Frank Eirik Abrahamsen, associate professor at Norway's Sports Academy, tells how you can maintain your training motivation and how you can motivate yourself to undergo a lifestyle change.
He works at the Section for coaching and psychology and has "programme responsibility for the Bachelor in sports science with specialization in training, coaching and sports psychology".
The self-determination theory
One of the first things Frank Eirik mentions is the self-determination theory. This is a theory based on three psychological needs: self-determination, competence and belonging. The theory says that when these three needs are satisfied, we are more easily motivated, productive and satisfied. - You know that knowledge is motivation.
Feeling that you have skills helps with motivation. - In addition, it helps with a sense of belonging, that you have support from home or make training appointments with friends. This makes it a bit more binding. It is also important not to feel that the training is forced, it must be self-determined.
- Don't stop eating chocolate
Frank Eirik's experience, after working with people for several years, is that we can be a bit unconscious of what we really want - what is actually our motivation to go through a change. He recommends that you set aside some time at the start of a major change process to reflect on what the goal of the change is.
- Please write down why you want a change. Then it becomes not just a feeling, but more concrete. It can also be brought up and used as a reminder if motivation drops.
Frank Eirik also says that it is important not to overdo it at the start, and that you should find activities you look forward to doing. - It is easier to start something you like than to stop doing something you like. Don't stop eating chocolate, but eat less. Don't start with six sessions a week, start with 2 and do something small the other days. Go for a walk, for example.
Internal and external motivation
But what about rewards? Is it motivating? - Rewards are a vulnerable form of motivation. It's not strong, but when you lack all other motivation, it can work. But, it pays to look at the benefit you get from the changes first. It is a better form of motivation. According to Frank Eirik, a distinction is made between external and internal motivation, where reward is an external, or more short-term, motivation. - External and internal motivation are qualitatively different, and internal motivation lasts much longer.
If you have internal motivation, you don't need anything else. Then the activity itself is so motivating that you don't need anyone to cheer you on or give you praise. It is, on the other hand, the external motivation that gets you through the heavy training sessions. The sessions you struggle to complete and give your all.
- Then it helps with positive self-talk and self-affirmation. Some athletes also write down their motivation somewhere they see it. A handball player, for example, had drawn a sun in the palm of his hand. It reminded her of what she should do and what attitude she should have when doing it.
Tips and advice
At the very end, Frank Eirik offers some tips for those of you who want to undergo a lifestyle change. He says you should spend time thinking about the positive outcome of your changes: That it becomes easier to climb stairs, you feel fresher, you get to wear your favorite clothes or that it becomes easier to play with the children.
- It is also important to make a plan, but not fall completely out of it, even if you stray a little from it. - I will try to come up with a comparison.
Most of us have driven to work and been delayed due to queues, for example, but we haven't turned around and driven home for that reason. This can be transferred to lifestyle changes. It may be that something happens along the way so that you have to postpone the plan you had, but you will only be slightly delayed. If you don't stop, you will eventually reach the finish line. Rather, see it as a detour.