Motivation isn't everything.
I haven't had motivation to go to the gym or go work out in weeks, probably even months. It's more of a habit. After 21 days, it just seems as though you have to go. It fits into your daily routines and soon enough — just like classes — you feel obligated to go. Of course, your motivation for your perfect beach bod is still in there somewhere, but it is no longer your driving force.
I don't think motivation or lack there of is a bad thing. It proves that even though you had a rough day, and you may have a million other things to do, you still have your goals somewhere in your head. You know where you want to be and that getting there isn't always going to be the best time ever.
Getting your major isn't full of classes that make you want to get up and dance, but you still go to them. Just because you don't feel like you're waking up Christmas morning every time you enter the doors of Pings isn't a bad thing - it's normal.
Working out isn't always going to be the most fun. Eating healthy isn't always going to be your first choice and we're going to skip times all along the road, but in the end it isn't going to be your downfall. You just have to make sure you don't break what you've worked so hard to achieve.
It takes 21 days to form a habit, but from experience I can kill one in 21 hours. You can't loose sight of wherever you want to be, but you can take a few detours and try a few short cuts. We'd all be lying to ourselves if we said that even with our biggest hopes and dreams we didn't try to find a way around the hardest parts.
So yes, motivation is good. Motivation will keep you on the right path, but if you don't allow yourself to have a bad day, you don't understand why or when the good ones are actually good.
Allow yourself some slack and don't be so hard on yourself. In the end, you are your harshest critic. Don't give yourself an "F", just because you ate that cookie and felt you let yourself down. You don't have to be in a physical trainer's state of mind 24/7.
Have a mind where you allow yourself some fun, but thrown in a little discipline along the way. You're allowed to enjoy the food you eat, and skipping your workout once or twice a week is no big deal. Quit making it one.
Sarah Vaughn is a junior studying education at Ohio University. What is your favorite short workout? Tweet your answers to Sarah using her Twitter handle @_suraaahhh.
