Fake It 'Til I Make It

Over the weekend, I was asked how I stay motivated. It was a pretty easy question to answer: "I fake it 'til I make it."

I'm not 100-something pounds and able to ride a century. Even though in distance I might be holding out a bit longer, when it comes down to it, my 9-year-old still outruns me. I can only use a 10-pound barbell and a 15-pound dumbell for my arms exercises. And forget any yoga handstands.

The thing is, I don't focus on the fact that I can't yet ride farther/run faster/lift more, I focus on the goal. I focus on where I want to be. At the start of my twelve weeks, I took a long look at what healthy looks like - from activity to food - and decided to live it. Sure, I can't do everything I want yet, but I'm trying. And the more I try, the better - and closer - I get.

I am not where I want to be, but I'm pretending I am. I'm "faking it" and imaging myself as a strong, fit person, and doing things a strong fit person would do. And one day, I'll "make it" to where I want to be.

So how do I stay motivated? I fake it 'til I make it.

All that said, none of the above means that I'm 100% motivated 100% of the time. I have my down days, but I don't beat myself up about them ("You're such a failure"). Neither do I try to justify them ("You must have needed the rest"). I just accept the down days as part of my energy/motivation cycle and move on. And, as best I can, I make myself put one foot in front of the other and get out the door, because once I'm moving, the motivation has this magical way of returning.

Fake it 'til I make it.

How do you stay motivated?