How can you mmotivate yourself into doing something? Lets say I really want to loose weight but I am not motivated! How can I motivate myself? Also, how do you motivate yourself into doing something. I would apperciate the info. Thanks
Find a partner to exercise and suffer with as you diet- each of you will end up motivating the other to actually show up at the gym, stick to the diet, etc. You can also throw some competition into it 
Arjuna34
I would never be able to find a partner and if i was able to, I wouldnt want one. Thanks anyways.
You might try entering into a “master/slave” relationship with someone, and request that they order you to do whatever it is.
You have to really want to do it. You have to CHANGE WHAT YOU WANT. That means asking yourself questions much more serious than just “Do I really want to? Ah… what’s one more burger?”
Well, like Ross said, you’ve really got to want to do it. It’s something I struggle with myself.
One place where I have found some really neat motivational quotes is here. I’ve gone into their archive of old newsletters, pulled out the motivational quotes for the week, and saved them in a wordprocessing document. Every now and then, I go in and skim through my collection and when I find one that really resonates for me, I’ll print it out and carry it around with me in my pocket to remind me to think about it.
Good luck…
Kriss,
I motivate myself by creating a situation where the thing I want to accomplish is as easy as possible.
In this case I can give some specific advice. I’m the only thin person from a family of obese people (and no I don’t have an eating disorder).
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For exercise you’re supposed to have fun. After all, we play sports. So go meet some people. Visit athletic stores. Try some stuff you see advertised in magazines. Once you find the thing you love so much that you’d sneak out of work early to do it, the rest is easy.
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For diet listen to your body. Every overweight person I’ve ever met was taught during childhood to continue eating after they already felt full in order to finish the plate. Thin people stop before the full feeling sets in. Follow a basically balanced diet and enjoy treats in moderation. The rest will take care of itself.
First, think about what your goal is. A good goal has three basic characteristics: it’s specific, it’s realistic, and it’s flexible. Following the weight loss example, a good weight loss goal would be something like, “I want to lose about 20 pounds within a year.” A goal like this is specific (how much weight, within what time frame), realistic (unlike those ‘50 pounds in six months’ schemes), and flexible (the amount of weight and the time frame allow for some leeway, moreso than if you said “I want to be 25 pounds thinner by August 1.”).
Second, try to break that goal down into smaller, more manageable, more easily-accomplished subgoals. Start by asking yourself what exactly you need to do to reach your larger goal. Again following this weight loss example, if you were to break that down into subgoals, maybe you’d divide it into two main subgoals: eating a more balanced diet, and exercising (more). From there, ask yourself the same question: How do I go about doing this? What kind of diet would be best for losing weight? What kinds of exercise programs would be best for losing weight?
Two points come up here. One, it’s wise to evaluate how you do things before you make changes. If you’re not good with controlling your willpower, don’t take on anything that will make you rely on your willpower. Ask yourself what your lifestyle allows. Swimming might be the best weight-loss exercise, for example, but if you live nowhere near a body of water fit for swimming in, it’s silly to decide to start swimming.
Ask yourself this: of the options available to me, what’s the best one for me?
And second, allow for some flexibility, even if you’ve already chosen from your options. Things can pop up unexpectedly, and if you chose too strict a course, you won’t have much success coping with those unexpecteds.
Keep breaking the goals down until you have smaller, insanely easily attainable goals. (Sorta what scampering gremlin said.) Even if it’s as easy as “Eat an extra helping of fruits and vegetables at lunch today.” The easier your goal is to attain, the greater the chances are you’ll reach it. And once you get on a roll where you’ve consistently met a succession of subgoals, it gets a lot easier to continue doing that; you’ll be encouraged by your performance, you’ll feel confident, and since you’ll probably see some of the benefits of your efforts by then, you’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment.
Once you know what your goal is and how to work towards it, the challenge is in making yourself stick with it. The changes you impose on yourself might feel awkward, or you might get easily discouraged. Keep in mind, though, that chances are, it’s the first time you’ve made any such effort like this, so there’s no way you’re going to make smooth, trouble-free progress. It helps if you anticipate feeling discouraged and encountering setbacks along the way. Try to think of ways to counteract those setbacks. It might also help to use some kind of incentive and/or reward system to keep your plan appealing to you. (Make sure, though, that they’re not rewards counterproductive towards your goal!)
Should those encouragement tactics fall short, it may help to remind yourself of your larger goal. Why are you suffering through bland food and draining exercise, when it’s so easy to plop on the couch and eat Thin Mints? Well, because your larger goal was to lose about 20 pounds by next year, and chugging Thin Mints won’t help you reach that. Even if you have to post a sign on your refrigerator that reads “Lose about 20 pounds within a year!”, the remiders will still be of help to you.
Gosh, long post. I’ll hush for now. I know I followed the weight loss example a lot, even though it was just an example situation posed in the OP. Hopefully my points were made in a manner flexible enough for you (or anyone else) to just sub in their own personal examples. If my post’s unclear or disjointed here and there, please pardon, as this is a highly condensed form of at least three of my class lectures. I’ll elaborate on this if anyone asks.
Good luck.
This thread, I think, will get a better response in IMHO. I’ll move it over there for you.
Great advice, all and I agree w/ all of it.
For me the biggest hurdle is the reluctance to simply start already. The dread of changing a habit is so much worse than just hauling off and doing it.
Truth? Motivation is great but I’m not often blessed with it, in terms of WANTING to do some things. Most often it’s an intellectual decision rather an emotional desire. So from that aspect going onto auto-pilot helps, just doing it rather than waiting to feel like doing it.
The real motivation kicks in when results become apparent; feels great, in fact. When the pounds start rolling off, clothes get looser, long stair climbs get easier, etc. THAT’S when actual motivation happens.
Then again, I’m a mental wimp. I’ve never been able to persuade myself I wanted to do anything until positive reinforcement kicked in.
Veb
Try looking towards the future…then look towards the future if your goal was completed. That is usally what I end up doing, and it tends to work pretty well.
A thread that’s relevant to me!
Well, i had a real problem with motivation and was a horrendous procrastinator. And i’m sorry to say there’s no easy solution. You really do just have to do it. You have to to take that first step, and it’s amazing how much easier it is after taking that first step. TVeblen put it perfectly - there’s often a big gap between the intellectual decision and the emotional desire to do something. But once you’ve taken physical action, the ball is rolling and once you get the reinforcement of results it’s a great feeling and it’ll be much easier.
Since the 17th Jan i have lost 20.5lb. I joined Weight Watchers on the 17th and i have to say i haven’t really looked back. Weightwatchers isn’t a “diet” as such, it’s simply a healthy eating plan. I have to say, i’ve no time for those “lose 50lb in 6 months” diets or Slimfast diets - they may make you lose weight in the short-term, but it’ll come right back when you’re done. The keys for me were focus and the online support i’ve got from WW support forums. It helps so much to have a plan laid out for you - the hard work is already done. I go to meetings once a week to get weighed in (and i never weigh myself between that time). There’s always a little talk after weighing in (on topics like how to deal with the cravings, how to not lose sight of your goal, helpful advice on low-fat alternatives to foods we all love, etc) and that helps to keep me motivated for the rest of the week. But of course, you have to do what works best for you and i’m not witnessing for WW here 
Have a look around at what you think might work best for you - and remember that something that works is not just something that will make you lose weight - you have to be able to enjoy it too or you’ll find it very hard to stick to.
I had reached a point where i was really unhappy about my weight and was finally ready to do something about it after procrastinating for more than a year. I made a list of all the reasons i could think of why i wanted to lose weight. I look at that aften to keep my goal in sight - it’s easy to give up if you don’t know why you’re doind it. After a few weeks of WW i joined the gym and i love it - something i never thought i’d say! Once the ball is rolling a large amount of motivation comes from seeing the positive effects of the changes you’re making to your body. You’ll feel fitter, slimmer and more confident. When you do well, reward yourself with non-edible treats (I buy myself a book). You deserve to feel better about your body and yourself and honestly, while it’s occasionally a bit of a struggle, it’s not as hard as you think it will be if it’s something you really want.
The weight won’t disappear immediately and that’s a good thing. The slower you lose, the more likely you are to keep it off. One pound a week is a healthy goal to aim for and it really does only take a few a little changes to make that difference. Just think - if you lose 1lb a week, that’s 2 whole sticks of butter you’ve gotten rid of! Doing an exercise you enjoy just one or two times a week can make an enormous difference. Have a think about the kind of things you enjoy - do you like to have some time to yourself? Take a walk! Maybe you could have a go at rollerblading. Do you like mixing with other people and having a laugh together? Join a beginner’s aerobics class! There’s a huge variety of activites you could have a go at - do a little research.
Now i know this is very easy to say, and can seem like the hardest thing to do. Sitting on a coach watching telly, it’s very easy to think “Oh, tomorrow i’ll have a look into it”, “I’m too tired”, “I’ll look like a fool and everyone will laugh at me”, “I haven’t got the time”. You have two choices - do it or don’t do it. It’s as simple as that. If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. You have to make a conscious decision to really do something and you can do it. Take it in small steps - AudreyK gave some brilliant advice there.
If you like, we can have our own weight-loss thread here and i’ll sponsor you on your way. Good luck and congratulations on taking the first step by posting this question in the first place. I’ll be quiet now, i promise
Fran