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

Send us a text

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.

For Motivation and More Free Content, Visit Our THI Facebook Page!

Click Here And Follow Coach AK For Even More!

Join Our Free Facebook Group: Live Transformed: Rebuild Your Health, Habits, And Headspace

Instagram: @coachadamkelley

www.transformedhealthcoach.com

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Researchers found that motivation is highly
unstable and reactive, drivenmore by environment and
emotional state rather thangoals and logic.
Waiting for motivation is kindof like waiting for the weather
to be perfect before you leavethe house.
It might happen, but most ofthe time the weather is not
dependent on how you feel.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Welcome to the win on purpose podcast from health and
fitness, business, personaldevelopment, relationships and
more.
We promise you will findinspiration to help you win on
purpose in all areas of yourlife journey.
And now for your host, adamKelly.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
Welcome back to the win on purpose podcast, where we
dismantle the diet myths,unpack what really drives
lasting transformation and helpyou take ownership of your
health with evidence-backedtruth.
Today's episode tackles one ofthe most persistent and
paralyzing lies in the healthworld the belief that you need
to feel motivated before you cantake action.

(01:00):
So we're calling this one themotivation myth why you don't
need to feel ready to start.
All right, guys, I'm excitedfor this one.
Let's get right into it.
So why feeling ready is adangerous delusion?
Let's be honest, guys.
How many Mondays have you saidI'll start when I'm motivated?
I'm just not ready yet.

(01:20):
When life slows down, I'll getserious.
Here's the problem with thatMotivation is a mood, not a
strategy.
In a 2017 paper on the journalMotivation and Emotion,
researchers found thatmotivation is highly unstable
and reactive, driven more byenvironment and emotional state

(01:42):
rather than goals and logic.
So Waiting for motivation iskind of like waiting for the
weather to be perfect before youleave the house.
It might happen, but most ofthe time, the weather is not
dependent on how you feel.
Action first, motivation second.
This might surprise you, butthe most successful
transformations we've seen atTHI didn't start with readiness.

(02:03):
They started with action.
Action doesn't followmotivation, motivation follows
action.
This is known in behavioralpsychology as the behavior first
principle, the idea thatbehaviors create emotion, not
the other way around.
And I've seen this so manytimes in our practice working
with different people,especially new people who maybe

(02:23):
have never worked with a coach.
They're not really sure what tothink and they know that they
need change, but they're notsure they can do it.
And a lot of times theystruggle with this motivation
factor and well, I'm not sure ifI'm ready, I'm not sure if I'm
motivated enough to besuccessful, I'm not sure if I
can do it.
And the fact is is if you don'tstart, you're never going to
feel motivated to do it, becauseas soon as you feel motivated,

(02:44):
life is going to slap you in theface and put you back in your
place.
But if you realize that it's amatter of taking action and
taking steps forward and notrelying on motivation to keep
you driven, then you reallyunlock your abilities big time
there, guys.
So a 2021 study in healthpsychology found that
participants who took action onhealth behaviors despite low

(03:06):
motivation saw a significantincrease in motivation,
self-efficacy and adherenceafter just two weeks.
Guys, think about that Only twoweeks to see these differences.
So, in other words, you don'twait until you feel ready.
You start messy and yourmomentum builds over time.
Hey guys, real quick, if youdon't mind, will you go?
Wherever you're listening tothis at, I don't.

(03:27):
You start messy and yourmomentum builds over time
something out of it.
So we know what type of contentto provide for you guys.
I appreciate it.

(03:51):
And back to the episode, theidentity loop.
How small actions rewire whoyou are.
Every time you take action,guys, even when you don't feel
like it, you cast a vote foryour future identity.
We talked about that in thelast episode, maybe the one
before that.
So things like I meal preptoday, that means I'm someone
who follows through.
Okay, tying that to youridentity.
I got 7,000 steps in today.
That means I'm someone whorespects my body by keeping it

(04:12):
moving.
Movement is medicine.
I log my food today.
That means that I takeownership over my results.
This, once again Repeatedbehavior builds neural
reinforcement.
Even when you're not motivated,it becomes the driving force of
the things that you do.

(04:32):
This is why we emphasizeidentity-based coaching inside
the THI Rebuild, because changedoesn't start with feelings.
It starts with behavior.
That behavior builds a newbelief system.
Practical tips to stop waitingand start winning.
I'm going to give you threetools right here that you can
use.
Tips to stop waiting and startwinning.
I'm going to give you threetools right here that you can
use today to stop waiting formotivation and start creating
progress.
Number one the five minute rule.

(04:53):
Tell yourself you only need todo something for five minutes.
Start the workout, open themeal tracking app.
Just begin.
Once started, most people keepgoing, naturally.
Number two habit anchoring Tiea new habit to something you
already do daily.
So here's some examples of howthis can be super powerful After
I make coffee, I fill my waterbottle.

(05:15):
Before I check emails, I take afive-minute walk.
So you are tying those habitswith something you're already
doing.
So now this new habit and thisnew behavior that you're
exercising just becomes secondnature with what you're already
doing, making it way moreautomatic, way faster.
And number three don't trustyour feelings.
Trust your framework.
Have a clear plan and structure, kind of like we use in the THI

(05:38):
Rebuild Project shameless plug.
So your success doesn't dependon your mood, it depends on your
system.
From real clients startingwithout feeling ready, one of
our THI Rebuild clients told usshe felt completely unmotivated
at the start.
She was burnt out, defeated,not ready to begin.
She had tried so many times andshe was tired of failing and
just didn't have the confidenceand the motivation to really

(06:01):
commit to something.
So she thought but what doesshe do differently than most
people?
She committed to showing upanyway, 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 wascompletely different.
Only three weeks in, today,she's down 18 pounds, she's
sleeping better and she's nolonger thinking about starting

(06:23):
over because she stopped waitingand 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 ifour elite coaching program, the
THI Rebuild Project, is theright fit for you.
You don't need perfectconditions, you need a real

(06:46):
strategy and a fresh identity tomatch.
So I appreciate you guys fortuning in to the Win On Purpose
podcast this week, the show thatturns high performers into
healthy performers using systemsthat last.
So be sure to subscribe andshare this with someone you know
who's been waiting to feelready.
In the next episode we'reactually gonna continue these
bonus episodes on, and so we'rejust kind of building on the

(07:07):
same idea of how to correct ourmindset from the dieting mindset
to a health first mindset.
So in the next episode we'regonna dive into the truth about
calorie tracking when it helps,because it can be a highly
useful tool when it hurts, whenit backfires on us, and how to
use it for long-term success.
So until next time, dosomething good for yourself,

(07:27):
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.