Increase Motivation by Finding the Right Type

The most frequently asked question I've gotten over the years is, “How do you stay so motivated?”

⁣First of all, I don't.⁣ I'm human and struggle with motivation, too.

But the motivation I do have – it's the good kind. ⁣The effective kind.

When our clients struggle with staying motivated, it's often not because they need MORE motivation. It's generally that they don't have the right TYPE of motivation.

As a fitness coach, you may have been in the health and wellness space for so long that you forget what it's like to struggle with motivation in the early days because you've built good habits and found the right type of motivation yourself.

In this post, I'll break down the basic psychological needs for behavior change, goal achievement, and overall well-being. I'll guide you to helping your clients find the right type of motivation to achieve whatever big goals they are after.

Basic Psychological Needs for Success

All humans have basic psychological needs, and we won't be happy campers if those needs aren't met.

Changing our behaviors, achieving goals, or optimizing our well-being is much more challenging if these psychological needs aren't met.

Self-determination theory has been part of psychological research forever (like the 1980s). It explains what our basic human brain needs to make lifestyle changes, stay motivated, and be successful.⁣

These needs are broken down into three components:

• Autonomy
• Relatedness (Belonging)
• Competence

Feeling in charge of one's life, effective, and competent is essential for creating the best kind of motivation or increasing motivation for those who are feeling unmotivated.

Research shows that how well your health and fitness goals also meet these needs will determine your ability to be successful with them and maintain them long-term (Teixeira et al., 2012)⁣.

And what happens when these needs aren't met?

According to research findings, we create substitutes or compensatory behaviors to compensate for this — and the results aren't pretty.

Researchers have found that unmet needs lead to:

• Emotional distress
• Excessive or uncontrolled eating
• Rigid behaviors
• Shame when ultra-high/inflexible standards can’t be achieved
• Stronger urge to eat and/or binge eating behaviors⁣⁣
• Lack of goal progress and mental health concerns

These research examples are pretty extreme, but your basic needs won't be met if your ambitions stem from pressure from someone else,⁣ feelings of guilt,⁣ or a lack of belief in your abilities. And likely, neither will your goals.

The Two Types of Motivation

Self-determination theory defines motivation in two categories: intrinsic and extrinsic. 

Staying motivated comes down to finding the right type of motivation, which typically stems from setting intrinsic goals.

What is Intrinsic Motivation?

Intrinsic goals are based on psychological needs and are personally fulfilling or satisfying. These goals are aimed at outcomes we value deeply, such as feeling in control of our lives or living a long and healthy life. 

Intrinsic motivation is the drive to engage in an activity because it is inherently satisfying or meaningful rather than for external rewards.

When clients are intrinsically motivated, they stick with habits long-term because they genuinely enjoy the process or deeply value the outcome.

What is Extrinsic Motivation?

On the other hand, extrinsic goals are less fulfilling of our basic psychological needs and are often focused on others or conforming to social norms. These goals are aimed at instrumental outcomes and are somewhat separate from the behavior, such as losing weight to fit into that dress that has been sitting at the back of the closet for years. 

Extrinsic motivation is driven by external factors, such as rewards, recognition, or social expectations, rather than personal enjoyment or deep fulfillment.

It can take different forms, ranging from external pressure (e.g., working out to avoid judgment) to more internalized reasons (e.g., exercising because you value health but don’t necessarily enjoy it).

While extrinsic motivation can be effective in the short term, it often leads to inconsistent adherence (lack of motivation) unless it becomes more personally meaningful over time.

The Motivation Continuum

Our psychological needs help differentiate between⁣ ⁣the CONTENT of our goals (e.g., personal development, connection with others, fame & fortune, physical attractiveness) and the REASONING for our goals (e.g., conforming to everyone else, self-esteem boosting, feeling good and empowered)⁣

Understanding the content and reasoning determines the type of motivation.⁣

However, as with everything, there's a gray area. Extrinsic to intrinsic motivation is on a continuum.

The more self-determined your goal is (i.e., a goal you've set based on personally fulfilling factors), the more likely you are to be motivated to achieve that goal. 

Note: Extrinsic motivation isn't inherently “bad.” Some extrinsic motivation is more self-determined than others. 

For example, if a goal is characterized by  “extrinsic-identified” motivation, you're motivated to do it because it aligns with your personal values. Such as, when I set a goal to lose fat and look good for an upcoming trip to Hawaii, this was extrinsically identified motivation because I value things like exercise and eating healthy (things required to achieve this goal), but the purpose of “looking good in Hawaii” is still extrinsic in nature. 

So, the goal is extrinsic, but the behaviors required to get there are still part of my personal values of exercise and healthy eating. 

You could also have an “extrinsic-integrated” motivation, which brings a behavior in harmony with other goals and values (your identity).

An example of this would be the desire to make money. The goal is extrinsic, but the behaviors to obtain this goal can be brought in harmony with your other goals and values by working a job that you're passionate about.

A Study on Weight Loss and Motivation

⁣Several studies have looked at the relationship between someone's ability to lose weight and their type of motivation.

Here's an example that dives into these different aspects of motivation and how it relates to weight loss (Teixeira et al. 2006).

Research Study Methods

Researchers had 136 people enrolled in a four-month weight loss program focused on increasing intrinsic motivation and autonomy with healthy eating and exercise.

Study Results

After the four months, participants lost, on average, six pounds each. 

But more importantly, they kept the weight off 16 months later!

Researchers suggest that the initial weight loss was due to the diet and a strong focus on it, but the maintenance of that weight loss is attributed to the intrinsic motivation that was developed during the study.

The study suggests that fitness coaches should foster autonomy, offer choices, and support clients’ psychological needs to improve adherence.

How to Increase Motivation in Your Clients

Although the study I mentioned focused on how great intrinsic motivation is, it's important to remember that not all extrinsic motivation is “bad.”

Intrinsic motivation is definitely the best, but you aren't doomed for failure if your motivation is extrinsic. 

It's difficult to take something that's very extrinsic and make it intrinsic, but we can make extrinsic motivation more autonomous through identification or integration. 

It all comes down to wanting to do something rather than feeling like you have to do it. 

As a fitness coach, when you are trying to help your clients get or stay motivated, you have to ensure they have a sense of autonomy. In other words, they are the ones calling the shots in their lives rather than just following whatever you or someone else is telling them to do.

You must also help them feel competent enough to do whatever they are setting out to do. They won't be very motivated to go to the gym and follow your workout program if they have no idea how to perform the exercises.

Help them feel competent in anything you are asking them to do.

And you also need to help them create a sense of belonging. The importance of belonging, or having a like-minded community, is why so many health coaching programs offer a community of some sort.

Your client must feel that they are part of something bigger and that they have people in their court.

Health behavior change is a complex and dynamic process that involves multiple factors, including understanding what currently gets your clients motivated, what values matter most to them, and what success looks and feels like for them.

Helping your clients achieve long-term success by staying motivated and learning how to push on even when life gets in the way is something I teach in the Health Mindset Coaching Certification.

It's not enough to just encourage your clients to keep pushing through challenging situations by sending them motivational messages. You must help them create actual behavior change by learning why they are struggling and giving them strategies they can implement repeatedly to stay motivated, build momentum, and overcome challenges.

If you're interested in learning how to help your client adopt healthy behaviors that they will stick to, you should check out the Health Mindset Coaching Certification.

It's your opportunity to learn how to help your clients tackle all-or-nothing thinking, overcome self-sabotage, develop self-control, and increase motivation and follow-through (meaning no more getting ghosted on check-in day).

This 13-week program will help you develop the skills to effectively help your clients stick to the plan, stick with you, and achieve long-term success in their health and fitness goals. 

Join the waitlist here, and you'll get immediate access to some free primer materials to get you started!

Discipline vs. Motivation

Want to learn more about the role of motivation in helping your clients succeed and how discipline plays a role?

If your clients are struggling to make fitness progress and feel like maybe they just aren’t disciplined enough, or maybe you're always wondering how to get them more motivated to achieve their fitness goals, I have a podcast episode for you.

Tune in as I reveal why discipline is likely not the problem.

In this episode, I share additional research on motivation and the steps to create long-term behavior change so you can help your clients get that dream body, hit that PR, or whatever other goals they are currently struggling to achieve. (You can also apply these methods to yourself and your business!)

Connect with us!

Email: [email protected]    

IG:@coachkaseyjo @healthmindsetcert  ⁣

References

Heatherton, T. F., & Baumeister, R. F. (1991). Binge eating as escape from self-awareness. Psychological Bulletin, 110(1), 86–108. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.110.1.86

Schüler, J., & Kuster, M. (2011). Binge eating as a consequence of unfulfilled basic needs: The moderating role of implicit achievement motivation. Motivation and Emotion, 35(1), 89–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-010-9200-y

Teixeira, P.J., Carraça, E.V., Markland, D. et al. Exercise, physical activity, and self-determination theory: A systematic review. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 9, 78 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-9-78

Teixeira, P. J., Going, S. B., Houtkooper, L. B., Cussler, E. C., Metcalfe, L. L., Blew, R. M., ... & Lohman, T. G. (2006). Exercise motivation, eating, and body image variables as predictors of weight control. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 38(1), 179-188.

Verstuyf, J., Patrick, H., Vansteenkiste, M. et al. Motivational dynamics of eating regulation: a self-determination theory perspective. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 9, 21 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-9-21