How to Keep Going When You Can’t Be Bothered (Motivation’s Not the Problem – This Is)
Some days, you feel on it:
🎧 You smash your workout
🥗 Eat the healthy lunch
✅ Get loads done
💪 Feel like this is it
Other days? You hit snooze, forget your water bottle, and suddenly it’s 4pm and you’re wondering if biscuits count as lunch.
The truth is: motivation is great — but it’s unreliable.
If you’re waiting to “feel motivated” all the time, you’ll be waiting a very long time.
The good news? You don’t need it.
Here’s what actually works 👇
First, Let’s Talk About the Two Types of Motivation 🧠
You’ve probably heard the terms intrinsic and extrinsic motivation before — but what do they actually mean?
Extrinsic motivation is when you’re driven by external rewards:
🏅 Wanting to fit into old jeans
📆 A holiday coming up
👀 Other people noticing a difference
There’s nothing wrong with this — but it wears off fast. Once the holiday’s over or the comments stop, so does the drive.
Intrinsic motivation is the opposite — it comes from within:
🧘♀️ Wanting to feel more energised
💪 Getting stronger each week
🧠 Knowing it helps your mental health
🏃♀️ Enjoying the way movement makes you feel
That’s the kind of motivation that sticks.
So the real question is: how do you build more of that?
1. Action Comes First — Motivation Comes After 🔁
We’ve been taught to wait until we feel like doing something before we do it.
But often, it works the other way round.
You don’t need to feel good to get started — you start, and then you feel good.
How many times have you said:
“I didn’t want to do it… but I’m glad I did”?
Instead of waiting for a spark, try this:
👟 Stick your trainers on
🎶 Put on a playlist
⏳ Tell yourself: “Just 5 minutes”
🚶🏽 Move — even if it’s just round the block
That’s how you start building intrinsic motivation — by linking the action to how it makes you feel, not just what it might change about your body.
2. Discipline Isn’t Harsh — It’s Helpful 🧠
Discipline sounds like punishment — but it’s the opposite. It’s how you take care of yourself when your brain’s trying to talk you out of it.
Think of it like brushing your teeth. You don’t wait to be “in the mood” — you just do it.
Do the same with movement:
🗓️ Book it in like a meeting
👚 Lay your kit out the night before
🚫 Remove the choice (“will I? won’t I?”)
Make it easy to stick to — especially on the low-energy days.
3. Your Environment Shapes Your Habits 🏡
You’re not lazy. But if your environment pulls you away from your goals, motivation alone won’t save you.
Change your surroundings to make the healthy choice the easy one.
✅ Leave your weights or resistance bands where you’ll see them
✅ Follow accounts that motivate, not guilt-trip
✅ Keep quick, healthy meals on hand
✅ Get an accountability buddy — a text can be the nudge you need
4. You’re Not Failing — You’re Just Human 💬
Some days you’ll be on it.
Some days you won’t.
Some days, the biscuits will absolutely win.
That doesn’t mean you’ve failed — it just means you’re a normal person.
The key is not to let a bad day turn into a bad week.
Consistency isn’t built on perfection. It’s built on doing something, most of the time.
5. Don’t Wait to “Feel Ready” — Just Start Where You Are 🧩
You don’t need to overhaul your life to get started.
📍 Start with 2–3 workouts a week
📍 Go for a walk instead of scrolling
📍 Make one meal a day a little more balanced
📍 Notice how you feel — that’s your intrinsic drive building
This is where lasting motivation comes from — not from a Pinterest quote, but from experiencing real progress, real energy, and real strength.
The Bottom Line:
Motivation is a bonus — not a strategy.
It comes and goes. What sticks is how you show up anyway.
At Coached FITT, we help you build a plan that works for your energy, your time, your body — and your real life.
No guilt-trips. No all-or-nothing. Just fitness that fits you.
Ready to build habits that stick? Let’s go 🔥
