesn’t make you less of a person, indicate that you have less willpower, or mean that you “failed” at motivating yourself.  In fact, knowing that daily motivation helps you maintain the behaviors you want to maintain actually makes you a more aware person, and will lead to more success with your health goals!  So, here are my top 7 ways to ensure you’re getting the daily motivation that you need!

7 Ways to Get Daily Motivation

1. Make up your mind before you have the choice.  Planning ahead is critical to almost every aspect of health.  I encourage my clients to prep healthy food on Sundays, make healthy meals in advance (and store them in the freezer for those busy nights), schedule their workouts in their calendar, and decide the night before exactly which healthy behaviors they’ll choose for the following day.  Making up your mind earlier makes it far more likely that you will attain the goals you set for yourself.
2. Remind yourself of your “why.” I’ve already talked about the importance of finding your “why,” but it’s helpful to remind yourself of the reason you’re doing what you’re doing over and over again.  Feeling good now (by sitting on the couch, eating that third slice of pie, etc.) will always take precedence over your long-term goals, unless you can remind yourself of why you want to accomplish them.
3. Follow The Lyons’ Share on Facebook.  Of course, you can follow any inspirational account on Facebook, but I have to recommend my own page – I post daily motivational quotes and / or helpful articles!  Be sure to not only “like” the page, but also “like” or “share” individual posts, so Facebook won’t hide my posts from you!
4. Browse through Pinterest.  Ever wonder where I find most of the quotes that I post on my Facebook page?  The vast majority of them come from Pinterest!  So choose a few inspirational accounts to follow (of course, I’ll recommend mine, which has hundreds of motivational images!), and browse through when you need a motivational boost!
5. Write yourself a note.  Place it somewhere very visible to you, so that you see it every day.  For example, I have my monthly business goals posted right next to my workstation in my office.  If I’m working on something particular during a given week for my health, I’ll set calendar reminders to help me remember my specific goals (for example, “drink tea instead of dessert tonight!”).
6. Create habits that enable your chosen behaviors.  If you want to work out in the morning, lay out your workout clothes the night before (or sleep in them).  If you want to drink more water, set out a given number of water bottles each morning (or fill a pitcher in the morning and aim to empty it by the end of the day).  If you want to eat more vegetables, keep them in plain sight so you’re more likely to reach for them.  If you want to start walking daily, put a post-it note on your dog’s leash to actually walk with the dog, not just stand there.  Regardless of your chosen behavior, create a habit that will make it easier for you to achieve your goals.
7. Surround yourself with people who share your goals.  It’s a lot harder to exercise if none of your friends exercise, and it’s a lot harder to choose the salad if every single one of your co-workers is choosing the fried chicken.  So, find a mentor, a health coach, a family member, or a friend that shares your goals, and motivate each other daily!

See?  Daily motivation is not so hard, as long as you set yourself up for success!  Now get out there and enjoy a healthy meal or a workout!

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So tell me in the comments … What is YOUR source of daily motivation?