Why Diets Fail and What Actually Works: (Bonus 1)- The Motivation Myth – Why You Don’t Need to Feel Ready to Start

Have you been waiting to feel "ready" before committing to your health journey? That perfect moment of motivation might never arrive. 

Groundbreaking research reveals that motivation isn't the stable driving force we believe it to be—it's actually highly reactive, fluctuating with our environment and emotional state rather than aligning with our goals. This episode dismantles one of the most persistent myths in health transformation: the idea that motivation precedes action.

The reality is precisely the opposite. Action creates motivation. This "behavior first principle" has been documented in studies showing significant increases in motivation and adherence after just two weeks of consistent action—even when participants started feeling completely unmotivated. Every time you take action despite not feeling ready, you're casting a vote for your future identity, creating neural reinforcement patterns that eventually drive change independently of your emotional state.

We share three powerful tools you can implement immediately: the five-minute rule (commit to just five minutes to overcome inertia), habit anchoring (tie new behaviors to existing routines), and framework trust (rely on your system, not your feelings). We also highlight a client who started feeling completely burnt out and defeated, yet transformed her health in just weeks by committing to show up consistently despite her initial lack of motivation.

Ready to stop waiting and start winning? Your transformation doesn't depend on feeling motivated—it depends on taking action that creates motivation. Visit transformedhealthcoach.com to learn more about our evidence-based approach to lasting health transformation.

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Chapters

• 0:00 The Motivation Myth Explained
• 1:51 Action First, Motivation Second
• 3:52 Identity Loop and Behavior Building
• 4:43 Three Practical Tools for Progress
• 5:57 Real Client Success Story
• 7:22 Episode Wrap and Next Topic Preview

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Researchers found that motivation is highly unstable and reactive, driven more by environment and emotional state rather than goals and logic. Waiting for motivation is kind of like waiting for the weather to be perfect before you leave the house. It might happen, but most of the time the weather is not dependent on how you feel.

Speaker 2: 0:23

Welcome to the win on purpose podcast from health and fitness, business, personal development, relationships and more. We promise you will find inspiration to help you win on purpose in all areas of your life journey. And now for your host, adam Kelly.

Speaker 1: 0:39

Welcome back to the win on purpose podcast, where we dismantle the diet myths, unpack what really drives lasting transformation and help you take ownership of your health with evidence-backed truth. Today's episode tackles one of the most persistent and paralyzing lies in the health world the belief that you need to feel motivated before you can take action. So we're calling this one the motivation myth why you don't need to feel ready to start. All right, guys, I'm excited for this one. Let's get right into it. So why feeling ready is a dangerous delusion? Let's be honest, guys. How many Mondays have you said I'll start when I'm motivated? I'm just not ready yet. When life slows down, I'll get serious. Here's the problem with that Motivation is a mood, not a strategy.

Speaker 1: 1:28

In a 2017 paper on the journal Motivation and Emotion, researchers found that motivation is highly unstable and reactive, driven more by environment and emotional state rather than goals and logic. So Waiting for motivation is kind of like waiting for the weather to be perfect before you leave the house. It might happen, but most of the time, the weather is not dependent on how you feel. Action first, motivation second. This might surprise you, but the most successful transformations we've seen at THI didn't start with readiness. They started with action. Action doesn't follow motivation, motivation follows action. This is known in behavioral psychology as the behavior first principle, the idea that behaviors create emotion, not the other way around. And I've seen this so many times in our practice working with different people, especially new people who maybe have never worked with a coach. They're not really sure what to think and they know that they need change, but they're not sure they can do it. And a lot of times they struggle with this motivation factor and well, I'm not sure if I'm ready, I'm not sure if I'm motivated enough to be successful, I'm not sure if I can do it. And the fact is is if you don't start, you're never going to feel motivated to do it, because as soon as you feel motivated, life is going to slap you in the face and put you back in your place. But if you realize that it's a matter of taking action and taking steps forward and not relying on motivation to keep you driven, then you really unlock your abilities big time there, guys. So a 2021 study in health psychology found that participants who took action on health behaviors despite low motivation saw a significant increase in motivation, self-efficacy and adherence after just two weeks. Guys, think about that Only two weeks to see these differences. So, in other words, you don't wait until you feel ready. You start messy and your momentum builds over time. Hey guys, real quick, if you don't mind, will you go? Wherever you're listening to this at, I don't. You start messy and your momentum builds over time something out of it. So we know what type of content to provide for you guys. I appreciate it.

Speaker 1: 3:51

And back to the episode, the identity loop. How small actions rewire who you are. Every time you take action, guys, even when you don't feel like it, you cast a vote for your future identity. We talked about that in the last episode, maybe the one before that. So things like I meal prep today, that means I'm someone who follows through. Okay, tying that to your identity. I got 7,000 steps in today. That means I'm someone who respects my body by keeping it moving. Movement is medicine. I log my food today. That means that I take ownership over my results. This, once again Repeated behavior builds neural reinforcement.

Speaker 1: 4:23

Even when you're not motivated, it becomes the driving force of the things that you do. This is why we emphasize identity-based coaching inside the THI Rebuild, because change doesn't start with feelings. It starts with behavior. That behavior builds a new belief system. Practical tips to stop waiting and start winning. I'm going to give you three tools right here that you can use. Tips to stop waiting and start winning. I'm going to give you three tools right here that you can use today to stop waiting for motivation and start creating progress.

Speaker 1: 4:51

Number one the five minute rule. Tell yourself you only need to do something for five minutes. Start the workout, open the meal tracking app. Just begin. Once started, most people keep going, naturally. Number two habit anchoring Tie a new habit to something you already do daily. So here's some examples of how this can be super powerful After I make coffee, I fill my water bottle. Before I check emails, I take a five-minute walk. So you are tying those habits with something you're already doing. So now this new habit and this new behavior that you're exercising just becomes second nature with what you're already doing, making it way more automatic, way faster. And number three don't trust your feelings. Trust your framework. Have a clear plan and structure, kind of like we use in the THI Rebuild Project shameless plug. So your success doesn't depend on your mood, it depends on your system.

Speaker 1: 5:45

From real clients starting without feeling ready, one of our THI Rebuild clients told us she felt completely unmotivated at the start. She was burnt out, defeated, not ready to begin. She had tried so many times and she was tired of failing and just didn't have the confidence and the motivation to really commit to something. So she thought but what does she do differently than most people? She committed to showing up anyway, meal by meal, walk by walk, workout by workout. By week three her energy was up, her habits were more steady, her belief in her system was completely different. Only three weeks in, today, she's down 18 pounds, she's sleeping better and she's no longer thinking about starting over because she stopped waiting and started living. So if this message hits home, then you're ready, I promise, not because you feel like it, but because you're willing to act like it. Visit transformedhealthcoachcom, click apply now and complete the short application to see if our elite coaching program, the THI Rebuild Project, is the right fit for you. You don't need perfect conditions, you need a real strategy and a fresh identity to match.

Speaker 1: 6:49

So I appreciate you guys for tuning in to the Win On Purpose podcast this week, the show that turns high performers into healthy performers using systems that last. So be sure to subscribe and share this with someone you know who's been waiting to feel ready. In the next episode we're actually gonna continue these bonus episodes on, and so we're just kind of building on the same idea of how to correct our mindset from the dieting mindset to a health first mindset. So in the next episode we're gonna dive into the truth about calorie tracking when it helps, because it can be a highly useful tool when it hurts, when it backfires on us, and how to use it for long-term success. So until next time, do something good for yourself, something good for your health, something good for those you care about and, whatever you do, make sure you win on purpose. Talk to you next time.