“I wish I could get motivated again, but eating healthy and exercising can feel so overwhelming.”
If you’ve ever had these thoughts, here’s a gentle, effective way to get you moving in the right direction.
It’s called the 5-minute action.
Tiny Habits, Big Results: Using 5 Minutes to Get Motivated Again
There’s nothing special about 5 minutes. It could be 10 seconds, 1 minute, or 10 minutes.
The point is:
- It’s an action—something you do.
- That action is very small, something that feels easy and simple.
- It moves you in the direction you want to go.
- It’s an easy win—which gives you the confidence boost to do more good for yourself.
How to do it
Strategic Wellness: Commit to Daily Actions to Get Motivated Again
Pick an action that might have a positive impact on health and well-being right now.
Some examples:
- Cut up some carrots for a later snack.
- Do five minutes of mobility work.
- Write one line in your journal.
You can also get a little more strategic, and pick an action, maybe even one to commit to daily, to support a larger goal.
For example, maybe your ultimate goal is to get back into the habit of training 4 days a week.
Take ONE small action in support of your bigger future goal.
That might mean finding a workout plan, looking up some movements, or doing a 5 minute routine 3-4 days a week.
Get Motivated Again: The Power of Action
It can be tough to get motivated again, but here’s a secret: It’s action that drives motivation, not the other way around.
When you do a small thing to improve your circumstances, this actually inspires you to do more things.
Now you’re no longer “waiting to get motivated.”
You’re creating your own motivation.
To add more momentum to this idea you can pair “should” activities with “want’ activities.
Example:
If you save your favorite podcast (want) for when you workout (should) it will start aligning this activity with enjoyment rather than obligation. You will start looking forward to your workouts and podcast.
This can be applied to anything you “should” be doing. Like cleaning the house. Pair it with something you “want”, like listening to your favorite music.
Then pair it will the minimal time to get started, 5 minutes, and you’ll overcome that resistance to get started.
The key takeaway here is that the focus should be on forming a habit initially, not doing the perfect amount of time for the activity.
If you push yourself to start at 60 minutes, the resistance will force you to skip it.
1-5 minutes help you to build momentum so you can then build up to a longer commitment, once you have built the habit.
Win-win-win.
Feel free to contact me for further practical tips and assistance regarding my online coaching programs.
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