Commitment over motivation: The secret to lasting change
Every day we are bombarded with information about the importance of healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, setting goals… manifesting our dream lives… Everywhere we look there are ‘top tips’ that we know we already know – sound familiar? Whether it’s reducing sugar, making sure we eat our 5 a day, (or 10 a day these days!) making sure we take a lunch break and find some ‘me time’. We all know what to do, or at least where to get the information from, but why is it SO difficult for us to do it?
I had a client who came to me recently feeling stuck and chaotic. She wanted to improve her health but kept waiting for that magical motivation. “I just need to feel motivated,” she said. Sound familiar?
We’ve all been there haven’t we….waiting for Monday to roll around, for the perfect weather, for the gap in the calendar, or for life to feel less chaotic before we start making healthier choices. But the point is, waiting for motivation is like waiting for a bus that never shows up. We are often waiting for the ‘feeling’ to come first, and it doesn’t happen like that. That’s when we get stuck in not taking action. Our feelings of motivation may get us started on the right track, but we may not get very far because our feelings change by the hour (or by the minute!).
Through our coaching sessions and having the space and time to talk, we figured out what was important to her, and committed to just one small action each day, no matter how unmotivated she felt. At first, it was simple: adding a glass of water in the morning, walking for ten minutes after dinner, or writing down one positive thing about her day. She did it – I could tell she didn’t buy into it at first, then something surprising happened – after a couple of weeks, she found herself looking forward to these small changes. That dreaded motivation she’d been waiting for? It showed up, all because she had taken ‘action’ first (simple, small actions).
Commitment is your superpower!
Commitment goes beyond just setting goals; it’s about making a promise to yourself and showing up even when it’s hard. It’s about knowing your “why.” Maybe it’s wanting more energy to play with your kids, feeling confident in your clothes, or simply waking up feeling good.
Imagine you had offered to help a friend and look after her dog while she was on holiday for a week. This involved feeding her dog, walking the dog twice a day… making sure she was safe. The weather is nice initially and the walks are going well, then the weather changes and the rain starts for the next few days. You wouldn’t just give up and say, oh sorry I didn’t feel motivated to walk your dog for the last few days because the weather was rubbish and I couldn’t be bothered to go out to get her dog food… You would carry on because you had made a commitment. Commitment means following a plan even when you don’t feel like it.
As Tony Robbins famously said, “The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment.” When you align your actions with what truly matters to you, commitment becomes a powerful force that keeps you moving forward.
More often than not, waiting for motivation is like staring at an empty plate and hoping dinner appears. But the moment you take action – whether it’s chopping vegetables or dusting down your trainers – you set things in motion. Each small step builds momentum, and that momentum propels the motivation we were waiting for.
Success in health and wellness doesn’t come from grand gestures or perfect conditions. It’s built on a series of small, deliberate steps. When you commit to showing up for yourself every day, even in the smallest ways, you create a ripple effect that leads to lasting change.
So if you’re waiting for motivation, try this instead: just take one small action today. And then tomorrow, take another. You might be surprised at the transformation that unfolds.
What’s the one small change you are going to make today ?
