How to Find Fitness Motivation When Nothing Seems to Work | Ep 230
Are you having trouble staying motivated with your fitness goals? Do you start strong, only to lose momentum after a few weeks? Are you wondering why discipline and willpower never seem to be enough?
Philip (@witsandweights) dives into the psychology of motivation and the hidden forces that drive our behaviors. You’ll learn why relying on willpower isn’t a sustainable strategy and discover seven types of motivation to help you stay on track long-term. From internal motivators like intrinsic enjoyment to external motivators like social support, Philip covers how to identify your primary drivers and create an environment that fosters lasting motivation. Whether you're just starting your fitness journey or looking to reignite your passion, this gives you the tools to build systems for success that don’t depend on fleeting discipline. Find out how to use multiple sources of motivation to crush your goals without relying on willpower alone.
📋 To learn how to reframe your goals and implement them, even when you’re not “motivated,” so you can finally be consistent with your fitness and nutrition, join my email list here or at https://witsandweights.com/email and reply to ask for my “Action-Oriented Goals” guide.
Today, you’ll learn all about:
1:19 Holly's (listener) question
2:29 Why willpower isn’t enough for long-term motivation
4:15 Seven types of motivation explained
9:00 A client's story about motivation
14:14 How to identify your primary motivators
17:10 Tips for creating a motivating environment
19:15 How action can spark motivation and using the "motivation wave"
22:04 Outro
Episode resources:
Join my email list here or at https://witsandweights.com/email and reply to ask for my free “Action-Oriented Goals” guide.
Episode summary:
Unlocking motivation for a successful fitness journey is a nuanced topic that goes beyond sheer willpower. This episode delves into the psychology of motivation, explaining why aligning your actions with personal values is essential and how understanding different motivators can sustain your drive toward fitness goals. Discover how to tap into the right sources of motivation, such as intrinsic joy or social incentives, and how they can significantly impact your journey.
One of the fundamental insights shared is the concept of ego depletion, which explains why willpower is a limited resource. This phenomenon underscores the importance of finding motivators that resonate with your personal values, as they are more sustainable. Understanding these psychological aspects allows individuals to craft a personalized motivation plan that isn't solely reliant on discipline.
The episode explores seven types of motivation, ranging from intrinsic and extrinsic to fear-based and social motivators. Intrinsic motivation, for example, is derived from the inherent satisfaction of an activity, like the joy of a runner's high. In contrast, extrinsic motivation might come from external rewards, such as compliments or winning a competition. By identifying which type resonates most with you, you can leverage these motivators to fuel your fitness journey effectively.
An inspiring story featured in the episode is that of a client named Marie. Her journey illustrates the transformative power of aligning motivations with personal values. Initially trapped in a cycle of ineffective fitness plans, Marie discovered that her true motivator was her desire to be active with her kids and serve as a role model. This realization shifted her focus from external goals, like fitting into old clothes, to more meaningful and aligned motivators. As a result, she found joy in her fitness journey and achieved lasting success.
The episode provides a wealth of practical strategies to optimize motivation. Reflecting on past successes can help you identify what has consistently motivated you in the past. Consideration of your core values and identity is crucial, as aligning fitness goals with these elements can significantly boost motivation. The episode encourages experimentation with different motivational approaches, emphasizing that motivation is not one-size-fits-all.
Creating a motivating environment is another key strategy discussed. Setting process-related goals, for instance, can help maintain motivation by focusing on actionable steps rather than just outcomes. Celebrating small wins and connecting goals to a deeper purpose are other effective tactics to foster a resilient mindset. By building systems and routines that align with personal values, individuals can maintain a consistent drive, even during low motivation periods.
The episode wraps up with an invitation to obtain the Action Versus Results-Oriented Goals Guide. This guide is designed to help listeners align their actions with desired outcomes, providing a practical approach to goal setting. It reinforces the idea that motivation is not just a fleeting feeling but a skill that can be developed and refined over time.
In conclusion, understanding the psychology of motivation and aligning it with personal values is essential for a successful fitness journey. By exploring different types of motivation and implementing personalized strategies, individuals can create a sustainable drive that transforms their fitness goals into achievements. This episode is a valuable resource for anyone looking to enhance their motivation and achieve long-term success in their health journey.
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Transcript
Philip Pape: 0:00
If you're really good at getting excited to finally start going to the gym or fixing your nutrition and then, after only a few days or weeks, you struggle to follow through, or you find yourself constantly starting and stopping diet plans, unable to stay consistent. Or maybe you've achieved some success but you can't seem to stay motivated. This episode is for you. Today, you'll learn about the psychology of motivation, those hidden forces that drive our behaviors, so you can harness them rather than letting them control you. You'll discover why willpower is never something to rely on, how to tap into more powerful sources of motivation, and the surprising ways your environment shapes your actions. If you're looking to reignite that drive and passion, this episode will give you the tools to finally achieve long-lasting motivation with your physical fitness. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the podcast that blends evidence and engineering to help you build smart, efficient systems to achieve your dream physique. I'm your host, philip Pape, and today we are tackling something that is so fundamental to success in fitness and in life, and that is motivation. This episode was inspired by a really good question from a long-time listener, holly B. Holly, if you're listening and I know you are thanks for the inspiration and shout out to you for the question. Holly asked, quote what motivates someone? What are the different kinds of motivations, like external, internal, fear-based, goal-setting, timeframes, peer pressure, performance, etc. So she's kind of setting up the list already for us here. It is a fantastic question, because understanding motivation is often the missing piece. It is the key to achieving whatever the goal is, especially in fitness, where an effective plan requires going to the gym and training multiple days a week and making good decisions most of the time almost daily for your food and your lifestyle. So today we're going to break down the science behind motivation, including seven types of motivators and how you can use these to understand what drives you without relying on discipline or willpower. Now, if you want your question answered or if you want a shout out on a future episode, you can send me a text message using the link in the show notes. So, on your mobile device, click the link to send me a text message and send me a question, and that question will be featured in its own entire episode, or a Q&A, or hey, let me know how you'd want it to be featured and I will definitely take that into serious consideration.
Philip Pape: 2:29
All right, let's get into the topic and I want to break this down into four segments today. The first is the psychology of motivation and why willpower isn't enough. And then the seven key types of motivation and how they influence what you do, your behavior. The third segment is how to identify your primary motivator so you can use them to make progress. And then, finally, some practical strategies to create a motivating environment and then maintain that long-term drive, because we want our motivation itself to also be sustainable, motivation itself to also be sustainable.
Philip Pape: 3:07
So I want to start off with a common misconception that motivation is at any point about willpower or discipline. And how many times have you heard someone say this and you may have said it yourself I just need more willpower to stick to my diet, or I just need better discipline, or I just need to do it, just need to go to the gym consistently. That's all I'm missing is the doing of it. And while action is a part of the equation, when it comes from a place of this reserve, this limited resource we know as willpower, there is a problem because there's something psychologists call ego depletion, the idea that self-control or willpower draws upon a limited pool of mental resources and it can be used up. And when we rely solely on that, then we're setting ourselves up for failure and we instead want to understand what's deeper, the deeper psychological forces that are at play here, because motivation isn't about forcing yourself to do something, it's not that. It's about aligning the actions with your values and then creating the right environment and tapping into both internal and external drivers. Okay, and it'll all become clear as we move forward what I mean by all of that. Okay, aligning actions with values, with the right environment, with both internal and external motivators. So this brings me to seven key types of motivation that research has identified, and if you understand these, then you can use the right motivators for you and your fitness journey.
Philip Pape: 4:35
So the first one is intrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is when you do something because it's inherently fun, enjoyable, satisfying and for fitness. This might be the runner's high you get from a run as much as I'm not a runner people talk about that all the time or what I really tap into the sense of accomplishment after a tough, intense training session where I've hit the numbers, I've progressed, I've worked my muscles, whatever it might be. That's intrinsic. Number two is extrinsic, and this involves external rewards or punishments, things like winning a competition, getting compliments on your physique right. The external validation of your physique, avoiding health issues is even an external or extrinsic motivation. And again, there's no right or wrong with any of these. We can tap into any combination of these at any time to make the whole thing more frictionless and not have to rely on willpower and motivation or discipline.
Philip Pape: 5:34
The third type of motivation is identified motivation. This is when you do something because you recognize that it is important, even if it's not inherently enjoyable. This is a really key one in our space because, for example, you might not love every workout or training session, but you do it because you understand its value for your health and goals. That's still motivation. It's not willpower. There's something there that takes the place of willpower that gets you to show up and go to the gym. Number four is integrated motivation, and this is when an activity aligns with your core values and identity. If being an athlete, being fit and healthy, is a key part of who you are, you're more likely to stay motivated. It's what you do. It is who you are. To the point and I can identify with this to the point where it feels off not to do those things. It actually takes more willpower to not go to the gym. That is a great place to be.
Philip Pape: 6:36
Number five is fear-based motivation, and I think it's important to recognize this because, while it's not always positive fear in fact, fear is almost never positive but it can be a powerful motivator regardless. For example, fear of health problems, right, fear of type two diabetes, fear of osteoporosis, losing mobility as you age, those things might drive you to train as well. And so there there could be a reframing of a positive from a fear, and that's what I like to do, but just understand that that is one of the drivers we have. Number six is goal-oriented motivation, and this is setting specific, measurable targets and working toward them. So notice, I put it in its own category right, I want to lose 20 pounds of fat, I want to deadlift 300. It's that kind of approach, and humans really love goals, we love going after numbers and progress and specific endpoints, and, again, there's nothing wrong with that, as long as it aligns with what you're doing in a positive way. And, again, it's just one type of motivator, not the one we rely on.
Philip Pape: 7:39
And then number seven is social motivation Very important, very powerful. This is peer pressure, accountability, the desire for social connection, working out with friends or a training partner joining a fitness community Facebook group'm a coach and so I fully recognize, when I hire a coach, how much it motivates me in so many ways, whether it is peer pressure, whether it is the support, whether it is hey, they're waiting for me to check in and show that I've made progress, so I better get my butt in gear. So it's kind of an external thing, but it is very integrated into self-motivation in being related to a community and be motivated by a social group. We are social creatures. All right now you might be wondering okay, that's a lot. Definitely go back and review those seven motivators if you need to identify which ones are most resonating with you. And you're wondering okay, what's the best one?
Philip Pape: 8:35
And like any of the stuff we talk about on the show, there's no one size fits all answer. Different types of motivation work better for different people and in different contexts, different situations, which can change week to week, month to month, year to year. The key here is understanding what drives you personally and how to leverage multiple sources of motivation. So kind of like putting together your menu of motivation so that willpower gets to become a smaller and smaller slice and just disappears from the pie altogether and all you're left with is things that just motivate you to naturally get the job done. So let me tell you about, like the typical client I work with and I'm going to I'm thinking of a specific client, I'm going to protect her identity and use a name. I'm going to I'm thinking of a specific client, I'm going to protect her identity and use a name. I'm going to call her Marie and this particular client.
Philip Pape: 9:23
When she came to me, she was over it, like she was done. She tried all the diets keto, low carb, even some extreme stuff like those juice cleanses, all of it and she'd always kind of start out strong, super motivated, quote unquote but then eventually life would get in the way, life would happen, and she'd find herself back at the beginning and stuck in a cycle Very common that I deal with when clients come to me and then she felt like she couldn't break free because the only option was to start a new cycle of something that she knew inevitably would fail. And Marie's motivation had always been about well, I want to be able to fit into these clothes, or this dress that I wore at my wedding 10 years ago, or the jeans that I wore in my twenties. And that was the problem. Even though it's, it's an external motivator of some kind at least it seems to be she was focused on a goal that wasn't meaningful. It wasn't meaningful to her anymore. So, yeah, it's external, but it wasn't aligned, and if you go back and listen to the seven motivators, notice the recurrence of the motivation being aligned with you and your goals. And so it was something that she thought she should care about, not something that actually mattered to her right now and then that's why it never stuck. So we dug deeper I always like to dig deeper when we do our onboarding call and then as we move forward, because I think mindset is the biggest part of this and then we wanted to tap into the types of motivations that aligned with where she was in life.
Philip Pape: 10:50
So for Marie, it wasn't about fitting into the dress, it was about having the energy to be active with her kids, right, and be a role model for her kids. And, yeah, maybe being leaner and stronger and fitter was an outcome of that, but it was a lagging indicator. The true motivator was her children, and that is what we call integrated motivation, but that's not it. She also realized that she missed the feeling of accomplishment from her workout. She wasn't getting the progress and yet she was working out a lot, and that's a disconnect, right. And so we wanted to lean into intrinsic motivation and help her find an activity that she enjoyed and gave her progress, which happened to be lifting weights. And I know a lot of you are thinking well, I don't like lifting weights. Well, when lifting weights gets you a result that is highly satisfying and also gets you the physique and the health and the role model that you want to be, it gets you the things that you want, you will like it. That's kind of where I'm going with that you.
Philip Pape: 12:36
And then, to top it off, we got her connected, of course, with a supportive group in my coaching program and she was able to tap into that social motivation, which is hugely important. In fact, just this week I had someone in my group who was actually she wanted to cancel, and this happens occasionally. Where somebody is very motivated, they get started, get started. We get her the tools and onboarding and a plan and even the accountability and the calls. But there was a piece of it that wasn't aligning for her and it was. It was a specific type of tracking that she didn't like it wasn't tracking in general. It was. It was thinking she had to track in this specific way and it wasn't aligned with her Right. So we had to tap into the true motivators of why she's doing this and find a way that actually worked. And she did. And the only way oh, my whole point was the way she was able to do that was bringing it up in the group setting and actually have two or three of my other clients chime in with their ideas, rather than the coach just saying this is what you need to do, and kind of help her brainstorm through it. And as a collective group we were able to say okay, here's the thing we suggest. You said oh my God, I hadn't even thought of that. That actually sounds like a lot of fun. Let me do that. And now she's making progress.
Philip Pape: 13:47
So, going back to Marie, you know, over about a 10 month period we worked together. Yeah, she lost like 27 pounds on the scale and 4% body fat. And while that's important from a pure numbers and fat loss perspective, it wasn't because she was chasing the number or some outdated idea of what she thought she should look like, but because she was living in a way that matched her values. She wasn't just going through the motions anymore, she was enjoying her training sessions, and then she wanted to eat in a way that worked for her and supported it, and then she started to feel strong and confident again, again, and then, of course, yeah, she lost some fat and got leaner as a result, which was almost like almost didn't matter at the end of the day, because the other things were already satisfied, and so the key here for her wasn't finding willpower at all. It was aligning her motivation with what truly mattered to her, and that's where the real change happened.
Philip Pape: 14:42
So let's apply this to you. Let's break down how you can identify your primary motivators and use them effectively. First, reflect on your past successes. Think about times when you've been consistently motivated in your fitness journey or in any other area of your life, something that you've done. That seems like a hard thing that other people may not do, but you do it, and you do it consistently, and there's some reason for that, and you don't feel like you're forced to do it either. What drove you? Was it the intrinsic enjoyment of the thing? Was it the pursuit of a goal? Was it the support you had from your partner or a group, right, identify the thing aligned with one of the seven motivators and it could be multiple. So that's the first thing to do is look at what you've done successfully in the past and what motivated you.
Philip Pape: 15:28
The second, I want you to consider your values and identity. What's important to you? How does fitness fit into your overall vision for your life? Right, the more that you can align your fitness goals with your core values of who you are, who you want to be, but really who you are should be living right now to be that person, the more motivated you'll be to pursue them. All right, that's the second thing is to consider your values and what's important to you. Third, I want you to experiment with different approaches. So I talk about this a lot, experimentation. There's no one size fits all. There's no plan. There's no here Do. The Philip Witson Waits plan of motivation doesn't exist. It's very individualized. This is why a lot of people hire me as a coach to help them find what this is for them.
Philip Pape: 16:14
I want you to try setting specific goals and see how that affects your motivation. Or join a class, or find a training partner or a group. Join our Facebook group totally free and tap into that social motivation right. Go through the list of motivators and figure out which one seems most accessible, interesting, something that you can identify with right now and give it a shot. Pay attention, then, to how these different strategies impact your drive and your consistency, because for one person, a goal might be a great idea. For you, it might be intrinsic or social support. It's okay and it's beneficial if you have multiple sources. I think of it almost like motivation diversity, or like your nest egg, right? Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Don't put all your eggs in one motivation basket. Rely on multiple sources, it's okay. You might be primarily driven by health concerns, which is a form of identified motivation, but you might also enjoy the social aspect of a group workout, and I'm not against that. I have plenty of clients who love group workouts, so we kind of blend in a little bit of strength training, a little bit of group work, and they enjoy it. You might enjoy the sense of accomplishment from hitting a target, like getting your lift to a certain number. It's all fine, okay. So that's kind of how you reflect on this and then identify how you want to go ahead.
Philip Pape: 17:34
If I were to get a little more specific and practical in terms of the environment. So that you can make this even easier and even more frictionless, I've got a few tips that come to mind. The first one is always set process-related goals, not just outcome goals. So, even though I mentioned before, yeah, you can set lose 20 pounds as a goal, I would want to set up micro goals that get you to that. Like I'm going to train three days a week, I'm going to eat protein with every meal, and so on, and those are more within your control. Every meal and so on, and those are more within your control. They're more today, things you can do. Check off the box, say I did it or I didn't, and then move on, and then you get those regular wins that keep you motivated. Huge fan of that.
Philip Pape: 18:17
The second one is taking more control of the environment as best you can, and this could be joining a gym where you don't feel intimidated or that has the right equipment, finding a training partner, following people who inspire you I hope I do, and this show does but also weeding out the people that are toxic and don't inspire you, but following the people that do, and even controlling your physical environment and your kitchen environment, for example, because it does play a huge role in your motivation and you do have some control over its shape, how you shape your environment. The next tip I have for you is habit stacking Always love that one Attaching your new habits to existing routines. So, for example, tying your workouts to your morning coffee, tying your walking to listening to a podcast. You know, taking the power of something that's already so ingrained in what you do and then just tweaking it to add this extra little thing that seems like no big deal and before long it compounds into something amazing. And so you know I I could go on. I don't want to make this episode too long, but if, if you can make it so that you feel like you're accomplishing and celebrating things just about every day along the way. It might not be all the things, it might be okay, you made this meal choice today that you're proud of. Okay, you took a nice long walk today that you're proud of, but every day there's something that's going to keep tapping into intrinsic motivation and build momentum. And then the other types of motivators can also come, you know, kind of pile on and just going back to the why right, connecting your goals to that deeper purpose of playing actively with your kids or grandkids, feeling confident in your own skin, the stronger that why, the more resilient this motivation will be. So those are some tips I have, as I mentioned before.
Philip Pape: 20:08
You know, people ask me how do you find motivation? And I think motivation often follows action, not from discipline or willpower, but just from these simple little things. We often feel we need to be motivated to act right. We often feel we need the motivation first to oh, how do I get motivated? But taking action that's fairly effortless and frictionless can create this motivation through the wins, and that's why the just show up mentality can be powerful. Right, even if you don't feel like training, commit to getting to the gym and doing it for five minutes, and then you'll find that once you start you're like, yeah, well, I'm here, I'm going, it feels great, let me do the whole training session. And that ties into a concept called the motivation wave. All right, so that's my last thing for you here the motivation wave.
Philip Pape: 20:55
Motivation itself naturally ebbs and flows. It's not a constant. All right, you want to build systems? We talk about systems In fact, it's in my opening of every podcast building systems that carry you through life and low points of motivation. And here's the little trick I have for you when motivation is high, that's when you want to use it to set up these systems, and then, when motivation is low, you're going to rely on your systems and just focus on showing up. This is a game changer. This takes the pressure off always needing to feel motivated and instead you're just focused on consistent action. That's it, and then, over time, you build momentum, you create the results and guess what? It keeps motivating you forever, and I love that. I think it's awesome, I think it's empowering.
Philip Pape: 21:44
So let's recap what we talked about today. The first thing is that motivation is complex and it's beyond willpower and discipline. It's a totally separate thing that I want you to think of as something that we do want to look for instead of discipline. Second, there are multiple types intrinsic, extrinsic, identified, integrated, fear-based, goal-oriented and social. Number three is that the most effective motivational strategy is personal. It's the one that works for you, depends on your values, depends on your goals and preferences. And then, number four, creating a supportive environment and using multiple sources of motivation is the key to long-term success. And once you do that, action is easy, it creates motivation and it just builds on itself. So remember, understanding and using motivation itself is also a skill. It's also a skill. It's okay if you're not there yet. It takes practice and refinement. I want you to be patient with yourself. I want you to experiment with different strategies and just keep showing up. If you do that, you'll be good. All right, if you found value in today's episode.
Philip Pape: 22:45
If you want to take the next step in harnessing that power of motivation, I created a guide as part of my coaching program and I'm going to give it to you for free. It's called Action Versus Results Oriented Goals and it's going to help you transform your approach a bit and think about how you set goals today and how you might shift those goals to something that creates action instead of focusing on a result. And that goes back to what I talked about earlier with process orientation instead of results orientation. All right. And the guide's gonna show you how to shift from vague goals to very specific, actionable ones that help you build momentum and then tie it into the motivators. You'll learn how to reframe those goals. You'll learn how to implement them in your day-to-day and then stay consistent, even when motivation itself isn't quite at its highest.
Philip Pape: 23:32
So if you want to get your copy of the Action Versus Results-Oriented Goals Guide. Join my email list, click the link in the show notes or go to witsandweightscom slash email and then, when you're on the list, just reply to it and say, hey, I want the action-oriented results guide and I'll send it right over Again. Just go to witsandweightscom slash email to join my list and ask for the action-oriented results guide. All right, until next time, keep using your wits lifting some weights, and remember, when it comes to motivation, action is sometimes the best catalyst. I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights podcast.
