The past month has been a big one for the Goddess girls and I.

In case you missed the plethora of social media posts, last weekend 12 of us completed the Oxfam 50km Trailwalker together (more on that later)!

We also finished up our Goddess 12-week Winter Wellness Challenge – with the girls achieving some awesome results! And I had the chance to not only meet but get up on stage and box with, one of the legends of the health and fitness industry, Michelle Bridges.

It was during that encounter with Michelle at an entrepreneur’s summit I was attending that I had a bit of a lightbulb moment. She said something that I’ve been thinking about (and saying to my clients) for some time: motivation is BS. Total crap, she reckons! And she was partially right. What she meant was, no one (not even her) is motivated 24-7/ 365. And thinking you need to be motivated to make a change or achieve a goal is setting yourself up to fail (or worse, to not even start).

What powers motivation – and what will drive you to keep going long after that initial surge of motivation has faded – is having a GOAL. And the bigger the better, I reckon. That’s not to be mistaken with having a big DREAM – because unless you have a plan to achieve it, a dream is just a wish. What I mean is, set a big goal and then work for it. That is the secret to being and staying motivated.

At the start of our Goddess 12-week challenges, I ask all the girls to set a goal (if they have an aesthetic one I encourage them to set a performance-based goal too, such as run the 7km Bay Run without stopping). Because although 12 weeks is not a long time in the scheme of things, it can feel like a long time if you don’t know what your purpose is.

The key to setting that goal is making it something meaningful to you; something that aligns with your values. There’s no point saying “I want to do a half marathon” if you hate running, otherwise training for it will be a chore!

One of the Goddesses, Patricia, a mum of two who was part of our Online Winter Wellness Challenge, set out to squat 100kg by the end of the 12 weeks. And despite an overseas holiday and various other life distractions during the 12 weeks, she stuck to her vision.

She said: “I smashed my goals by the end of 12-week winter challenge. I can now squat with 100kg (a gain of 25kg). And I can deadlift 90kg (a gain of 35kg). My diet has improved considerably. I’m in the ‘I feel good’ zone!”. She also lost 3.5kg over the challenge so she got stronger AND leaner.Simple diet swaps, consistent training and determination to achieve her goals were all key to her awesome results.

Here’s what successful (or as they might appear to the outside world, “motivated”) people generally have in common:

1) They set a goal/s. It might be a long-term goal – one of the Goddess girls, Mel, when she first started training with me, said her motivation was to not be a frail old person! Or it might be short-term: in our 12-week Winter Wellness challenge, mum-of-three Donna set herself the goal to be able to do 20 push-ups on her toes by the end. Goals keep you accountable (to yourself and to someone else if you have a coach or teammates). What’s important is that you find your WHY. If you know WHY you’re doing something, that will keep you going when motivation fades and things get hard.

2) Routine. Once you’ve set your goals, develop a routine that revolves around achieving your goals. When the Goddesses and I signed up for the 50km Trailwalker, we committed to a training plan that would help us achieve that goal. It won’t be easy at first – any change is challenging – but if you keep coming back to your WHY, you’ll be able to stick with it. 

3) Habit. This is where it does become easier. After a while, your routine becomes a habit, and putting in the effort towards your goals doesn’t seem like such hard work.

4) Rinse and repeat. Don’t be content once you hit your goal – congratulate yourself, sure, but then pick a new goal and bring on the next challenge! That 100km Trailwalker is looking very tempting next year…

If you want some help setting – and smashing – your own goals, our Goddess 12-week Spring Challenge starts Monday, September 10!

I’m taking enrolments for both our online and in-person options NOW so if you’re keen to hear more, email me and I’ll send you the details or answer any questions!

Amy xx

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