Motivation or Willpower, What Matters if You Want To Get Fit?

Willpower and its better-known cousin motivation are the subject of much scientific research. Getting in shape will require a measure of each.

This discussion focuses on the differences and why it’s important to distinguish between them. Getting it right will help you achieve your fitness goals. Let’s start with some definitions.

Motivation vs. Willpower

Motivation is the desire to do something that will enhance your life in some way. It has purpose and you believe accomplishing it will transport you to a better place. You believe in your ability to achieve whatever the desired end result is.

Some of the highest levels of motivation come from money, fear, and health concerns. Health or the lack of it will be the focus of this article.

You generally tend to attach positive feelings towards motivation as opposed to willpower, which often conjures thoughts of extreme effort and carries negative slant. If you’ve given in to temptation, you hope your deeper motivation will return you to the righteous path. 

Willpower, on the other hand, is the short-term strategy and strength of mind to get you through high intensity moments like temptations and impulses. It’s the ability to delay gratification and override unwanted thoughts that will derail your efforts. 

Determination and discipline are the cornerstones of willpower. The more you exercise willpower the more you use up the amount that is available to you. Put another way, you only have so much of it, it’s not an endless supply. It needs to be topped up so to speak every so often, through small victories.

To explore willpower techniques you need to know your “why” first. That “why” will be the motivation behind your willpower when willpower needs to go into action.

Ask yourself these questions and be prepared to dig deep for your answers.

• Why do you want to _______________?  Fill in the blank with the desired behavioural change.

Examples:

-Lose weight

-Get fitter

-Run a marathon

-Eat a nutritious diet

• Why is that outcome so important to you?

         -You want to feel better

         -You want to live longer

         -You want to look more attractive

• When you think about your outcomes and the reasons you want them, what emotion does that illicit? If there is no strong emotion, you need to dig deeper on your “whys”.

Your Deeper Why

If for instance becoming fitter means you can expect to live longer, that seems like a good source of motivation. But why do you want to live longer? 

Maybe it’s because you want to make sure you’re around to help out your kids someday when they get married and have families. You realize that if you don’t look after yourself you won’t be here when they need you. 

Now you’ve discovered your real “why”, the deeper motivation. It’s the emotional connection to a fear. You fear a world for your kids without you.

Keep that emotion of fear in mind, it will be used later.

If your goal is to make healthy life choices so as to become fitter or lose weight but you decide to sit in front of a TV all night munching snacks, you have demonstrated that your “why” is not that important (at least at that moment). Your willpower was quite low. 

Strengthen willpower by dwelling on your deeper motivation for making change and by forming good habits (small wins) that help you see progress.

So with those definitions in mind, which is more important to keep you on your fitness path? Clearly, both are important. Think of motivation as your underlying mind-set, your long-range perspective of making improvement in your life. Willpower is your day-to-day shield to deflect temptations that can derail your progress.