Hello and welcome back to the podcast. Today I want to speak to you a little bit about motivation, lack of motivation, how this could affect you actually making improvements in your health and a few tips on how to get started. So if you're anything like me, if you've got a chronic health condition – I've got chronic fatigue and hypermobility, so I've got lots of symptoms.

But if you are struggling with any kind of chronic health condition, or if you are perimenopausal or postmenopausal, we get to the point where you just can't be bothered. You're feeling so rubbish, and you know that you should be doing things that could potentially make you feel better, but it's much easier not to do anything and keep feeling rubbish.

But you need to find that motivation, which is what we’re talking about today. So what is motivation? There are different types of motivation. We've got intrinsic motivation. So that is the motivation that you produce yourself. It might be that you're giving yourself goals or just the achievements that you feel when you are doing something, when you achieve something. Then we've got extrinsic motivation.

Extrinsic motivation is when you have a medal, win money, or achieve something and get a reward, like my daughter who loves doing things for food. So if you achieve something and get a reward, that’s your extrinsic motivation. You're gaining something from somebody else for achieving the goal.

Then there's intrinsic motivation, where it's just a personal achievement, and you feel good for doing something. But how do we even get going when we're feeling that rubbish? What do we do? A lot of it is going to be mindset. It's thinking, “There's no point in me doing these things because they're not going to help and it’s just effort I don’t need to bother with.” That’s one thing to change. We need to change our mindset so we know we can achieve these things.

Look at what the blocks are that are stopping us. So are there barriers? Sometimes doing some journaling around what's stopping us from creating or making goals is helpful. For example, we know that doing some exercise would be really beneficial. But what are the barriers? Is it because you don't have the time? Because you're too tired? Because you've got pelvic floor problems and would be leaking during exercise? Or because you don’t have an exercise that you enjoy?

Write out those barriers and come up with some solutions for them. Don’t just think those barriers are there and can’t be moved. Actually, how could we move those barriers out of the way so we could still achieve our goals? Speaking of goals, that would be one of the first things to do. So I personally always need some kind of goal to motivate me to do things that I don't necessarily want to do.

For example, once I did an obstacle course that involved running and going over things. I mean, it didn’t end well – I twisted my ankle and couldn’t walk for a week or two – but I was motivated to train and exercise because I’d booked in to do it with some friends, and I had to get around. So that made me exercise and motivated me. My motivation now to exercise is that it helps reduce my pain. If I don’t exercise, my back is more painful, my joints are more painful, and my fatigue is worse. It’s difficult when you have a condition that causes fatigue because you think exercise is the last thing you want to do.

But I know even if I’m doing 15 minutes of exercise in the morning, I feel much better for it than if I don’t. So that’s my internal motivation – it makes me feel better once I’ve done it. My extrinsic would be that I get a medal at the end of a race, but setting a goal doesn’t have to be a fitness goal. It doesn’t have to be a goal to lose weight, and I spoke about this in a previous episode – it doesn’t have to be a number on the scale. It’s about where you want to be. You want to feel better; you want your symptoms to reduce, but just think about one thing in that which will help. I’ve spoken in previous episodes about the sense method and the lifestyle pillars that can help improve your health.

Subconscious, which we’ve just spoken about, is our mindset. Empowerment is setting the goals, and then we’ve got our nutrition, our sleep, our stress management, and our exercise. So, set goals about one element to start with. Don’t think, “I’ve got to overhaul my whole life to make improvements.” We just need to pick one thing to start with.

If you’ve ever read the book Atomic Habits, it talks about habit stacking. So you have a habit that you already do. Maybe that’s having a cup of tea, and if you add something onto that, say, after your cup of tea, maybe you do a minute of relaxation and deep breathing. Then every time you have a cup of tea, you associate that with doing your relaxation. After that, you could stack something else on top of it. So after your tea and relaxation, maybe you could stand up and do two minutes of some bodyweight exercises, like squats or lunges, or do a few stretches. It’s about adding one thing at a time.

Focusing on one thing you can do regularly, then adding something else on top of it. Motivation is hard when you’re feeling rubbish. If you think, “I’ve got to do some exercise. I’ve got to do an hour at the gym,” remember you don’t have to do that. You could go for a five-minute walk at lunchtime. Start with something achievable.

With your goals, ideally, you’re making SMART goals. So that means they’re specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based. For example, if you’re going for a walk, be specific: “I’m going to go for a walk at lunchtime.” Make it measurable: “I’ll do it for five minutes or walk half a kilometre.” Achievable: “Is this something you can do?” Yes, if you’re fit enough to walk, even if it’s just 100 meters. Realistic: Yes, if you can walk, it should be doable. If not, reduce it to fit your ability. And time-based: aim to get in the habit of walking daily within a week.

Maybe you want to increase it over time, like walking a mile. You might not be able to now, but build up to it. So creating SMART goals keeps you motivated because you’re working on one thing at a time. Once walking becomes a habit, you can add another goal, like drinking more water. Aim for one and a half litres of water each day. Try combining it with your walk if it helps you remember.

The idea is to focus on one change at a time. You don’t have to do it all at once. For instance, if you want to improve your nutrition, maybe you’ll reduce sugar or switch a snack from a chocolate bar to something healthier, like a carrot or a handful of nuts. Once you’re comfortable with that, you could look at improving your lunch by choosing a salad over a sandwich, maybe with a healthier side.

If you want to improve your sleep, try reducing screen time an hour before bed. A good wind-down helps improve sleep, and that, in turn, improves other areas of health. Following the SENSSE method can be beneficial for most health issues, especially for hormonal conditions like menopause, endometriosis, or general health. It covers mindset, goal-setting, nutrition, sleep, stress management, and exercise – all essential pillars of health.

For more sleep tips, check out my earlier episode on sleep. Pick one thing to work on. Start there, and once you feel better, you’ll be motivated to try something else. Managing stress can be as simple as adding deep breathing or mindfulness colouring to your day. Exercise is also great for stress; a quick walk outside can make a big difference, especially if you’re working in an office.

For exercise, a walk or five to ten minutes of resistance training is a great start. Maybe grab some cans from the cupboard and do a mini workout, or dance around the kitchen while the kettle’s boiling. Movement, nutrition, sleep, and stress management all play into motivation. You could set a goal to train for something, like a race or a dance-a-thon, or work towards a holiday goal, like a walking holiday.

I remember before a holiday to Portugal, I signed up for a challenge to walk 10,000 steps daily. That habit helped me keep up with the walking despite the heat. I’m naturally competitive, so challenges like this work for me. You might need a different type of motivation. It could be anything that gets you excited about sticking to a habit. If you’re not naturally competitive, find what does motivate you.

So, another short and sweet episode of me rambling on. Hopefully, you’ve picked up a few tips. Ultimately, it’s about setting goals, changing your mindset, and tackling barriers that prevent progress. Start with one thing that takes you closer to your goals. Don’t worry about everything else; avoid overwhelm by focusing on just one step at a time.

Imagine a staircase or a big mountain. Don’t look at the whole thing – just take one step, see how it goes, then take another. Eventually, you’ll reach the top. Please join us in the Facebook group – I’ll put the link in the show notes. Let me know what you use for motivation, or if you need more ideas, come to the group. I can help with tips and ideas to get you started. Until next time, take care. Bye-bye.