Motivation: Key to Elation

Let me be honest with you: this was a rough week. Things were less than ideal at both work and school. My friend and I had been planning all week to go to an early morning yoga workout on Thursday, which I was hoping would rescue me from my misery. But, alas, something came up, and she couldn’t make it. Before going to bed Wednesday night, I was talking to my boyfriend, Justin, about what I was going to do the next day. For those of you who do not know Justin, he rarely says anything serious. The conversation went something like this…

Me: Well, I’ll still go to yoga by myself. I really need to workout tomorrow.

Justin: Ok, muffin.* Yeah, you should go.

Me: Ugh, who am I kidding? I’m not going to wake up super early to go; then I will be stuck in traffic on the way back. By the time I shower and get ready, I won’t be able to start schoolwork until 10. I have so much to do.

Justin: I really admire your commitment to working out.

Me: Ugh, this is NOT a time for your sarcasm. I’m having a rough week!

Justin: No, I’m being serious. Whether or not you go tomorrow, you are really committed to finding time to do the kinds of workouts you like. I want to be able to do that too, but I just can never find the motivation to make time to workout.**

My main muffin man, Justin.

This conversation along with my pathetic week of working out got me thinking about motivation. I think about motivation for working out on 2 different levels. What are the greater, big-picture reasons why I value working out? What are the more trivial, day-to-day things that actually get my butt exercising?

When I was in high school, I remember my aunt (a registered dietician) and my mom telling me that I should start exercising when I was young, so that I would have good habits when I was older. Aside from my brief stints in softball and gymnastics in elementary school, I never played competitive sports in high school (or danced, etc.), which is where I think a lot of people first get into a routine of “exercising.” However, when I moved to California from Buffalo, NY during my junior year of high school, I needed a hobby…and fast. I made friends slowly in school, but I needed something else to keep me busy and not focused on missing all of my friends back home in Buffalo. Are you all noticing a theme here? I often turn to working out at key transition times in my life when I lack friends. In my unrealistic and naïve mind, I always thought working out in social places might lead me to making friends. While that usually has not ever panned out, workout classes have always given me something to do that makes me feel really good about myself. Getting back to my story, when I first moved here, I signed up for tae kwon do classes. So, at the ripe old age of 16, I finally started to get in shape. On and off since this time in my life, I have always aspired to be in shape.

So why do I work out? On the higher level, I work out because I like to be healthy, fit, and strong. I know in the long-term, working out (along with my love of vegetables) will contribute to a long, healthy life. I want to establish healthy routines now, so that when I have kids, I can not only teach them to be healthy but show them through my actions. I also strive to be fit because I like looking good. I feel more confident when I look good. Even though that sounds superficial, it’s just true. My best friends know that when they’re having a bad day, when they are hating life, when someone hurts their feelings, I often respond, “Hey! Chin up…just because that happened, it doesn’t mean you’re not pretty!” Usually, that sounds absolutely ridiculous and inappropriate, which makes the other person laugh. Last but not least, I like to feel strong. I’m small, but I definitely pack some heat.

Even with my lofty goals of being healthy and looking good, I still need something to actually get me motivated each day….er I mean, each week (I won’t put up a front, I don’t work out daily)…to put on my workout clothes and get out the door doing something. What are some of those daily motivators? For starters, I’m a much happier (and nicer) person to be around once I’ve gotten a daily dose of endorphins coursing through my body. As frustrated as I can become doing statistics, working out makes me completely forget about whatever struggles I’ve faced during the day. This is usually a result of the fact that I choose to do workouts that are like jigsaw puzzles for my mind…i.e., dancing, tying myself in knots on the silks of aerial arts, balancing in weird positions in yoga, etc. Liz, my primal yoga teacher, said to me after class this week, “I feel like if I get my martial arts out in the studio, I’m a much nicer person on the streets.” My sentiments exactly!

Sure, working out makes me feel good, but sometimes I’m just too darn tired or lazy or busy or (you fill in the blank). What gets me to my workout destination in those despairing moments?

Having a workout date with a friend! Julie, my own certified personal trainer, holds me accountable for our 7:30 am workout dates! Paula, my neighbor, carpools with me to all of our fun dance classes. Debbie, my compañera de life, accompanies me to yoga classes or even the dreadful gym at times. Michele and Cristal, my classmates, like to shake our school stress away together. These people, who at times may be annoyed by my incessant texts to workout with me, hold me accountable.



Wearing workout clothes all day! Yes, folks, I have the privilege of wearing whatever I want to work. When I was a preschool teacher, I always wanted to work somewhere that I could look professional. Now I work in a tall office building where that would be quite appropriate, but, yes, I stroll in wearing yoga pants and sneakers. If I wear it all day, I feel pressured to workout in the evening. I should not walk around all day in neon yellow sneakers if I am not going to workout. It’d be like I was lying to everyone who saw me that day. I know when they see me they probably feel bad about themselves for not working out…so if I just go home without working out, I’d feel like I was lying to everyone I encountered that day.

Not washing my hair! This may be TMI, but I wash my hair every other day. There’s an occasional third day, however, that I sometimes feel like I can get away with an extra day without washing hair if I’m absolutely sure I am going to work out. [Side note: I really dislike hair washing days because I don’t like blow-drying my hair. If I don’t blow dry my hair, I look like a grease ball by slicking my hair back into a wet ponytail. Some people can pull that look off, I just look like a grease ball or a boy. Anyhow, that’s an unnecessary slippery slope.] On that third day, though, if I can conceivably make a good case for not washing my hair because I’m going to work out later, then by golly I don’t have to blow-dry! BUT, if I don’t wash my hair, and I don’t workout, that’s just gross. So, there you have it, not washing my hair encourages me to workout.

Signing up in advance for classes! At most aerial classes, you have to sign up in advance due to limited class sizes. You lose your money if you don’t cancel your class 24 hours in advance. Therefore, I never miss a class that I’ve already paid for.

Expiration dates on Groupons, Living Socials, and AmazonLocalDeals! Um, duh. I’m on too much of a budget to not use my work out deals! Those expiration dates have quite a way with me in getting me out the door to use them up.

A Penny for Your Thoughts?

• What are the big-picture reasons why you value working out?
• What are the everyday motivators that actually get you working out?

*Yes, he really calls me muffin at times. Some people have “pet” names; we have food names.

**He wants you all to know that even though he isn’t motivated to workout like I am, he is a motivator in life. He teaches high school history and coaches basketball. Through those positions, he motivates others for a living.