How’s your motivation going at the moment?  I don’t just mean for exercise, I mean for other areas of your life style.

When the weather gets brighter, sunnier, longer days, warmer temperatures, this can have a positive effect on us. We often feel more motivated to do things.

For example it motivates me to declutter. Somehow, during the darker, grey days of winter I never feel like sorting through things and throwing things out, but come the spring and summer I like nothing more than to go through my wardrobe and sort clothes out for the charity shops or sort through magazines, paperwork, general clutter and start to fill recycling bags and rubbish bags ready for the tip.

How you do anything, is how you do everything

Zen Buddhism

Applying this to our motivation, once you feel motivated to do something it has a knock on effect to other aspects of life. So here is where I want to refer to motivation to move more, because after all I am a Pilates coach, I want to help you to keep moving, stay active and live a happier, healthier lifestyle as a result.

The reason I get out of bed a little bit earlier in the morning to exercise is that I know I am getting time to nurture myself. Whether that is Pilates, cycling, walking, I love that feeling of knowing I am doing something for myself at the start of the day. It's time that I own, it's a time that cannot be disrupted by life’s ‘noise’. I don’t focus on “it's good for me” or “I should do it” or “I have to do it”. I focus purely on the feeling I will have after a workout. I do it because of the feeling afterwards. The visualisation of that feeling gives me the motivation because I know I am going to feel good, I start the day in a way that I want, it's in my control, I don’t let the day control me.

I am going to focus on motivation over the next couple of weeks, both in my teaching and also in my Newsletter. So if you are feeling a little bit lost at the moment — maybe the sunshine and blue skies aren’t enough to help your motivation — the first step is to try some visualisation with the task or whatever it is you are struggling with that you want to achieve. Visualise the feeling after the task is done and focus on that. Remember that this is about nurturing yourself, and taking control of your day, and motivating yourself to do something for you, that is going to make the day a good day. 

Have a great week, and remember, focus on the feeling.