Your Motivation and Willpower

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
Being in the fitness business exposes Diane and me (former expediters now gym owners) to motivation issues all the time; not only in our own inner game but with gym members as well. Why do people work out in the first place? What motivates them to act? What motivates them to quit?

When faced with the many healthy vs. unhealthy choices each of us has in a typical day, what motivates us to do the healthy thing vs the unhealthy thing? Why is it that one day we happily choose the apple for a snack and another day we polish off a large bag of chips? Why is it that some days we are eager to get into the gym to work out but on others it is a challenge to make the trip or even do a few knee lifts where we stand right now? Why do you experience unhealthy cravings in the first place? Why do you give into them sometimes but overcome them other times?

Motivation applies to all domains of life. Christians practice their religion with devotion and then backslide. Office workers maintain pristine desktops and then let things pile up. Motorists keep their cars in top condition and then let them slide. People seek out uplifting people and conversations one day and slip into unproductive and harmful gossip the next. Sales people charge eagerly into their work one week and find it nearly impossible to pick up the phone the next. Married people keep their vows but some will break them when the temptation of another man or woman present themselves. Some people quit smoking for good, others quit only to take it up again. Expediters tend diligently to their trucks while on layover one week and lay idly for hours in front of the TV the next. The truck sleeper or cabinet that needs a good spring cleaning sometimes gets done, or it may remain dirty and cluttered for months.

A characteristic found among the most successful people and top performers in any field is strong willpower. If you want to improve your results in any area of life, one of the best things you can do for yourself is strengthen your willpower.

This is a fascinating topic that I now study on an ongoing basis. One of the best insights I have gained is that willpower is like a muscle. We can use it only so much before it gives out. The good news is that, like a muscle, willpower can be trained and made stronger. The even better news is that ways to strengthen your willpower are readily available and easy to apply. As with physical exercise, a certain amount of work is involved, and as with exercise, this work can be done by almost anyone, anywhere, anytime. Once you know what to do, it's easy to begin and it's easy to start slow and build strength and endurance from there.

One of the best books I have read on this is The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why it Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal. Check it out.

P.S. These thoughts were prompted by the thread Lawrence initiated: Need Motivation? It's Here! Rolling Strong Weekly Wellness Call. Participating regularly in calls like this is one of the things you can do to strengthen your willpower.
 
Last edited:

paullud

Veteran Expediter
I think the decision to workout is basically an attempt to end an addiction. Either the willpower or the addiction will end up being stronger and win the battle.
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
I think the decision to workout is basically an attempt to end an addiction. Either the willpower or the addiction will end up being stronger and win the battle.

The reasons for working out are as varied as the people who do it.

In our gym, there is a small number (very small) for whom working out is itself an addiction (compulsive behavior).

For many, working out is done to lose weight. It's not that they are addicted to something that they need to overcome by working out. It's that they lead inactive lives and take in more more food and drink than is required to sustain them.

There are others (students and executives especially) who work out not for the body but for their brain. They love the stress relief and emotional lift working out provides. They think more clearly at home and work, sleep better at night, have more energy and feel better throughout the day when they work out.

Others work out because they like the increased strength, mobility and stamina working out provides.

Others work out because they got scared into it by a heart attack or stern warning from their doctor.

Others start working out with a specific goal in mind. They are thinking about a wedding, class reunion or next season's bikini when they join the gym.

Some work out to regain lost body functions. For example, an elderly woman recently expressed great joy to us because she regained the ability to get up out of a chair in a normal fashion (using her legs alone). An elderly man was similarly delighted when he regained the ability to get in and out of his car on his own (notice the truck drivers who painfully struggle to get in and out of their trucks).

Numerous people find pain relief by exercising body parts that degraded over the years from minimal use. An example is a man who had 30% range of motion in one knee (movement without pain) when he started with us and now has 90% simply because he exercised.

Some work out to recover from an injury. We have a fair number of people who find the gym to be cheaper, more convenient and more effective than the physical therapy centers they left. Once they learn what to do, they come here because they like that they don't need an appointment, can do exercises additional to what the therapist allows in a given session and can get to the gym in five minutes instead of driving far to get to the therapy center and back.

There is the "exercise is medicine" crowd that have come off ridiculous amounts of medications by working out. This includes diabetics who have overcome their need for injected insulin by eating better and getting in shape.

A surprisingly common reason people join gyms is to keep up with their grandchildren. After years of inactivity, these grandparents want to run and play again. They are not addicted to anything in particular. It is a desire of the heart that gets them moving.

Another group of people who work out are sports trainers; ordinary people who want to improve their golf game or bowling score for example.

Some people work out specifically to improve their sex lives. They want to look good naked. Increased strength, mobility and stamina improves performance in bed.

For some, working out is a social activity. Groups of workout buddies form and come to the gym together. Married couples enjoy working out together and cheering each other on. For them, it's part of their quality time with each other.

There are truckers who start working out, not to overcome an addiction but to keep their job. While weight loss and lowering blood pressure is the physical goal, the motivation is to remain employed. Deep down, they don't care about their health, they never have, but they care deeply about staying behind the wheel.

While it is true what you say, "the decision to workout is basically an attempt to end an addiction," that is true for a small percentage of people. Beyond that, the reasons people work out are numerous.

In almost every case, working out on a regular basis requires willpower. A conflicting impulse to do something other than work out is always present. Conflicting impulses are part of everyday life in all domains (go to church or skip it? eat that sweet treat or not? watch TV or clean the garage? get the sleep you know you need or talk the night away with a group at the truck stop?).

For most people, it's not about overcoming addictions or trading one addiction for another. It's about being aware of your impulses and the choices you make. Justifying unhealthy behavior by attributing it to an addiction is a cop-out that implies you have no control.

If a true addiction exists you can focus on overcoming it (quit smoking, for example, like millions have). Where an addiction does not exist, citing an "addiction" as your reason for downing that full bag of chips, for example, is a lie you tell yourself to justify the deed. (What a great event! You hate being lied to by others but freely lie to yourself to gain the permission to spend money on toxic crap and stuff it into your body.)

Yes, the cravings for chips certainly exist but a craving is not an addiction. It is an impulse; one of many conflicting impulses you have as you go through your day. Self-control is a learned skill that people use to act on the impulses that lead to enhanced lives.

Explore this more by reading the book mentioned above.
 
Last edited:

paullud

Veteran Expediter
A surprisingly common reason people join gyms is to keep up with their grandchildren. After years of inactivity, these grandparents want to run and play again. They are not addicted to anything in particular. It is a desire of the heart that gets them moving.

My mom just did exactly that. She was going to be babysitting for a week while my brother and wife were away so she started working out before to make sure that she could keep up.

For most people, it's not about overcoming addictions or trading one addiction for another. It's about being aware of your impulses and the choices you make. Justifying unhealthy behavior by attributing it to an addiction is a cop-out that implies you have no control.

If a true addiction exists you can focus on overcoming it (quit smoking, for example, like millions have). Where an addiction does not exist, citing an "addiction" as your reason for downing that full bag of chips, for example, is a lie you tell yourself to justify the deed. (What a great event! You hate being lied to by others but freely lie to yourself to gain the permission to spend money on toxic crap and stuff it into your body.)

Yes, the cravings for chips certainly exist but a craving is not an addiction. It is an impulse; one of many conflicting impulses you have as you go through your day. Self-control is a learned skill that people use to act on the impulses that lead to enhanced lives.

Explore this more by reading the book mentioned above.

I view addiction as a continued behavior that someone engages in even though they know it has a negative impact. Now for a reasonably healthy person that occasionally loses the battle to that bag of chips it's not. A person that is unhealthy and overweight that continues to abuse their body through inactivity and junk food though is another story. We ultimately still have control over our addictions so it's not a reason to give in.
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
I view addiction as a continued behavior that someone engages in even though they know it has a negative impact. Now for a reasonably healthy person that occasionally loses the battle to that bag of chips it's not. A person that is unhealthy and overweight that continues to abuse their body through inactivity and junk food though is another story. We ultimately still have control over our addictions so it's not a reason to give in.

Consider the difference between an addiction and a default choice. People do not think about most actions they take. They run on automatic pilot. The trucker who buys a large bag of chips at a fuel stop to eat while driving is probably not addicted to chips. He or she is simply making an impulse buy without thinking. It feels good to eat chips so the trucker eats chips.

The exercise of willpower begins when a goal is set to achieve something different. If the trucker has a weight-loss goal, the chips become a willpower challenge. If no weight-loss goal exists, the default choice is to act on the impulse without a second thought (or first thought). There is no conflict so there is no need to exercise willpower.

A trucker who has developed his or her willpower skills will have his or her "I will," "I won't" and "I want" goals in mind long before he or she stops for fuel. I will eat healthy today. I won't buy chips. I want to weigh 100 lbs. less.

Without a goal and this kind of mindfulness, default choices are made without thinking. It's not so much an addiction as it is drifting aimlessly throughout one's day.

That said, setting the goal does not make the impulse to buy chips go away, but it does set one on a path where impulse choices are more easily identified and effectively managed.

Again, willpower is like a muscle. It can be strengthened with training. Take your mind to the willpower gym. Buy The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why it Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal and start your exercise routine.

In that, I envy drivers. On long, open-road drives, you enjoy large chunks of uninterrupted time that can be used not just to drive but also to train your brain. Long layovers also provide large chunks of time that can be used to build your willpower muscle.
 
Last edited:
Top