Fitness, nutrition, and weightlifting are all ventures in life that do not come without sacrifices or struggles. How one overcomes these challenges demonstrates their true dedication and heart. Everyone will come to a point where they may begin to lose focus. This is when the individual’s motivation plays a role. Motivation can be defined as, “the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal.”* Many times in one’s life they may decide to embark on an endeavor such as completing an essay or homework or achieving a fitness goal such as weight loss or muscle gain. In the beginning the individual will do all of the things that they believe are necessary to achieve this goal promoting a sense of fulfillment and enjoyment. This new found desire may fade as the result of the person’s goal becoming more challenging and time consuming. Hours a day spent on the goal may turn into a half hour a day. This half hour a day turns into a half hour a week, until the person finds themselves back in their old routine which does not involve that goal. It generally takes an individual 21 days to form a new habit and that same time period to break old habits.

Starting a routine for a healthy life is one of the biggest decisions that you will ever make. How many of you know anyone that has joined a gym for a year, only to stop going after a month? How many of you know someone that says they have started a new diet, only to see them cramming fast food down their throats while late to an office meeting? Whether it is the grind of school or work, people make excuses for stumbling to achieve the goals they desire. These people not only waste their hard earned money on gym memberships that they will not use or diet plans that never pan out. The first key that one needs to consider for motivating themselves is desire. How much do you really want to become fit and healthy?

Visualizing what you want in life and keeping that picture in your mind can do wonders for not quitting. This can be done in the form of writing what you want down and putting it in as many places as possible. Writing down what you hope to achieve and reading it throughout the day as a reminder will help keep your goals as a top priority in your life. Setting a date for a certain goal is also very helpful. Deciding you want to lose 10lbs by a certain date written on your calendar can act as a very powerful prompt to stay motivated. Keeping a notebook of your lifting and nutrition will also work wonders as incentives. The process of seeing on paper that you are improving can only help your desire.

In addition to writing down goals and setting deadlines for your fitness undertakings it is often wise to choose a partner or coach that will help you stay motivated when you are feeling determined to achieve. Having a partner will do wonders for your psyche in the gym or when you have make the tough decision to eat a garden salad as opposed to a juicy Big Mac. You will begin to think to yourself that if he or she can continue to strive towards this goal, why can’t I? And the answer will be that you can. You will be motivated and probably even become a little competitive with your partner which is a natural response to the desire to achieve.

Deciding to begin a new and healthier life remains one thing that many people continuously put off to another date and time. Changing your way of thinking and daily routine are things that must be done. Going to the gym or eating a healthy meal should eventually be like waking up in the morning. It may be a struggle in the beginning, but nothing worth achieving has been accomplished without obstacles. Like any other goal, persistence is the key to having success. The decision to start a new fitness routine or diet lies in your hands. This choice must have your faith and desire behind it, because without that, it is nothing more than an empty promise.

* "motivation." WordNet® 3.0. Princeton University. 05 Dec. 2007. --Dictionary.com