Tag Archives: motivation

Getting my Butt Into Gear

As usual, I have been suffering a serious case of post-holiday blues. I don’t think I ever really got over my holiday back in February, and now having come back from another trip I feel yet another week behind myself; struggling to find motivation, or enough hours in the day.

I’ve gotta shake this.

I always find when I go on holiday, without fail I get this weird surge of motivation to buck up and get my ass back into a routine, or I find a tonne of inspiration or decide to make a change. This kicked in at the very start of my trip, and I spent the majority of the flight out to LA scribbling away in my notebook. Upon my return home, however, it’s all gone out the window..

The difficulty came out of the fact that I went straight back to work the next day, still riddled with jet lag, and then on top of that, found out that a bunch of my work shifts had changed, which already threw my plans out of sync. I’ve been really struggling to get out of bed all week, and have little to no motivation to kickstart any of the activities on the action plan I wrote on the plane.

No more.

While I can’t help the jet lag, I can help myself. It’s time for me to pull myself together and stop feeling sorry for myself. I don’t want to be the person who hasn’t got any blog posts scheduled – that’s never been me, but for the last month or so it’s a daily occurence. I’m noticing changes in my body because I’ve been either skipping gym sessions or not having time for them, and this always makes me feel worse. I need to make myself happier again, and here are a few things on my plan of attack:

– Sort my Etsy store out – I have a bunch of new pocket and ear designs to get out, and I’ve just released my custom Minnie Mouse skirts, but I also need to sort out getting a proper logo and some business cards so I can promote myself better.

– Declutter my kitchen – my little kitchen has been driving me mad because I haven’t had time to give it a proper re-organise, and have lacked the time to do so, but I’ve written a step my step plan of what to do so I’m just waiting for a day off to get it all sorted.

– Get my blog back up to scratch – is ashamed to have gone from the blogger who has everything planned weeks and months in advance to the person who knocks something out the night before, and while I would never publish something I thought was sub-standard just for the sake of it, I’m also not as happy with some of my recent content as I have been before, and I think my stats are reflecting this. Time for change!

– Put more time into THFC – I hate that I’ve let The Happiest Fitness Co suffer as a result of my slump. I love my small business but I just haven’t had the time to give to it recently, but this is going to change so watch this space!

The next couple of weeks are gonna be busy but it’s the kind of busy I look forward to, and I know it’s gonna make me feel so much better in the long run! If you’ve ever been through something similar or have any tips, please drop me a comment!

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#fitfordisney – Fitness Motivation

The biggest response I get from people when I tell them about my training routine is ‘how on Earth do you find the motivation to: wake up at 7 to go to the gym/go for an 8 mile run after a 9 hour shift/choose a salad over a burger?’

Motivation is a funny thing really; different things work for different people, and I’ve written before about what motivates me, but there are a few methods that in my experience work really well:

1. Tell everyone what you’re doing

Be prepared to annoy people. Tell everyone about what you’re up to, post photos of your healthy meals on social media, share those pre/post gym selfies! While you might feel like everyone’s getting bored of it, by making your actions public, you’re more likely to keep it up because it feels like more people are involved; if you slip up, its not just yourself who knows about it. (I probably haven’t put this into words very well, but it works, promise!)

2. Never forget that end goal.

Surround yourself with your vision. Personally, I’ve plastered pictures around the edge of my bedroom mirror to remind me of the body I want and the clothes I want to look good in. I also follow a lot of fitness accounts on social media, so whenever I check what’s going on in the world, I’m greeted with motivational images.

3. Reward the small steps

Sometimes the bigger picture can seem so far off that it can be a struggle to keep fighting for it, so don’t forget to reward the little victories eg. a new PB, another step towards your goal weight etc with a little treat.

4. Surround yourself with like-minded people

Friends, family, coworkers, whoever, seek out other fitness boffs around you who you can talk to about your training, share advice and keep you motivated!

5. Don’t do it alone

If you struggle to motivate yourself, find someone else to motivate, and they in turn will keep you going! Get yourself a gym buddy or a running partner, or join a class – being surrounded by others gives you the umpf to work harder.

6. Dress to impress

Its not a superficial thing, its genuinely true that wearing nicer workout clothes makes you feel better about yourself while you’re sweating yourself fitter!

7. Do it for yourself, and don’t let anyone get in your way

°o°

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What Motivates Me; The Runner, The Blogger, and the Everyday Girl

Motivation is something that I, and I guess most people, battle with constantly. One minute I’m super pumped to get everything and anything done, then all of a sudden *poof* I’ve spent 3 hours watching Friends re-runs and browsing Pinterest..

But believe it or not, I’m an incredibly driven person, and there are many things that really boost my motivation:

1. Competition

You can probably guess that I’m a crazy competitive person, but everyone is, right? Its the runner in me; I run faster in races surrounded by other people, push harder in the gym when its busier, and eat better when I’m out with friends. Its not always about smashing the competition, as much as it is about having the drive to prove what you are capable of.

2. Numbers

This sounds odd, but its really another aspect of my competitive nature: beating myself. I’m always looking at numbers – running pace, blog views, social media followers, sales figures etc – and its purely for the purpose of knowing where I’ve come from and where I am now. During training, I pester Dad constantly.. ‘What distance are we at?’ ‘What pace are we running?’ ‘What did we do last time?’, and its not because I’m curious, its because I’m constantly working out how much better we’re doing, eg. our record for 5 miles has dropped from over 1 hour to 55 minutes in the past 2 months.

Similarly, I check my blog stats daily. I need to know how many people are reading, what’s most popular, when is traffic busiest.. I check Instagram so frequently I’m amazed my phone screen hasn’t worn away where the app button is, and its all because new likes, comments and followers make my day, and that keeps me happy and excited to post!

In life, its just as much of a drive, just slightly more boring.. I monitor spending and savings to the point where it becomes slightly anal, I countdown days til big events and holidays, I even count my steps! What can I say, numbers just do it for me, I guess..

3. Targets

Sometimes the main goal can seem so far away, so I always set smaller targets to keep my spirits up along the way.

As a runner, it could be as big as the next mile, or as small as the next step, but having something to concentrate on and aim for makes it all the more easier. When I have writers block, which happens ALL the time, even just finishing the paragraph can feel like a great success, and that feeling pushes me to get the next sentence, next paragraph and next post finished.

4. Who benefits from what I’m doing

I don’t think I would describe myself as totally selfless, but I don’t do anything without thinking about those around me; who might it affect, what do they think etc..

I run for myself, I run because I do it with my dad, and sometimes I run for charity. When I’m writing I’m thinking about my readers and what they enjoy, and with every decision I make in life I’m constantly considering my family, friends and those around me.

5. What am I getting out of it

See, not totally selfless! Every time I lose drive, I have to remind myself why I’m doing it and what I’m going to gain. Every run is another step towards my fitness goal, every gym workout contributes to a body I can be proud of, and it gives me a kick to know I’m eating healthy!

As far as blogging goes, the benefits for myself are really just the good feeling I get from sharing my experiences with my readers; I’m not in blogging for the ‘fame’ or anything, its just nice to get the words out..

Life is probably where I have to keep reminding myself of why I’m doing what I’m doing most often. When I’m regretting picking up that extra shift or two, I have to keep telling myself that I need the money (see, those darn numbers doing it for me again), and reminding myself that I’d otherwise just be sat at home watching rubbish on tv! Spending bans are for savings goals, long days and late nights are because work has to be done, and salads instead of burgers are because I want to live a healthier life.

What motivates you?
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Why get #fitfordisney?

Alongside a number of other upcoming events in my life, Disney is a big reason for improving my fitness levels.

‘Why do I need to be fit to go to Disneyworld?’

Yes, its a theme park, not an assault course, but there are still a number of reasons for hitting the gym before your trip;

1. You underestimate how much walking you’re going to do – the average guest covers around 7 miles per day in the park (I’m going to do some research on this during my trip with the help of my Fitbit), and if you’re not accustomed to walking long distances, or if you’re going in the scorching summer season, it can be a shock to the system.

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2. Disney food is to die for – the last thing you want on your holiday is to be on a diet; where’s the fun in that?! With ice-cream sandwiches, bakeries on every corner and some of the coolest restaurants in the world, you shouldn’t have to be concerned with calorie counting, skipping meals or feeling guilty about what you eat.

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3. Disney workout clothes – check out what Lookhuman have to offer, but Etsy and other places have amazing stuff too!

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4. If you’re going to run just one distance race in your life, runDisney – runDisney organise running weekends and festivals, and yes, the course you run is around the parks! Each weekend/festival usually has a 5k, 10k and half marathon, as well as a Fitness Expo, and these events run throughout the year at both Disney World Florida and Disneyland California. A runDisney half marathon is very high on my Disney bucketlist!

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5. Looking good on your holiday – whether its a summer bikini body or just slimming down for photos, a holiday is one of the most common reasons people give for wanting to get fit. It also gives you an excuse to splurge on new clothes, especially if you’re going to be hitting the outlets!

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I’m not a total selfie nut, promise! These pictures are from my Instagram @lottiedoesdisney and I tag my workout pictures with #fitfordisney 🙂

Now.. how #fitfordisney are you?

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