There are times when we become extremely motivated to take better care of ourselves. Something happens that gives us a moment of sober clarity. Perhaps it’s a health scare, someone close to us becomes seriously ill, or a painful episode makes us realize just how much we’ve allowed our own health to slide. Suddenly, our priorities become incredibly clear. We rearrange our schedules. We make plans. We take action. And for a while, it can feel surprisingly easy.
These moments of motivation are important. They get us started. But there’s a problem:
Motivation is temporary. Your health isn’t.
Eventually, the emotional intensity fades. The fear fades, especially when the pain or symptoms that initially got our attention are no longer there to remind us what life could be like if things persisted or, worse, deteriorated. Life gets busy. Distractions take over more of our time and energy. Before long, the motivation that initially drove us to make changes has run its course. It’s done what it was meant to do. It got us started!
To be truly successful in any endeavour, especially when it comes to your health, motivation needs to hand things over to GOOD HABITS.
Most success isn’t very exciting.
Most meaningful success doesn’t come from being extraordinarily motivated all the time. It comes from doing relatively small things consistently. You show up. You follow through. You do what needs to be done, even when you don’t particularly feel like doing it.
That’s what good habits look like.
And that’s what TRUE healthcare looks like, too. You don’t need to feel motivated every time you exercise. You don’t need to be excited about eating well. You don’t need to feel inspired to maintain your spinal health. You simply need to decide what you want your future health to look like and make it important enough to consistently take action.
You also need to get real about the rewards and consequences of doing—or not doing—the things that will get you the results you truly want. So, when you wake up in the morning and your bed feels warm and cozy, but you’ve got a workout, a walk, or a chiropractic appointment scheduled, there’s really no decision to make.
You’ve already decided!
You want the lasting rewards that come from following through on your vision for your health and your life. The more clearly you define how you want to feel and function in the future, the less tempted you’ll be to give in to the distractions and easier options that compete for your attention.
Motivation gets you started.
I think of motivation as the fuel that gets you off the launch pad. That’s important. But it won’t carry you indefinitely. Eventually, something else has to take over:
COMMITMENT.
Commitment gets you to the gym when you’re tired. It gets you to your appointment when you’d rather cancel. It gets you to make the better choice when nobody is watching. But commitment also needs a reason. Why does your health matter? What do you want your life to look like as you get older? What do you want to still be able to do? And who do you want to be there for? Because your health isn’t just about you.
That’s where this conversation gets much more important.
We’ll discuss this in Part 3: Your Health Isn’t Just About You.
Dr. Derek Haughton