Mindset and Motivation
By: Garrett Moher

As important as training and nutrition are to reaching your fitness and health goals, mindset and motivation trump them tenfold. You can have the best training plan and an amazing, balanced nutrition plan but if you can’t take hold of your mind, reaching your goal will be impossible.

Do you struggle from lack of motivation? You’re not alone!

I want to share with you some tips that helped me step on the bodybuilding stage and obtain a physique I always dreamed of. These are things I wish I knew when I started lifting at age 15.

1. Have a clear and concise goal – Without a vision, without a destination, how do you expect to arrive at your goal. GET SPECIFIC! Have metrics you can track so you know you are getting closer to your goal. Take progress pictures. Record your bodyweight. Track your PR’s. Reflect. If you are progressing, you will gain momentum and be motivated to continue on!
2. Have a strong why – Why do you even want to achieve this goal in the first place? What does it mean to you? How would reaching your goal change your life in a positive way? If you can answer these questions with a confident answer, you will have a better chance at making it through those challenging days, and those days will come, I promise you. I call these character building days. They matter more than the good ones.
   
3. Accountability – You have a clear and concise goal. You know your why. But sometimes that’s not enough. Find someone you can be accountable too. This can be a friend, your partner, a family member or a coach. I have a harder time letting someone else down than myself. This is how my brain works. When I check in with my coach, I want to be able to tell him I gave it my all. I learned early it feels good to say “I gave it my all” regardless if you win or not. This good feeling keeps me coming back for more!
4. Do not self sabotage – We are what we think we are. What we give energy to grows. If you think you will fail, you will. This is one thing I had to fix in order to reach my goals. I had to change the dialogue in my head. I had to believe in myself. If you have a challenging day or you hit an obstacle, you can either choose to see the positive or you can focus on the negative. One thing I heard in a motivational YouTube video that stuck with me was “Don’t focus on what you don’t want, focus on what you do want”. What do you focus on?
   
5. Trust the process – Don’t get in the habit of program hopping. Hold on long enough to see the results. Sure, your goals can change as you progress, but if you never reach a goal how do you expect to stay motivated. All your hard work is for nothing if you never feel what it’s like to reach the end. Your life is made up of references, aka experiences. Your reference to win, lose, feel happy, feel sad, pain, pleasure etc. When you experience what it feels like to reach your goals, you will want to do that more.

I hope these 5 tips help you reach your maximum potential! If you would like to connect or chat more, find me on Instagram @gmchngrfitness.

Stay disciplined!

Garrett Moher