Have you found yourself having these thoughts?

“I need to exercise more, but can’t find the time”

“I can’t seem to get motivated”

“It is too hard to exercise”

“I’m too tired”

One of the main reasons many of us don’t achieve our health and fitness goals, or any life goal for that matter, is because we haven’t taken the time to really form a strong why before we start.

An emotional reason for why you want to achieve a goal.

You might think that’s easy… my why is wanting to lose weight. Or my why is wanting to have bigger muscles.

But this may not be the real reason. 

The real reason may be in your subconscious.

Why is a strong WHY so important?

Those that have a strong why, can bear any how.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Your why is usually something that goes much deeper than surface level reasons such as wanting to lose weight.

For example, my why for quitting a secure and comfortable job to go through the challenge of starting a health and fitness business from scratch goes way beyond the surface level reasons.

There was a deep, empathetic connection to the many people who really struggle to live a healthy lifestyle. There was a deep realisation in my heart that we are living in an unnatural and unhealthy world. My intuition or a higher power was telling me that my purpose is to do something about it.

I knew it wasn’t people’s fault that they were having health issues. We are all a product of the environment and social conditioning we were brought up in and unfortunately the current social norms are to sit down all day, eat processed food and live in a constant state of fear and stress. 

As I’m someone who went through the pain of conforming to these unhealthy social norms but also went on a journey of becoming more conscious and aware of how important it is to be healthy, I knew it was my purpose in life to share this passion and help people.

These deep emotional reasons make it much easier to stick to my guns during challenging times from being ridiculed by others and struggling to get my business off the ground.

As Neitzsche said; he who has a strong why, can bear any how.

How to find your why

You need to get to the root of your why.

There is no wrong why.

A method to do this is to ask yourself why questions 5 times. 

For example, you might want to lose weight.

Why do you want to lose weight? Because I want to lose my belly.

Why does that matter? Because I want to be able to play with my children without my weight getting in the way.

Why do you want to play with your children? Because then I think I will have respect for myself.

Why do you want to have respect for yourself? Because when I have respect for myself, I am a more confident and able parent.

Why do you want to be a more confident and able parent? Because then I will feel like I am a better role model for my children to follow.

Wow.

This person doesn’t want to lose weight. They want to feel more confident and be a role model for their children.

That is a deep emotional why and incredibly motivating.

Maybe your why is to move and exercise more so that you can live life to the fullest and be active well into old age.

Maybe your why is to be fit and strong enough to climb lots of mountains because that’s what makes you feel alive.

Maybe you why is to be able to move your body how you want so you can engage in everyday activities without chronic pain.

It doesn’t matter what the reason is as long as it is a deep and personal reason for you.

So take 10 minutes to write down what you want to achieve. Then ask why questions 5 times. 

Write down the answer to question 5 and then put it in various places where you will see it. The answer to question number 5 is what will motivate you to take action even on days where you feel unmotivated.