If there is one thing I’ve realized as a trainer and a coach… its that knowing techniques, tactics and theories is only a minor part of the equation. Sure, I can tell you HOW to drop the pounds. Sure, I can tell you how to gain some serious strength without forcing you to change weight classes and sure, I can tell you how pack on some muscle if need be, but that “how” only counts for 30… maybe 40% at BEST.

The other 60-70% is all mental! Make no mistake about it.

See, people know how to read information but they can’t get themselves to apply jack shit! We are in the age of “knowers” not “doers”. Why the fuck do you think the internet is littered with so called “gurus”? There is nothing “guru” about these losers… 99% of them talk some smack which is regurgitated from someone else, and the worst part is that they don’t practice what they preach.

This is were I like to differentiate myself. This is why I have more motivation articles than actual fitness article because let’s face it… most people know the “how”. If you want the how, download my HeadStart fitness report by entering your name & email in the top left opt-in box. It’s got a solid 3 week plan that will kick your panties to the curb.

Now let’s focus on the why so you can actually apply some shit.

Setting Goals

First, we can all agree that setting goals is important yes? I mean, if you don’t have something to aim for… then what the fuck are you shooting at? Why are you even trying? If I dropped a gun in your lap and said “shoot”… what would you shoot? I haven’t given you a target.

Same with fitness. WHY are you going to the gym? To look like you’re doing something? To check out hot asses? Whatever the reason may be, just make sure you have some kinda goal in mind.

Now comes the hard part. How exactly do you go about achieving that goal? Can you just DO IT? If you can, then your achievement motivation is strong, and it completely over shadows your avoidance motivation, which you no doubt have. In fact, everyone has some avoidance motivation.

That might be hard to believe (or not) but it’s true. For almost ANY goal you try and work towards, there is an inner conflict which you have to tackle… there is your motivation to achieve the goal, then there is your motivation to avoid the goal, because it will most likely require work… which will most likely require having to step outside your comfort zone.

Take a look at this nifty diagram I drew below. I can’t take credit for it’s CONTENT though. I drew it but I actually got it out of my friend’s text book…

“Psychology Frontiers and Applications” – Third Canadian Edition
Passer, Smith, Atkinson, Mitchell & Muir

When you lay eyes on this, it might look overwhelming or it might make perfect sense to you. Whatever, but for now I want you to focus on the two black lines; the solid one and the dashed one. Its time to enlighten you to my interpretation of this technical mess.

So the dashed line represents your achievement motivation as noted by the stick figure trying to run towards the bright green goal. The solid line represents your avoidance motivation as represented by the stick figure trying to run away from the bright green goal. (The terms are self-explanatory… I hope)

What’s interesting to note is that a lot of people who fail, tend to have (surprise surprise) a HIGH level of avoidance motivation. Here are some of the tools of the avoidance motivational douche: Excuses, Procrastination, Whining, Bitching, Self Victimization, Negative Thoughts, Pessimism, Overly Sensitive Ego… etc.

And unfortunately, a majority of the population tend to have a ridiculous amount of avoidance motivation. Just think about it…how many people do you know that are always negative? They don’t consciously mean to be, but just ARE? I used to know quiet a lot of them, but over the years I’ve cut out these “downers” and started hanging around people that have more achievement motivation. I like driven individuals… they rock my socks off.

But what if you don’t have a naturally high amount of achievement motivation? What to do? Well in my opinion… it can be turned around, as long as you push yourself at the right time. See when you set your sights on a goal by writing it down, you’ll start to take actions that lead closer to it. This means that just as you have a natural amount of avoidance motivation, you also have a natural amount of achievement motivation. And (in most cases) another name for this could be “willpower”.

However, there will be a point where you’re working at it and working at it and eventually the avoidance motivation catches up with you and now you find yourself saying shit like “ahh… why should I bother, it’s going to take way to long anyways, I don’t know if I want to achieve this goal anymore. But then again, I put in so much work already. What do I do?” This is the point of major inner conflict represented by that prominent red dot.

The choice you make at this CRITICAL POINT will determine whether you continue on and succeed or run back down that solid line of unmotivated futnuckers. What makes it worse is that sometimes your motivational lines are aligned differently and the point of intersection is just 2 feet away from the goal… so you’ll be trying and trying and you hit the point of inner conflict and for some reason you decide to give up. Not realizing that if you weren’t such a fucking pussy, and just hung in there longer, you would have achieved your goal that was only 2 feet away.

After spending a few hours analyzing and comparing this diagram to all my previous success and failures, I realized that there are 2 things I am 100% certain of…

1. You WILL hit a point of major (or minor) conflict. No one is immune to this… even if you happen to be one of the most motivated motherfuckers on the planet (Tony Robbins anyone?).

2. You WILL know when you’ve hit the point of internal conflict. Don’t think that this major point will just PASS you by or that you’ll miss your chance to make a decision. This isn’t a cheesy shooting-star moment. When you hit the point of conflict, trust me, you’ll know… and what you decide in that instant will ultimately determine the fate of your goal.

And that’s all I got. The most I can do is get you consciously aware of what will happen, how you handle it is up to you because everyone’s goals are different and their motivational factors are different. You can have some outside help and influence but it’s still your choice. It’s your life, you’re in the drivers seat, so you call the shots. And if you do ever feel like quitting… just remember, you could just be just 2 feet away from success.

Till next time… be reasonable, and do it my way!

- FitJerk

Discuss – Do you find your self naturally avoiding things that need to be done, or do you have the drive and have achievement motivation? How often do you reach your desired goals?