Are your motivators positive or negative?

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Cathlete
Ok, let's get back on track with some fitness-related discussion. All of this discussion of the shenanigans of the Bollywood elite gets old fast.

So yesterday I was having a conversation with my SO about something, and he made a rather snarky comment (not meaning to, I just took it that way) and I immediately went downstairs and did a 50-minute cardio tape (Cardio Party 3). Afterwards I was thinking about the things that motivate me to work out, and I realized that most of them are more on the negative side. For example, I don't think so much about being heart healthy as I worry about living my end of life as an invalid, you know what I mean? I don't seek fantastic legs so much as I live in terror of cellulite. And I don't strive to look like a Victoria's Secret model so much as I worry about ending up like the women on my father's side of the family. :)

I'm not being critical in this post, it's just an honest assessment of what motivates me. It was the first time I realized that I'm really motivated to action by negative thoughts vs. positive ones.

So I'm curious, what motivates you? To you, is it a positive thought or a negative one?

Marie
 
Mine is mostly positive. Since I am studying to be an MD, I feel that I should be an example to my patients. That is one motivation.

Another motivation is the progress I have been making and getting a great body.

The only negative motivation I use is when I am running outside on my running playlist I have that song that says something like "You're not pretty enough, you're not skinny enough, you're not healthy enough" ('Cosmopolitan' by Nine Black Alps) at about the midpoint of my run to encourage me to pick up the pace. But then, I also have "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt as my cool down.

-Becky
 
A little bit of both I guess. When I first started working out I was only motivated by the fat on my body and wanting to get rid of it! LOL I gave no thoughts to the impact exercise would have on my body, mind and soul beyond the obvious. Now it's all different. I am ofcourse motivated to keep the fat off and even lose more but staying healthy is also a big motivation for me these days as is the great feeling that finishing a tough work out gives me!:)
 
Mine is definitely positive, and it happens when I least expect it. For example, a friend of mine told me right before our spin class that she could really see changes in my body just over the last six months. After that, I had a killer workout just from the high alone. I usually try to motivate myself with my music or just feeling good but sometimes that just gives a great extra boost :)



"You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is." -- Ellen DeGeneres


Debbie
 
Mine is a little bit of both of motivation as well. But suffice it to say, it has been a struggle. My SO(B-sometimes :D), doesn't really support me but loves the way I look. So while it has been positive in a sense of esteem and toning my body, it has been a struggle. He likes to bring in sugar/sweet stuff,which is good on occassion but not all the time!! Even my daughter is getting fat because it. And she is at the age where daddy's knows best and daddy's little girl. I am hoping she will get out of this fantasy really sooon!
 
I would just be happy for ANY motivation--good or bad--to keep me on track with all this friggin cardio. I hate it!
 
Marie:

What an excellent post!! I find that when I work out from negative motivation, i.e. after too much wine the night before and that poofed look that it causes, that I hate the workout... But always feel so much better and "on track" afterwards. But, when I'm working out on a high, even Cathe couldn't keep up!!! Someone mentioned a compliment that sent them into a turbo-energized high workout... I had a male friend come up to me out the blue last week and tell me how beautiful I looked at an event the week before and how being in the bosom of my family was so appealing. So, he's a fabulous liar!:7 but I was so high during my workout I didn't even notice it had happened! So, it's both negative and positive motivators for me, but the positive ones get a vastly better result.

Where do you guys get those terrific quotes for your signatures??
 
Hmmmm good post.

Mine definitely started out as negative--pure vanity. But over the years it has turned more positive--it just makes me feel so darned good, both physically and mentally.

So I guess, like others, it's a mixture of both.
 
I'd have to say many of my external motivators are 'negative." I see a negative 'roll model' and want to avoid being like that (the overweight, now-diabetic woman who used to be our secretary, the vast majority of people I see in our local Walmart, pretty much the majority of the American population at this point, since we're over 60% overweight!)

The positive motivators for me are mostly internal: the way I feel when I eat well and exercise. Also internal but personal: seeing myself look better in my workout mirror.

Not all my motivators are appearance related, but as I told someone the other day "vanity sure helps health and fitness." If it didn't help me look good, then I might not be as motivated to do it!
 
I suppose my motivation is positive. I run to train for races from the 5K to marathon. I'm just slightly faster than a middle of the pack runner and always will be but I continually try new approaches to training to see where/what it gets me. This is a source of pure enjoyment for me. I have often thought that if I did not have some running event around the corner I don't know if I'd be very disciplined at keeping up a regular workout routine.
 
I suppose positive -- as I am positive I want to live a long, healthy life and not kill over from stroke or heart attack like 99.9% of my maternal AND paternal family. And I'm positive I want the strength and stamina to keep up with my young sons thru childhood and teen years. And I'm positive I want to maintain a healthy, vibrant appearance. And I'm positive I want to maintain my sanity. And I'm positive that exercise and healthy eating habits are the key to all of the above.

We can turn anything into a positive.;-)
 
For me it was a little of both. I watched my mother get older and have more health issues with her weight. I saw myself going in the same direction and it scared the heck out of me. To this day, my mom will tell me that she knows that she was my motivation to lose weight. I know I won't ever be model thin but I am somewhat motivated by looks and quite frankly who isn't. What motivated me recently was being asked by my boot camp instructor to get certified and to work part time for her. What motivated me to push through the next couple of workouts was that I didn't feel I looked like a personal trainer. I'm not ripped or anything but I'm toned and my muscles (most of them) are defined. I would have preferred to feel motivated by the fact that she saw potential in me and that she had faith in me to help grow her business.
 
I wish I could say that it was positive, but I have had exercise issues since I was 18. I defnitley exercise to counter the bad eating that falls upon me every afternoon. And, I always want to be thinner than I am. With that said though, I do know that I am a better mom because I workout, so I guess that is positive. But, I think I will always workout for vanity reasons:( You would think that being a 38 year woman with 3 girls thatI would have this body image under control,but sadly enough I don't. But, I do LOOOOOOOVE Cathe and the way her workouts make me feel:)


Susan
 
I have to say that my motivators are both positive and negative. When I started, what kicked my in my arse was the fact that a co-worker asked if I would ever have gastric bypass surgery. I know that part of the reason she asked was because she was seriously considering it (and had it 3 wks later). Anyway, I started thinking about it and wondered why she asked me. I figured it out after walking past a mirror and was shocked at how big I was (that whole mental mis-image you have of yourself). I started Weight Watchers that weekend and haven't looked back.

Now for exercise, I didn't start that right away and having had been in pretty decent (not great) shape at one time, knew to start slow. Now, my motivator for exercise is all about how it makes me feel physically and mentally. I also love being able see the changes in my body. Last night for example, I was getting for a run and happened to look at my legs. I have always had huge legs, very muscular but no definition. Last night, I actually started to see definition in my calves!
 
Most of my motivators have come through negative events in my life that have been turned into positives. Maybe you can get a silk purse from a sow's ear (a saying my Dad used a lot). Fear was my initial motivator to get healthy (DH diagnosed with cancer) but the positives resulting from that initial negative kept me going. I didn't focus much on myself through DH's illness and lapsed in fitness for a few years. When he passed away the negative that is grief got me back into fitness full force, it was a complete escape for about a year and a half, once I found the right balance of dealing with life and balancing fitness, it brought oceans of positivity into my life. Now almost 9 years later a friend who has lapsed in her fitness journey asked if I would train with her for a half marathon. I've never been a runner but would do just about anything for my friend so I'm 12 weeks into my training and falling in love with fitness all over again. I am driven to stay healthy and fit for my 3 daughters, that is most definitely a postive motivator. I guess both positive and negative motivators are effective for me, interesting question!:)

Take Care
Laurie:)
 
laurie and Melody--it would be almost impossible for me to think of you two as ever being negative--ever! Both of you are so inspiring in terms of your outlook on life.

You gals stay positive and just leave all that negative stuff to me and...and...Shelley!--lol!
 
Seeing senior citizens is what often motivates me. One year while skiing in Colorado my husband and I spotted a small gray-haired couple on the slopes just skiing their hearts out, and we both said "THAT's the kind of thing we want to still be doing at that age!"

Other times I'll see a little old lady shuffling along and leaning on a walker and, although I think "bless her heart!" I tell myself that I must keep my muscles strong and my stamina and balance as long into my life as I can so that I can be mobile til the day I die.
 
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