About Today’s Episode:
Welcome back to the show! Today’s episode is a solo episode that I am calling the Motivation Manifesto.
I am going to give you 7 tips on what to do when motivation runs out—because let’s be honest—it WILL run out and I want to give you a plan for when motivation leaves you.
I was not originally planning on doing a whole podcast on this, but I created some smaller content on this topic and you guys enjoyed it so much—and found it helpful—so I wanted to bring the topic of motivation to a bigger platform and get a little more in-depth.
My notes today are actually a downloadable PDF that I originally created for my Fat Loss Simplified Facebook Group (which is completely free and you should absolutely join), but I have made this PDF available for everyone who listens to the podcast.
You can download the PDF here (100% free, you don’t even need to enter an email)
Let’s get into the show!
Timestamps:
02:23 Our sponsors
Transcript (click to expand)
What is the Motivation Manifesto:
This episode is not a motivational podcast. This is meant to be educational, so you guys know what to do when motivation leaves. I am not going to be giving you tactics and strategies to get motivated, because that is very surface-level.
Honestly, if you are relying on motivation to get where you want to be—to lose the weight, to get through your struggles—you will fail, because you don’t have a foundation.
Motivation is fickle. It’s like a friend that you love, but you can’t rely on because they’re flaky.
You can appreciate motivation when it’s here, but you can’t rely on it.
It’s not stable.
Like any other emotion, it’s fleeting.
So, this episode’s purpose is not to get you motivated. I want to give you the tools, tactics, and strategies to stay on top, and not be derailed when motivation leaves.
The Motivation Manifesto is 7 things to do when motivation runs out—because it absolutely will.
Manifesto #1 - Double check that what you're doing is actually sustainable, practical, doable, and enjoyable
Here’s the big thing: half of you guys aren’t motivated because your plan doesn’t allow for it.
If you told me that you wanted me to do cardio every day, have no sugar, no alcohol, no going out to eat, no birthday cake, etc., and you wanted me to be happy and motivated, too…
I would think, “Fuck you. That’s not going to happen.”
It's easy to post on the internet that "it's a lifestyle" but most people don't have their lifestyle in their program or diet.
Please hear me when I say that.
So many moms tell me they are scared to eat birthday cake and so many wives tell me that date night causes them more anxiety because they are worried about a burger storing fat and knocking them off their plan.
I have seen so many people who are terrified of eating more than 1000 calories a day.
These things are the most prevalent—and here’s the truth—you can’t be motivated like that.
How can you be motivated when you’re constantly in fight-or-flight mode?
You can’t be.
The plan doesn’t allow for motivation if it takes everything you love and throws it out the window.
Take a step back and double-check if your plan is actually sustainable, practical, doable, and—most importantly—enjoyable. This will fix 90% of your problems.
For most people, doing trendy diets like Optavia, the keto diet, Weight Watchers, or working out every single day…
It's no wonder you aren't motivated.
If you love what you’re doing, you’re eating your favorite foods every single day, you're not missing out on experiences, you’re not trapped by results—your motivation issues will subside.
When days come that you aren’t motivated, you have a hard time stepping up because the plan is actually practical.
For example, you aren’t motivated to brush your teeth, but it’s not suffering to brush your teeth. It's not a big deal, it takes 2 minutes.
If I told you I wanted you to eat as much as possible in your calorie deficit, eat your favorite foods every day, work out a couple days a week—that’s like teeth brushing vibes, it’s not a big deal.
Now, if I told you I wanted you to do 2 hours of cardio every single day, eat 1000 calories every day, and only eat chicken and broccoli… That would be like trying to do your own root canal.
Again, it’s easy to say “it’s a lifestyle,” on the internet, but in real life, you need a plan that allows for motivation AND allows for your lifestyle.
Manifesto #2 - Remind yourself why you do all the other stuff you do daily when you aren't motivated
Here’s what I mean: you do a lot of shit when you’re not motivated.
A lot.
Here are a few examples:
You go to work, shower, brush your teeth, clean your house, & pay your bills when you aren't motivated.
Why do you do those things?
Because you have reasons rooted in avoiding pain (i.e.: bad shit will happen).
What happens if you don’t go to work?
You don’t eat. Your kids don’t eat. You lose your house. You don’t have basic necessities.
Why do you shower or brush your teeth when you don’t want to?
If you don’t shower, you’ll smell bad; don’t brush your teeth and you’ll have bad breath, etc.
You do things like this even when you aren’t motivated to because you have reasons rooted in pain if you don’t do them.
So, what I am going to say next isn’t a very popular thing to say:
You’ve gotta turn on the dark side a little bit.
Psychology teaches that there are two things that drive human behavior: the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.
I find that people generally fall more into one side than the other.
For example, I am very much an avoid-pain type of person.
You’ll hear a lot of the overplayed “what’s you why,” question.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with finding your why—you need to have those. The why is typically positive, happy things.
However, we all have things we do because the alternative is painful.
Going back to brushing your teeth—you can either brush your teeth or have cavities, so you brush your teeth because it’s less painful, and less of a big deal than cavities.
Every decision we make boils down to which hurts worse and we avoid that one. We do the lesser of two evils.
So, we need to put your goals in the weight loss and transformation world on this scale.
If you know what you need to do and just don’t do it, it’s because you don’t know what’s at stake.
If you knew all the bad things that would happen to you in the future—you’d be executing like nobody’s business.
Back when I was an in-person trainer, I had a client who had serious health issues.
He needed to lose about 100 lbs and was on transplant lists because his organs were shutting down.
He was totally inconsistent.
He would no-show all the time, was not eating right, and was not following the plan.
He didn’t get results and eventually fell off completely.
Well, a few years later he passed away—from health complications.
When I heard that he passed, I thought, “if only he had taken coaching seriously.”
I know for a fact that if he knew he was going to die in a few years when he came to that first session with me—if he had known what was at stake—he would have followed the plan.
He would have executed like nobody’s business.
If someone came to you and said you’re going to die 10 years early or your kids are going to struggle with binge eating if you don’t get your binge eating under control… Would you change?
If you don’t show up for yourself it tells me you don’t want what you say you want—or you don’t know what’s at stake.
You need to sit down and think about what happens if you don’t get your shit together. What happens if you stay stuck for the rest of your life? What’s on the table?
Most people tell me that Mom and Dad struggled or Grandma and Grandpa struggled, but you know every family has the one person who stops the cycle.
That could be you.
Whether it’s weight, finances, whatever—you can stop the generational cycle.
You have to realize how much pain you’re in.
Most of you reading this are so used to being in pain that it doesn’t hurt so bad anymore, so you put it off.
Thirty years later, you’re still struggling.
Make a list of what’s at stake if you don’t do the things you need to do. When you’re not motivated, look at that list and remind yourself of those things.
Manifesto #3 - Be honest with yourself & ask yourself if you even want the thing you say you want
This is a big one.
Most people think “it would be nice” to lose ____Ibs, stop binge eating, look amazing in their clothes, be confident in the bedroom, etc.
But most people don't care enough to change their behavior.
It blows me away—and I see it all the time.
An example we see all the time is the cost of our coaching program.
Someone says that they can’t afford it, but we have so many options that I can work with literally any budget.
I have even sent people to coaches outside of my company if I knew they could help AND fit their budget.
I view this stuff like search and rescue—If there are 20 people in the water and only 10 spots on the helicopter, the people who get help are the ones swimming toward the helicopter.
Most of you aren’t swimming toward the helicopter.
Once you have to put forth action, effort, or resources—all of a sudden you don’t want to do it.
Ask yourself, do you want the things you say you want?
If you do, then why aren’t your actions changing? Why aren’t you following the free content I am giving out?
Most people think it would be nice to stop binge eating, lose weight, etc., but they don’t actually want it.
Ask yourself, "Do I actually want and need this… Or is it just a nice idea?"
Manifesto #4 - Get around motivated people
This is the ultimate hack. Get around motivated people.
Getting around the right people changes things.
You see this with kids all the time—you can take a good kid, get him around the wrong group, and the good kid starts to turn into a rotten egg, too.
You are the same way.
We unconsciously become like those we spend the most time with.
If you start hanging out with people who take their health seriously, you’ll lose more weight.
If you hang out with fat, broke, unhappy, unmotivated people—then over time you’ll become just like them.
We evolve to what our environment is. It’s proven by neuroscience and psychology.
Get around motivated people.
It doesn’t have to be in person. For example, you can join my Fat Loss Simplified group, it's a hub of thousands of people who are making progress, moving forward, and winning. It’s 100% free.
Go join clubs, go out and do things, find groups of people who are the version of you where you want to be.
It’s going to be uncomfortable. You have to get in the room.
I am intimidated in every room I walk into, but I just want to get out there.
I’m not saying you can’t ever hang out with people who may be struggling with something, but you need to be very protective of your energy.
Manifesto #5 - Use any resistance as a trigger for deliberate action
When you aren’t motivated and you think, “I don’t want to do it…” That should be your trigger.
There is a book called The War of Art by Steven Pressfield that talks about this exact thing—you guys should really go buy it.
Andy Frisella calls it the bitch voice.
When you think “Oh, I’ll start over Monday,” that’s your trigger to go get it done.
Use the resistance as a sign to go execute.
Manifesto #6 - Don't be surprised when motivation leaves you without notice
Don’t be surprised when motivation leaves you.
Are you surprised when your car runs out of gas?
Of course not, it's just how things work, right?
Here is one of the most tactical pieces of advice I can give:
Imagine you’re never going to be motivated for the rest of your life. Then create a plan around that.
Think about what kind of plan and mental preparation you need to have if you are never motivated.
Now you are ready for the storm.
Most people think that motivation leads to action, but motivation is actually cultivated in this way:
Deliberate, Unmotivated Action -> Results -> Motivation
And NOT:
Motivation -> Action -> Results
You need to take deliberate, unmotivated action FIRST.
Manifesto #7 - Remember it gets easier every time you show up when you AREN'T motivated
Last one: remember it gets easier every time you show up when you AREN'T motivated.
It can be hard to show up for yourself, I get that.
BUT, every time you show up for yourself when you are not motivated, you are proving to yourself who you actually are.
For example, sometimes I wonder if I’m good at this podcasting thing—but if you listen to episode one and this episode today, it’s like two different people.
I used to get made fun of for talking all the time, and now I get paid to talk—and I have a podcast that reaches hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people.
You get better at things the more you do them.
Every time you show up for yourself when you don’t want to, it gets easier.
MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:
‣ Motivation Manifesto [FREE download] - https://bit.ly/3XDOpHS
‣ The War of Art by Steven Pressfield: https://amzn.to/3YFIdAm
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