Finding & Maintaining Motivation

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome back to the Overcomfort podcast. I'm your host, Jenna Kalopez.
Thank you guys so much for joining and tuning in
to this episode. If you clicked on this episode, it
is for a reason you guys saw the title. We
are talking about finding and maintaining motivation. One of the

(00:27):
top questions I get all the time is how I
am so motivated? How am I so disciplined? Because I
post about working out, about my eating habits all that,
and today I want to share with you guys, my tips,
my tricks, how I feel being motivated and hopefully inspire
you guys to Today we are making one of my

(00:49):
favorite salads to go hand in hand with the motivation,
healthy eating vibes, and one that I posted the other
day and everybody was wondering what the heck is that
It looks delicious. So we're gonna do that. But before
I get the ingredients out, we're gonna talk about what
motivation looks like, how it feels, where it could be

(01:13):
found and a lot of people. If you're a girl,
let's say the first thing that could be used as
motivation is a breakup, your breakup, your revenge body. Let's
say we're talking about the gym, or just as a
person in general. Motivation could come after a breakthrough, also

(01:34):
through prayer, goal setting moments. But then life really kicks in.
We have setbacks, we have responsibilities, we get tired, we
get drained, and that's where we start to lose it.
We're gonna talk about how we can regain that momentum,
how we can turn that motivation into discipline. And I'm

(01:56):
gonna share personal stories with you guys, especially when it
comes to the gym, my faith journey, daily challenges, things
that you guys can relate to in practical steps that
are relatable, that are practical, and that can help you
stay inspired. So I'm going to get the ingredients and

(02:16):
then we're going to come back and start getting into
what is motivation. Let's get right into it. What is motivation?
How did I find my motivation? And the reason a
lot of people don't have it is because they don't
have a reason. When you have a reason, or when
you have a why, it is compelling you. It helps
motivate you to keep going. So ask yourself, why do

(02:41):
I want to achieve this goal? Is it to be healthier,
is it for somebody? For my family? To grow closer
to God, to fulfill a personal or spiritual calling. And
like I said, knowing your why gives you a reason

(03:02):
to keep going. So for me in the gym, my
why or my reason to keep going, that took me
a while to realize and to really wake up. Some
of us need a wake up call. My wake up
call was definitely one day that I couldn't really hang

(03:27):
out with my nephews and my nieces. Like their kids,
they want to go run, they want to go jump,
they love to go to skyzone, they love to go
do things that require a lot of energy, and you
have to match that energy. And there was one day
that I just couldn't, and I really put into perspective
like I wanted to match that energy. I wanted to

(03:48):
be healthier. And in the long run, it's like, not
only am I doing this for them, but I'm doing
it for my future children too, even if I don't
have kids, or whatever the case may be. I want
to be able to have I want to be healthy,
I want to live a long life. I want to
feel good. I want to look good. Not only just
the kids, but it was also having to do with

(04:10):
and it sucks to say but I know a lot
of girls and other influencers can relate. But I got
my body in check because I was made fun of
a lot, like I was made fun of since I
was a kid in school. And then the reality show
came and then I became like the ugly sister, and

(04:31):
then social media came around and I made it my
job and I just all the negative comments, and even
to this day, I still get to have negative comments.
I want you to realize that also, that those little
things probably won't go away. You just have to overcome
them and overpower them and let them not bug you
as much. Now that I'm putting in the work, Now

(04:53):
that I'm actually doing what I need to do, it
doesn't bother me as much. Why Because I know that
I'm doing something to make the change in myself and
in my body, and I'm happy and I'm confident enough
to say that I'm doing this for my health and
not just because of social media. I'm cooking, i'm eating,
I'm doing the things that I need to do to

(05:13):
feel good on the inside and to be honest sometimes
in the morning for the gym, And I know a
lot of people struggle with that too, Like I don't
want to get up. I don't want to get up,
I don't want to get ready, I don't want to
go do the weights. I don't want to go have
to do lagree like no, like I don't, I just don't,

(05:37):
And that's okay. Sometimes you have to recognize that and
do little baby steps. Baby steps so and steady always
wins the race. So you have to remind yourself of
the why why did I start going to the gym?
Why did I start waking up early and doing this?
And even if it's just ten minutes of movement or

(06:00):
just going outside for a walk, that is enough. That
is actually still being consistent, that is still working towards
my goal. That is still I'm not going to discredit
my little baby steps. You have to celebrate the small
ones in order to reach the big ones. Another example
could be like in faith, in my journey with God,

(06:22):
it is and I feel like that's the most frustrating too,
Like aside from the gym, and aside from those feelings
like sometimes I just wake up, I wake up and
I want to read my Bible, and then there's days
that I don't and i'm I'm That is a spiritual
discipline that I'm working towards and getting better at because

(06:46):
I know that in the long run it's gonna benefit me.
But there's days where I'm just like dry, like I do,
I'm distracted, I don't want to and it's like it's
hard to hear the voice of God and it's hard
to really stay connected when there's so many other things
going on. But I like to see it as like
a test. I like to see it as something test
of endurance, like how much am I going to believe?

(07:08):
How much faith am I going to have to keep going?
Like little things like that, And it's as simple as
just reading a bile verse, hop on the Bible app
and find the biovers of the day and that's it.
You know, God still honors the little things and our
journeys as well. In life daily challenges, say you're working

(07:29):
in nine to five, you have deadlines to meet, family
responsibilities or things that can just be super overwhelming. You
have to look at the purpose. What's my purpose? Why
am I doing this? Still? It's where my family, my calling,
my personal growth, and again, celebrate the small ones. If

(07:50):
if all you could do today was get up, get
ready and go to work, then that is enough. Then
that's okay. Don't do more than your body can't handle.
Then your mind can't handle, because then you start setting
these expectations in your head and you start setting these
I don't want to say unrealistic, but these deadlines, and

(08:11):
it's like, who set those yourself? Don't be so hard
on yourself. Take it easy, take a breath. If you
couldn't do it today, try again tomorrow. I'm always gonna
live by this. It's what I stick by. Is like, Okay,
if I couldn't do it today, let me try again,

(08:31):
wake up tomorrow and be better. Motivation comes in waves,
but what really sticks is discipline, consistency and keeping these strategies,
having a routine to keep you going forward. Side note,
this salad is so easy to make. I'm probably it's

(08:56):
probably taking me longer to make because of that I'm talking.
But if you guys make this, please m tag me,
tag me, enjoy it, love it. Aiden. Okay, we're gonna
want a quick break, and then we're gonna come back

(09:17):
and talk about short term goals and long term goals.
Welcome back, you guys. Okay, so let's talk about it.
Short term goals versus long term goals. There's a difference.
I'm sure you've heard about them. If you haven't, hear
me out. Short term goals are things that could be
done in days, two weeks that work towards your long

(09:40):
term goals. Okay, that's number one. Long term goals are
goals that can be done in months, two years, maybe
even longer than that, or goals that just can't be
done in a day basically, which are important to have.
I have them as an influencer as my physical body,

(10:06):
just in personal life in general. But it's important that
they're realistic for yourself, so that way you're not pushing
yourself to do more than that you can. Man, oh,
let me do this. So short term goals can be,

(10:26):
for example, drinking more water on the daily, hitting the
gym more often. Hitting the gym can be like I'm
going to do thirty minutes today versus fifteen, or I'm
gonna go outside and I'm gonna go walk today. And
once you start doing and achieving those short term ones,
they turn into more motivation, they turn into boosts of endurance,

(10:48):
and they help you just get better to reach to
those long term ones. For example, my short term goals
are to get my steps in. I got an or
if you don't have one of these, It's basically like
an Apple Watch, but in ring form, which I really like.
I really love. It has honestly helped me track my

(11:10):
sleep better. Not the free ad, but I'm just expressing
with you guys, what's helped me reach my goals. This
has helped me wanting to reach my steps more. I
want to get my steps in, which eventually I want
to be able to run better. I don't know if
I told you guys before or I've shared on my
social media, but I'm not the best runner and I

(11:33):
want to be better. So what do I have to
do to reach that. I need to go outside, start
doing laps. I need to run. I need to do
little things. You know, there's people that like to run marathons,
but what do they have to do? They have to
prep for that, They go on short runs, they do
long runs, just another example. Long term goals who long

(11:57):
term goals are the ones that you feel like are
so far away that you can't reach. So for me,
my long term ones are starting a new business, which
is a goal and a dream. I have one that
I have in mind in prayer where I'm just like, Okay,

(12:18):
what am I gonna do now to be able to
reach this goal? To be able to achieve it. Okay,
I'm gonna save money, I'm going to educate myself in
that business area. I'm gonna have to do things that
I normally don't do, start practicing certain things. Another one

(12:42):
is toning my back in arms, another gym related one.
It's a goal, it's something that takes time, it's progressional,
it's something that needs to be done, needs to be
done every single day in order to achieve. Like, these
are things that are realistic to me. These are things
that I know that I can achieve and that I

(13:03):
can do. And so if you have goals, if you
have goals to buy a house one day, have small goals.
What am I going to do today? Maybe I won't
buy Starbucks today. Maybe I'll save that money and put
it into a little bank account and know that that's
there for the house. You want to gradually increase, you

(13:26):
want to add on to it weekly, daily, again, do
what worked best for you. You break these into small,
little ones, things that are achievable, and I promise that
it'll get done and it'll be easier for me even

(13:49):
spiritually as well, Like once I notice that I'm starting
to get a little bit like ooh ry and not
really locked in or focused, like I go back to
like reading a chapter a day, or I read a
chapter day in general, but maybe I'll just read my
verse to day. Little things like that, because I know
there's people that out there that want to draw closer
to God, but they don't know how, and they feel

(14:10):
like he's not reachable and that he's not accessible. But
the one thing that I know and that I've realized
in this journey and waiting on God is probably one
of the most frustrating things. I think it's more frustrating
than you actually waiting for the results in the gym,
because we are creatures of instant gratification. We want things

(14:34):
done now, we want to be able to hold it
be tangible right now. But it's like in these moments
and in your life and your spiritual life as well.
Like again, I like to see it as a test
of endurance, like what am I being taught? What am
I being shown in this moment? This is how much
discipline and faith do I have in God to know

(14:55):
that He's going to push me there to get me
to where I need to get to and to still
trust that His promises are going to come true and
be a part of my life, even in physical even
in this life right like right now, like what we're living.

(15:16):
You have to be patient with yourself. You have to
understand that not everything's gonna come right away. I know
we like to have the answers. I know that we
like to have things done right now in the moment,
but sometimes it just doesn't work like that. We have
to learn patience, which patiences is a virtue's But sometimes
all I'm gonna be honest, I will crash out. I

(15:38):
will crash out. I will just like sometimes life just
does that to you and it's frustrating. But you have
to again remember your purpose, remember your why, what are
you doing this for? And just center yourself, bring yourself
back to the ground prayer, knowing that God is going
to be right there guiding you. And if it's in

(16:00):
your heart, if this is dream or if this desire
is in your heart, it's for a reason. It's because
it has been placed there for you to start working
on it and to achieve it. We put my little
Gesito here and once we start building up those habits.
Once we start realizing that we have that motivation, then
we keep working towards it. We work towards it and

(16:23):
we create those habits and guess what, that's where the
discipline comes in. So when we come back from the break,
we are going to talk about maintaining that discipline. Little
things that will help us on the daily to keep
us going with motivation and discipline. So we'll be right
Welcome back, you guys. Okay, I'm already finishing up my

(16:46):
little salad. It looks so good and delicious. I cannot wait.
I need to take a picture before I continue. But anyways, okay,
so once we find that motivation, we start to realize
that we need discipline. We need to keep going, We
need to keep pushing because motivation isn't going to last forever.

(17:06):
So how do you develop the discipline? You keep your
why and focus. You keep the focus on the gym,
on work, or whatever it needs to be to keep going. Okay,
establish routines, you guys. I am a creature of routine.
I love my routine so much. For example, I go

(17:29):
to the gym every single morning. But before I go
to the gym, and this is essential because this is
what's going to keep me going. I pray every morning,
I read my Bible every morning. I make the time
to be able to motivate myself and to feed into

(17:52):
my dreams and to feed into my heart, because that's
what's going to keep me going. You have to set
the tone for the day. I feel like I've talked
about this before, but setting the tone, setting the intention.
I'll play my worship music every morning while I'm getting ready,
and I already have that routine established, prayer, workouts, my goals,

(18:14):
like I know, I remember my goals. I know what
my goals are. Celebrate the small wins even when you
feel like it isn't enough. It is enough. What you're
doing is enough, I promise. And be patient with yourself,
have compassion, have grace with yourself. Sometimes we take this

(18:37):
life too seriously and too hard that we stop to enjoy.
We don't stop to enjoy the fruits and everything that
we've already been given to love and just to see like,
okay again, if this is if I wasn't able to
do this today, I'm gonna get up and do it tomorrow.
I'm better the next day, even better. Your goal is

(18:58):
to always be one person better than you were yesterday.
I took a little seat so that way I can
sit down and finish up the episode with you guys
and enjoy it because why not, you know, let me
take a picture of it. Okay, back to what I
was saying, discipline is just repeated habits. Okay, it's built

(19:20):
off repeated habits. It's built off of things that you
know that you can't live without. You want to build
discipline enough to where it becomes a lifestyle, a lifestyle
that you can achieve and know that if I don't
do this today, I'm not going to function properly. I
know that if I don't work out every day, or
if I don't play my worship music every day, I'm

(19:41):
not going to function properly. If I don't read my word,
I know that I'm not going to treat people correctly.
I'm not going to be an example of someone that
loves God or in the gym. Like for me, it's
more mental now. I stop thinking about it as body
results as something that I'm obviously looking good is a

(20:04):
benefit of it, but I've really started to enjoy what
it does for my health, for my heart for my
mental health most importantly, like I'm not as anxious, I'm
not as down, Like I really really enjoy the dopamine
and all the hormones and all those good things that

(20:27):
working out really does for you. And there are things
that you have to do on the daily to remind
yourself and to keep yourself, to maintain the motivation and
the discipline, for example, creating reminders and affirmations. For me,
I have a like a sheet of paper on my mirror,

(20:51):
and I'll look in the mirror and on that paper
it says I'm a child of God, I'm loved, I'm
creating as image created in his image, i am protected,
i am blessed, And it has the Bible versus there,
and I'll just look at one. Whatever draws me to read,
I'll read that one. I'll look in the mirror when

(21:12):
I'm getting ready for the gym, and as hard as
maybe I don't like what I see in the mirror,
I'll just remind myself, girl, you look better than you
did yesterday. You're doing better. You look better than you
did three years ago. Another simple and easy thing is
finding inspiration, so that could be your influencers, your favorite influencers,

(21:34):
finding things to listen to, podcasts, stories. I have my
favorite influencers that I like to watch that keep motivating
me to do better and that pushed me and I'm
just like, wow, if they can do it, I can
do it. And even check your circle. Checking your circle

(21:56):
is important because not only are you gonna need self motivation,
but you need motivation from your friends. You need people
around you that are gonna keep you going and keep
you pushing. For example, if you have a friend that's
like calling you up and be like, hey, let's go
have someone like you know, let's go get some wingstop
or like some boiling crab. Well boiling Crab's not that bad,
but you know what I mean. But like Jack in

(22:18):
the Box, like three in the morning, you gotta kind
of like, okay, set it straight, like dude, Like I'm
trying to be for real here, Like I have goals
to me, I have things to do. I would appreciate
if you were motivating me to do more, to do better.
And if they don't get it after that, then I'm sorry,

(22:39):
cut them out for real, cause sometimes like if you're
really serious about your goals and if they love you enough,
they'll do it, they'll change with you. And the point
is that you want to be able to be so
motivational that you change other people's lives. You motivate them

(23:00):
to do more and to do better. And there's nothing
more motivational than that. It comes back to you just like, Wow,
I'm actually changing somebody's life. Let me keep doing it,
Let me keep motivating them and motivating myself. Mm hmmm
mm hmm mmmmmmmm it's so good, okay. Mm. On top

(23:30):
of all that, you want to practice self care, self love, compassion,
and be patient with yourself. I've said this a little
bit before, but some days are going to be harder
than others, and you just have to be so in
tune with yourself that when that motivation kind of dies out,

(23:52):
you remind yourself that it's okay to rest, but don't
give up entirely, okay, because then we're going to start
over from the no. We have to be locked in
and also know that, Okay, it may not be perfect today,
but again I'm gonna do better tomorrow. And lastly, really
lean into prayer and faith. I know that a lot

(24:15):
of you guys Latin community or if you're watching, we
have you know a background of Catholic faith or Christian
faith or whatever it. Maybe I'm always going to promote
Jesus my higher power. Like I don't believe that there's
anything else, but if there is, to you, okay, but

(24:38):
you want to ask God, pray for that motivation, Ask
God to renew your strength, to remind you of your purpose.
Have a prayer journal, write down things that you're grateful
for daily. I feel like gratitude really helps keep you
motivated and pushes you to do better and to stay
connected in His guidance and encouragement, because there's nothing more

(25:03):
motivational than knowing that someone else, truly, truly higher loves
you and knows that there's a greater purpose and a
greater plan for your life. Which leads me to the
Bible verse of the day. Galatians six nine, which is
personally one of my favorite books and one of my
favorite verses, says, let us not grow weary and doing good,

(25:27):
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up. So what that means
is that when it gets tough and you're tired of
doing good over and over and over again, do not
give up. Because the fruits of your labor, the fruits
of what you're doing right now, is going to reap.

(25:48):
You're going to have the most beautiful harvest. You're going
to have the most beautiful life that God is going
to reward you. You just have to keep pushing, you have
to keep going through it. Perseverance is fueled by discipline.
It leads to the harvest of your efforts spiritually, physically,

(26:08):
and emotionally. And I just want to speak something over
your guys' life today that I thought about because I
feel like you know, as we all start, if you
were starting your journey today, welcome. I hope that it's
beautiful and that you enjoyed it in that I was
able to ignite some motivation in you. And if you're

(26:29):
not and you needed to be reminded, welcome Today. We're
gonna take a deep breath and we're going to choose
to ignite our motivation, turn our motivation into lasting discipline.
I'm committed to my purpose, I'm committed to my plan,
and I trust that God is going to give me

(26:50):
strength to keep on going, to keep on moving forward.
And even when I feel tired or discouraged, I will
show up. I will press on and do what I
need to do for my growth. You are resilient, you
are capable, you are determined, and you are strong and
loved Ultimately, you guys. Thank you guys so so much

(27:13):
for tuning in today. Remember to stay motivated, keep the plan,
remember your why, and be patient with yourself. I'm excited
to see so much growth, not in just myself, but
in you guys as well. Thank you guys so much
for tuning in. Make sure you guys like comment, subscribe,

(27:34):
let me know what meals you guys would like to
see what topics you guys would like to talk about,
and make sure to keep your eyes on your purpose
and I will see you guys. Thanks to O