GUEST POST: Staying Motivated with Miriah!

Happy Monday!
I am SO excited to introduce my “guest blog posts” that I will (hopefully) be doing a few times per month from different inspiring bloggers out there. My first one is from one of my friends, Miriah – a fellow blogger from Northern Alberta, who is SUPER motivating when it comes to fitness and staying on track with her health. I’ve included a bit more about her at the end of this blog post, make sure you check it out! Miriah has one of the most beautiful instragram accounts I’ve ever seen and she consistently posts about fitness, tips & tricks, healthy meals, and how to stay on track with goals. I reached out to her and asked if she could do a post for all of you (and me!) and give us some of her top tips on how she keeps herself motivated. 

Hello friends!

One thing I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in, actually I’m positive I’m not alone in, is riding that darn struggle bus when it comes to staying motivated at the gym. There are honestly days I don’t even want to leave the house, never mind move my butt fast enough to get a sweat on. I’ve probably used every excuse in the book to avoid my workout, or over eat on the weekends. These days its pretty common for most people to have more than one job, school, kids, or anything really that keeps your day full & busy. Then on top of that you’re trying to eat healthy and have motivation to get in a workout after a long day, or forcing yourself to wake up extra early in the mornings just to get that workout in. Sometimes there’s just not enough caffeine in the world to get me up that early. It’s definitely not easy and keeping the motivation to do it can feel like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. Over the years of working out, through the ups and downs of my fitness journey I’ve learnt a couple of things about motivation and what do when it’s nowhere to be found. So here are a few tips to hopefully keep you from riding that struggle bus too often.

Know that motivation comes from within.
You know how they say happiness isn’t something you find, its something you have to create for yourself. You may find bursts here and there, most likely a little push from an outside source, but you’ll never stay motivated if you cant figure out how to create it on your own. Most times with lack of motivation comes the notion that giving up is the better option because ‘you haven’t been to the gym in two weeks so why start again for the millionth time’. This is where your mindset change needs to come in. No matter how many times you are starting over with that motivation it’s not the fact that you’re starting over for the millionth time, it’s the fact that you are not giving up. There are weeks I need to ‘start over’ every single day of the week. Keep starting over and eventually you will get there, everyday is a step forward into trying to make your lifestyle change a habit. I really like to think of the quote “the time will pass anyways, you can either spend it creating the life you want, or living a life you don’t.” Just because it takes time and you may have to start over here and their doesn’t mean you should give up.

Keep a few images and quotes on hand that motivate you. 
Do you ever look at something, someone, listen to music, a podcast, or anything that motivates you? Keep a mental note of those. This may sound super contradictory to my first point of changing your mindset, but sometimes that inner voice just needs a little push to get your butt off the couch. Think of it as a fire starter, you don’t go camping without bringing a little help to start your fire, whether it’s gasoline or newspaper, anything that helps right? Well you can look at this the same way. Whatever it may be that lights a little fire inside of you, take it and save it somewhere that’s easily accessible. If it’s a song play it at while you change into your gym clothes, or at the beginning of your workout. Usually starting your workout is the hardest part, but once you’re in there getting it done you end up feeling 10x better after. If it’s a picture, use it as your phone back ground, or look at it when you’re wondering why am I doing this? Whatever it may be, pull it out when you’re needing a little extra push that day.

Focus on smaller goals. 
Baby steps girl! If you start off thinking I’m going to buy a house this year, don’t you look at all the steps you need to take to get there? Saving money, selling the house your living in, packing and de-cluttering your house? So many smaller steps are involved in your biggest goal. So instead of feeling deterred by this big goal of yours, why don’t you break it down and celebrate along the way. For example, this week you got in every single workout you had planned, heck yah! Good for you, let’s have a mini party, go get your nails done! Now we are motivated with pretty nails to kill it next week just the same.

Give yourself a break.
Sometimes this is the hardest thing to accept. Your body needs rest!!! And so does your mind. Sometimes you get really caught up in your goal and trying to get there without missing a moment. Your muscles need rest to recuperate and build stronger. Sleep, rest, and recuperation are just as important as those days you crush it at the gym. Really listen to your body and if it’s telling you, girl give me a break, we’ve been going hard for two weeks, lets slow down. Listen to it! Take a break, go for a walk instead of a tough workout, stretching is also really great for your body on rest days. Sleep in a little if you’re feeling really exhausted, just take it easy and be grateful your body is working so hard for you.

I hope you’ve found some motivation & some usable tips to help you reach your goal. In the long run having motivation is all up to you and your mindset. I encourage you to bookmark this page to look back on if you ever find yourself in a rut. Take some of these tips and put them to work this month, see what kind of improvement you can make when you’re able to keep motivation to improve your health and well being. If you found any more helpful tips that I didn’t mention leave a comment, and hopefully someone else can find motivation through it. Don’t forget to share this with your friends if you’ve found something helpful & you want to help someone else!

xx, Miriah

You can check out Miriah’s blog here and her gorgeous instagram here. Keep an eye out for future collabs with this lady! Thanks again Miriah!