Motivation is Overrated

On this episode of the podcast, I discuss my experience going to Beyonce's Dallas show with me dear sister and her close friend. I also share about meeting Victoria Monet with my sister who is a huge fan of hers.Later on in the podcast I open up about my current fitness journey, and how I work on staying consistent by depending less on motivation and leaning into generating momentum to keep me going (16:50). I hope you listen to the end.

TRANSCRIPT

Amaka (00:00:15) - Hey, everyone. Welcome back. Welcome back to the Letters and Layers podcast. It's your host, Amaka. Welcome to any first time listeners. Thank you for joining us. How are you guys doing? I don't know if I've asked that in a little while, but I often think about what my listeners are doing when they are playing my episodes, and I don't think I've also done this in a while either, but definitely sending. Positivity, love, strength to you, particularly if you're listening and going through a difficult time. It is full. And the. Year is slowly. Winding down. The days are getting shorter. And. Are going into a time where folks may have. A bit of difficulty with the change going from summer into fall in the holidays, so. I am not immune to that change. I do struggle a little bit too, but just want to let you guys know that I am thinking of you all. So how am I doing? I'm doing pretty good. I'm feeling a little tired, but I think that was because I was dehydrated, honestly.

Amaka (00:02:01) - I like to think more so now about. The similarities between humans and plants, honestly. Because sometimes when I am not feeling great or I'm feeling particularly weak, or just kind of feeling heavy, maybe feeling a little foggy, I kind of do a mental check and I'm like, have you had any water today? You know. So I was like, you know what? I didn't really drink as much water as I would have liked yesterday. And to be quite honest, I have been pretty lax with my hydration over the past couple of weeks just to be 100%. And when I get to this point, I'm like, girl, you need some water and not just a bottle. You need to kind of like chug a little bit some water. So I have a 50 ounce container that I often drink from. I brought it with me because I'm actually in Texas right now. I brought it with me and I filled it up, and I am slowly making my way through it, and I'm already feeling a little better.

Amaka (00:03:19) - I'm feeling a little lighter. I also finally ate after seeing eight patients this morning. So, you know, sometimes it's just a matter of have you drank some water today? Have you given your body some sustenance today? I also took my vitamins. So. I am optimistic that I will start to feel better as the day goes on. But yeah. Water. This is your reminder to drink some water today if you have not already, because I think about how you know, if you have a plant that has not gotten water in a while, it'll just be so sad and wilted. And that's kind of how I felt this morning. And as I was not even lying to you, like as I was drinking the water, I started to feel lighter. I'm like, oh my God, I'm I'm no different than a sad, wilted plant right now that is finally getting some water. And it started to perk up. So yeah, starting to feel better slowly, thank God. And yes, like I said, I am in Texas right now.

Amaka (00:04:33) - I've been here for almost a week. I came because, oh no, I've been here a week. Today the day that I am recording, I came because my sister and I bought Beyonce tickets for her Dallas show in May. And you know, we bought the tickets, we had the confirmations and everything, but it did not sink in, you know, that I was going to go see Beyonce. Like logically I understood that. But beyond that, it didn't it didn't register. And even, you know, getting here and waking up the day of it still felt like it was just another day. Because, you know, we go through our whole day and then the concert is in the evening. So, you know, I woke up that day, I'm staying with my sister at her place. So we woke up. We took the day, she took the day off. I worked a half day that day. So I saw my patience. We went out, did a couple of things, came back.

Amaka (00:05:43) - Even as I was getting ready for the concert, I just felt like I was getting ready to go out. You know, normally it wasn't until we made the turn and started to see the arena, the stadium, that it started to hit me and I was like, oh my God. So does this mean that Beyonce is literally feet from me right now? And I started to freak out internally a little bit as we made our way closer and closer to the stadium. So we parked we. It was myself, my sister and a friend of hers. So three of us went together. We parked, we chilled for a bit, we took pictures and then we eventually got inside. We sat about three levels up from the floor, so we were in the 300 section, which actually was pretty good in terms of seats, but still far like Beyonce still looked like a tiny little human from where we were. But the way they structure the show, like the production and the whole stadium, you get a pretty good view from wherever you are.

Amaka (00:06:58) - And I heard that she, you know, makes it a point to make sure the viewers, the concert goers have a good time, no matter where they're sitting in that stadium. And I felt that, I felt that while we were there. So we got there. We we went into the stadium between 630 and 7:00, got to our seats. And you know this, the show didn't actually start until 930, but it was just so fun to see everyone. Everyone was in such high spirits, just happy to be there. The people that we were sitting next to had great vibes. Our whole section was just like chill and happy and having a good time. And then she finally came on at 930 and I lost my shit. I could not believe it. I couldn't believe it. Oh my God. And I tend to not really be the type of person I honestly celebrities. I won't fan out like I don't. There are certain people that I think if I met them in real life, like I would fan out and Beyonce is one of them.

Amaka (00:08:14) - Clearly. I think Rihanna too. I'm a fan of Rihanna. I would fan out for her too. I would try to keep my cool, but I think, you know, I would probably lose it a little bit. But honestly, I have come in close proximity with some more well known people and have just been chill. Like at the end of the day, I think it's partially maybe because of the field I'm in. Like we all have things that we're dealing with were. All going through stuff, you know, whether you're a celebrity or not. Does it make any difference, really? So I guess I kind of keep that in mind, but they're just certain people that are just feel larger than life to me. And I, I think for, for me, what it is about Beyonce is that and this is not a Beyonce episode, but I'm just kind of recounting how the past few days have been for me. And this is such a huge highlight. I think what I respect and what I admire about Beyonce is just her work ethic.

Amaka (00:09:15) - Like she is at the top of her game in her early 40s, and that's just. Part that's just like, that's a lot of the inspiration that I draw from her. Like just knowing, like I'm in my mid 30s now. Like if I decide that it's downhill from here, it's really up to me. I could decide that I'm just getting started. I could decide that I've hit my peak. I could I could decide whatever I want and have it be my reality. And it just looks like to me, like even in her mid, like early 40s, Beyonce continues to challenge herself in her craft. She continues to outdo herself like even when she wasn't actively performing. Like when they would go through the intermission. Like the visuals, like you are entranced in what you are seeing, whether she's actively performing during that concert or not. And sometimes I would just sit and look at what was in front of me, and I just could not believe it. Like just the level, the level of production in that concert, the level of I don't even know what to call it.

Amaka (00:10:33) - And if anything, I just came away with even more respect for that woman. She looked amazing. She sounded amazing. Blue came out blue. Blue. I don't know if I've ever been so proud of a young girl that I have never met and probably will never meet. She did so well and you can tell that her confidence. This is what I derive from what I've seen. Like her confidence has grown so much over the course of this tour, from when she first appeared in Paris to now, and she just looks so happy to be performing with her mom and just feels and just the energy from her, from Beyonce, just the the whole space felt so good. My sister and I had such a great time and yes, I, I thoroughly admire her work ethic with everything that she's accomplished. She is still striving for more, like she is still out there challenging herself, doing it, pushing her limits. And I definitely draw some inspiration from that. Sometimes when I'm struggling with work, like after I've seen my patients and I have to write my notes and do like the administrative things outside of patient interfacing, sometimes I'll put on Beyonce because I think about her work ethic, and I think about how hard she pushes herself and to keep going and to and to do what is her work.

Amaka (00:12:06) - So I, I over the course of this year since Renaissance has been out, which was last year, but more so like 2023, if I really need to get down and focus on certain tasks, I will put on Renaissance and just like go, go, go for that hour so that the music plays. Because it just reminds me, like Beyonce, you know, she lives a completely different life from me. I know she has support in ways that I don't have, but at the same time, like she doesn't let herself get comfortable and she keeps pushing herself. So I think hearing her music in the background while I'm working just, you know, gives me the push that I need sometimes. So yeah, I say all that to say I was going to say, if you haven't seen the concert, go. But at this point I think she has like two shows left on New Orleans. By the time you guys hear this episode, the the tour will be over, which is I have I have some feelings about it because, you know, my social media over the past couple of seasons, from spring into summer has been a lot of Beyonce's tour footage.

Amaka (00:13:22) - So I'm going to kind of miss that. It's it's sad to think that something that has been kind of a staple for this past five, almost six months is now coming to an end. But all things, all good things come to an end. So. Yeah. If you're hearing this right now, I hope that and you're a Beyonce fan. I hope that you were able to make it to a concert because it was well worth it, even with sitting in the stadium for a couple of hours waiting for her to come on, because I heard that she usually comes on like 830, but she came on at 930 at the Dallas show. The wait, once she was on it, completely forgot how long we were waiting. It was so worth it. It was so worth it. So yeah, that is my little impromptu review of the Renaissance World Tour. Dallas, stop. I hear that she might be putting out a concert, movie or film. Can wait to see if that comes to fruition.

Amaka (00:14:26) - But I'm going to I'm going to stop with my Beyonce fangirling. All I have to say is it was an amazing experience. So yes, that was last week. And then this past Sunday, my sister and I went to see Victoria monet. So my sister is a huge, huge, huge Victoria monet fan. She put out her tour dates earlier this summer, and it turns out that Beyonce's tour date and Victoria Monet's tour date in Dallas was within days of each other. So I hit her up. I was like, did you see these tour dates? Let's book the tickets. She's like, say less. She took care of everything, even bought me in greed. So I actually got to meet Victoria monet last week. So sweet. You know, when you see celebrities on TV, they seem so larger than life. But she's so, like, petite, such a petite pretty woman. And when my sister went to meet her, she was fangirling. She was so happy to have a quick chat with her, got a quick video, got pictures.

Amaka (00:15:35) - So I was more so happy for her to have that moment and to, you know, be front row at her concert and just get her whole life. So I was happy to see her, but I was more happy that my sister got to see the concert experience at herself and meet the artist. There's really nothing like it. So that was our weekend into this coming week, and I was actually scheduled to head home, head back to Chicago earlier than planned, but I extended my trip because my family, some of my family members, are moving from one place of residence to another. So I decided to extend my trip so I can help them move. So I think a day or two after the move is when I'm going to head back to Chicago, at which point you guys may or may not have heard that episode, depending on when you listen. So yeah, I've been here. I'm going to be here for almost another week. Always good to come back, see my mom, see the rest of my family and get some time with them before heading back to home base.

Amaka (00:16:50) - So with that said, I'm going to switch gears. I wanted to talk about just some things that I've been mulling over, and just about how things are changing for me in terms of what I believe my capabilities are. And I would go I would go as far as to say that the stories that we tell about ourselves, what our brain tells us, what our mind tells us, are sometimes just not true. You know, our brain can, based on our history, what we've been through, trauma. You know, our brain can just flat out lied to us. Like our mind can flat out just tell us things that are not true. And I speak about that particularly within the context of what we're capable of. And more specifically, I'm talking about when it comes to my journey with like, fitness and achieving what optimal health looks like for me physically working out, exercise, things like that. Over the last, I would say six ish weeks, I've been going a lot harder on exercise and physical fitness than I have probably in the last five ish years.

Amaka (00:18:12) - No, you know what? I wouldn't say that I would say since the beginning of the pandemic, because I remember really being on it when it came to my working out in fitness before Covid started early 2020. But even with that period of time, I see differences between then and now because. Cause there are certain things I just have never thought that I could do, or that I was capable of, until I kind of just decided that that wasn't the story I was going to tell myself. And I decided that I was going to start believing a new story. And when I say that, I mean, like, we don't really have runners in our family. I don't really know anyone that I'm related to who, like, runs long distance or has run a marathon or anything like that. None of us, you know, did track in high school or anything like that. My brother was a shotput and discus athlete in college, but that doesn't really require much running. If anything, it requires you to put on weight so you have the ability to perform that sport.

Amaka (00:19:34) - But as far as like running goes, specifically, I haven't really had anyone to look to to say, okay, you know, we have that type of athleticism in our family. And I think partially, I think that partially contributes to the story that I've always told myself that I'm not really a runner or I don't like running, or it's not something that I can get into. But with the new kind of work that I've been doing physically, with the working out and just trying to get into better shape, I have decided that I was going to kind of dismantle that story in my head, because a couple of weekends ago, I tend to go harder on the weekends with my workouts. I try to work out at least four days a week. I am more aware of what I eat during the week, but I love food, so I allow myself to have some more indulgences on the weekend. But with that, I don't want to completely unravel all my progress, so I tend to go harder on the weekends with my workouts.

Amaka (00:20:43) - So a couple of weekends ago, I was in the midst of a weekend workout. And when I say go hard, I mean my goals for weekends are to get. I have an Apple Watch, which is how I predominantly track my progress with workouts, along with like how I feel. But when it comes to like data and numbers, that's how I do it. So with my weekend workouts, my ultimate goal for Saturday and Sunday and to a degree, Monday, but less so because I don't work on Mondays weekends. My goal is to get triple digit exercise minutes on my Apple Watch. So what does that mean? A regular day exercise goal on my Apple Watch is 35 minutes, but during the weekend my goal is to get triple digits. What does that mean? Get at least 100 minutes of working out of exercise. Minutes to where my heart rate is elevated on the weekends. So I've been consistent with that since the month of September or since the month started. And what I have found even with that is I'll hit my goals and then, and that's strictly within the window of my targeted exercise working out period of time.

Amaka (00:22:02) - But then even with just going along with my day, going out, moving about, I'll log on. More exercise minutes. So I've logged as many as 150 exercise minutes in a day, which is what, like 2.5 hours of exercise minutes. And I'm just I'm looking at these numbers that I have never seen before, attributed to me and my personal level of capability and fitness. And I'm like, I really don't know what I'm capable of and ultimately where the limits of the body I'm learning. Or maybe I kind of always knew this, but just have not put it to practice in this way. The the limits that I have put on my body are directly in relationship with the limits that I put on my mind, because I don't know if I would have ever. Allowed myself to believe that I can get triple digit exercise minutes in a weekend over the course of two days. It's not just one day a week. I'm getting triple digit minutes on Saturday and triple digit minutes on Sunday. And I'm going through these workouts.

Amaka (00:23:15) - A couple of weeks ago, I had a Saturday workout where I was on the StairMaster for like 20, 25 minutes, and then I did a 60 minutes peloton interval running workout. And then I did like, maybe like a 30 ish minute power walk. So peloton is the primary app that I use for my workouts. It keeps me going because there's often new content, and after that workout, I had logged maybe 110 exercise minutes between the StairMaster and the 60 minute interval run and then the power walk, and I was just thinking about how my heart rate was literally elevated between 130 to 180 beats per minute, consistently for at least 90 minutes. And I was okay. I was okay the only time in which I had to take kind of a breather during that workout was during the interval walk and run. So with that, like, we would walk a minute and then we would run a minute, we would walk two minutes and we would run two minutes and it would it increased in that way until we got to five minutes.

Amaka (00:24:35) - So we would run five minutes and walk five minutes. So with that, we had the peak of the five, the five and the five, the walking and the running. And then I had the four minute walking and running going leading up to the five, and then the four minute walking and running going down from the five. So the only time I had to take a break, the only time where I felt like I might faint or die, was that second four minute running interval. But I was like, you know what? Don't don't count yourself out with this running interval. Start it started. And if you feel like you can't continue, then go back to walking. So that's another mental shift to that. I'm like trying to adopt more and more. Don't completely count yourself out. Don't say no, you can't do it because clearly you don't know what you're talking about. Your heart rate has been elevated for over 90 minutes and within this range. And if anything, you're feeling good, you're feeling okay.

Amaka (00:25:35) - Nothing is happening. So I was like, you know what? Don't count yourself out. Try this second four minute interval. And then if you cannot complete it, that's fine. At least you tried. So I did the four minute walking and transitioned into the into the four minute running. And I couldn't finish it. And that's okay. That's okay. I was like, at least you tried. So then I got into the three minute running and the three minute walking, and I even accelerated my speed as we were going back down to zero to almost compensate for the four minute running interval that I didn't finish. But I say all this to say, like, I'm doing all this and my body is doing all this, and however long ago I would have thought that I was not capable of doing this. So now I'm just like, well, these stories, these things I tell myself are just wrong. They're just lies. Like, I literally am not. I don't know what I'm talking about because my body is clearly capable, and ultimately it's me deciding that it is for my body to be like, okay, bet, say less, let's do this.

Amaka (00:26:47) - So I've just been thinking about that. And then with that, I was like, okay, if we can do this, if I can run interval for five minutes, for four minutes, for three minutes, can I run for ten minutes? Not running, really like jogging. Can I jog slash run for ten minutes? So I made it a goal that weekend. This this workout that I just described was a Saturday workout. So I was like, you know what? I'm going to make it a goal to run for ten minutes on Sunday. And I was starting to freak out internally a little bit because I had never, let me say jogged, I mean jogged, I had never jogged for ten minutes straight and I was like, can I do this? Can I do this? But I was like, you know what? We're going to do this. This is a mental thing. You can decide if you can do it, or you can decide if you can't do it. That's ultimately what it is.

Amaka (00:27:47) - So I was like, you know what? I can do it, I can do it. I'm going to run ten minutes. I'm going to jog ten minutes. So I went to the gym Sunday and I did it. And I didn't even feel at the end of that ten minutes. I did it with a peloton beginner running workout. At the end of that ten minutes, I even felt like I could keep going, but I didn't feel like that the whole time. Like I started, I started, I was fine for the first, maybe like 4 or 5 minutes, and then that six, seven, almost eight minute mark is when I had to tell myself, okay, we have to dig deep, we have to dig deep. And there's also the possibility to, at that point that I would lower my jogging speed because I did not want to walk, no matter how slow my jogging pace was, I did not want to go back to a walking pace. So I lower my jogging speed just like one, like 0.1 and then just let off a little bit of pressure, a little bit of jogging pressure.

Amaka (00:28:53) - But once I regain myself, when I move past that point where I need to dig deep and I start to almost gain a little bit of a second wind, I, I amp up the speed again. And then I was getting to the point where I ended the the jog and I felt like I could keep going and my mind was so blown. After that jog. Because I had never run for that long before. I had never jogged for that long before. The longest I'd probably jogged was years ago, years ago, and even that was maybe like seven eight minutes. But I don't know what it was about the double digit, the ten minutes. Like running for double digit time. That made me a little scared. But I was like, you know what? You have shown yourself how much you can do up to this point. You know, you just need yourself to keep going one step at a time for ten minutes. You know, if you can keep your heart rate in triple digits for 90 minutes with your weekend workouts, you can run.

Amaka (00:30:02) - You can jog for ten minutes. So I did that and I was I was so proud of myself. I got home, I told my husband he ran track in high school, so he does like three miles in 20 minutes. But even then, like, he could sense how proud I was of myself and he matched my energy. So I really appreciated that. But yeah, I was like, if I can do this now, I can do it again. So I made it a point during one of my workouts last weekend to do another ten minute, and I pushed myself to 11 minutes. So I jogged 11 minutes last time and I'm just like, wow. So now I'm thinking 20 minutes. Well, not not 20 minutes yet. I have to go in five minute increments. So now I'm thinking 15 minutes jogging, 20 minutes jogging. And not only that, I jog on the treadmill now. And I know in my personal experience, and just from what I kind of know in general, it's harder to jog or run outside on asphalt versus the treadmill because the treadmill, the belt kind of gives some momentum too.

Amaka (00:31:12) - So, you know, I'm not there yet. I'm just trying to continue to break down the negative stories about my capabilities when it comes to physical fitness in the gym, because clearly, my mind has been playing tricks on me my entire life by telling me that I'm not a runner, I can't run, I can't run long distances. You know, that's not a thing. We don't have runners in our family, and I think I am actively trying to change that story in my head that we may not have runners in our family, but I can be a runner. I can be the first runner. I can be the first person in our family that runs A5K, a ten K, a half marathon, a full marathon. I can be that person and then I can kind of shift things, be a catalyst for anyone else in my family who may be sees me and is like, wow, if if she can do this, then maybe I can do something like that too. So I just wanted to talk about that because it's so clear how much our mental impacts are physical.

Amaka (00:32:21) - And I read a quote within the past couple of days that said, the mind will give up so much sooner than the body will. The mind will just give up way before the body physically needs to give up. So at the end of the day, if you keep telling yourself, no, let's go, let's go, let's go. Dig deep, dig deep, dig deep. Chances are your body can keep going. And also to within this journey that I'm on, I'm actively trying to build endurance. And I'm kind of taking I'm like making sure I, I am aware of how I'm feeling within these workouts. And I ask myself, like, if I'm actively in the midst of a jog, am I tired? Yes. Can I keep going though? Yes. Do I do I feel like I'm dying? No. Okay, then we're going to keep going. Because from what I have learned so far, endurance is built. When you keep going, when you're tired, you know, if you're starting out and you're feeling good, then that means you are capable of that anyway.

Amaka (00:33:39) - But when you are getting when you're starting to hit that wall and you are feeling fatigued and you're starting to doubt. That's where the endurance and the new strength is starting to be built. Because even in the midst of that fatigue and that tiredness, you're continuing on. And the message that I'm sending to myself when I'm doing that is I'm tired right now, but I am still going. So what does that mean? I'm actually capable of doing this. And I think once we break down those walls, I'm going to speak for myself. Once with me actively performing these actions, I'm breaking down the walls that are telling me I'm only capable to get to this point, because then I'll run past it and then my mind is like, okay, okay, wait, I thought we were only capable of this, but we're continuing on. Okay, so I think we're only capable of this now and then I jog past that and I'm like, my mind is like, okay, okay. So I'm actively finding my.

Amaka (00:34:51) - Limits and my new levels of endurance, which are slowly, slowly increasing and going up. And I'm just thinking about how much I don't know that I'm capable of and how far I can take it. So I'm not saying I'm going to run a full marathon tomorrow. I'm not saying I'm going to run a full marathon tomorrow, but at least now I don't feel it's impossible. It's just a matter of mindset and training, you know, I can. The idea of running A5K now is is doable. It's attainable. You know, it would take me training, but I could do it. The idea of running a ten K, the idea of running a half marathon is doable is attainable with the right mental space and the training. Because I have walked 8 to 9 miles in one morning, so if I can walk that distance, I can run that distance. You know, it's a different type of mental space. You have to be in on a different type of mindset, but at the same time, I'm capable of that.

Amaka (00:36:08) - Running a full marathon, I still have to kind of wrap my head around that, but A5K, a ten K, a half marathon, like, I feel like I'm attainable. Like that's attainable for me. And that's a place that I have never been before. So I'm just excited to see ultimately what is in store for me down the line in terms of what I am able to achieve in this way. And I just wanted to share this experience that I'm going through because I don't know who's listening, who has told themselves story stories, whether it's in the fitness room or exercise or working out or wherever else in your life that you have limited yourself, but you truly don't know what you're capable of. And ultimately you have to, like, push on those limits and push on those barriers for your mind to be like, wait, wait, wait. Oh no, something is not right here. Because we are actively pushing through the limits that we have set for ourselves. And once you do that, you have broken those stories wide open and the distance that you can go is is only as far as you can see.

Amaka (00:37:25) - So I just wanted to share that I have had a very love hate relationship with exercise and working out since I was a teenager. But as I'm getting older, in my mid 30s, you know, and moving forward, I really want to have more of like a symbiotic relationship with exercise and get to the point where maybe I even love it or enjoy it, you know, and don't dread it. I definitely feel good after the fact, but getting to that point is still difficult sometimes, and I'm hoping with this kind of mental shift that I'm undergoing that that changes. And alongside that too, I put down some workout affirmations that I wanted to use if I'm particularly struggling to get my sneakers on, in addition to kind of the mental work that I've been doing, I put down some exercise workout affirmations on my phone. Because sometimes you need to remind yourself why you're doing what you're doing. So I have about maybe ten workout affirmations. Maybe I'll share them, maybe I won't, you know, at some point.

Amaka (00:38:40) - But you have to remember your why with a lot of things that you don't always see the results right away. And if I'm having a particularly mentally tough time with getting my workout clothes on and getting to the gym, I'll read those affirmations and it helps me to remember why I do this. And I also wanted to talk about the concept of motivation versus momentum, because I think it is more important to generate momentum versus waiting for motivation, because if you're waiting for motivation, that kind of takes the power away from you. Motivation can come, motivation cannot come. You might be motivated for a week to work out, and then, you know, you get to a point where the motivation wanes or it's gone altogether, or something happens to you that completely knocks the wind out of your sales. And you know, it takes a long time to get back to that place if the motivation returns. But what I have found. For myself, as generating momentum is a much more reliable tool for me than waiting on motivation.

Amaka (00:40:02) - Because since I have been steadfast with this working out over the past five weeks, it's almost like I have so much I don't know what to call it, but like, almost like a force that is propelling me forward because of all the work that I have been doing as of late, to the point where if I miss, I hardly go more than I would say four days without a workout. Nowadays, and because I have a personal like weight loss fitness goal in mind, that's something that keeps me going to. Another thing about momentum is that you can dial back momentum if you're struggling versus motivation, where you don't really have control in that way. You know, if I am not in the frame of mind to go hard on a workout, I'll tell myself, okay, we're leaning hard on our momentum that we've generated. Let's just go to the gym and work out for 20 minutes. Let's just get our shoes on. Let's just put our clothes on. Let's just get into the car. Let's just get into the gym.

Amaka (00:41:17) - Let's just stand on the treadmill for five minutes. Let's just put it on 2.0. Let's just put the incline on two. And I find that once I do those things, the momentum within that specific fitness event just keeps going and growing and growing. And then I blink my eyes and I've done one hour workout. So I think. I think motivation is overrated. I don't want to say it for when it comes to all aspects of life, but I think motivation is overrated when it comes to fitness. And I think motivation is overrated when it comes to like exercise and wellness in this way, because motivation takes the power away from you. You can be motivated or you could not be motivated, but momentum is something that you have an active role to play in. You can start generating momentum by just putting your shoes on and just stretching your body and just, you know, doing five minutes of movement, movement. You don't even have to leave your house. I find that there are particular points. There's particular thresholds that I have to hit for myself before I almost don't have to do any work, and the momentum does it for me.

Amaka (00:42:40) - Once I get my workout clothes on, it's like 95% chance I'm going to get a workout done, even if it's 5 to 10 minutes, which it usually it isn't. In my mind, the number for me is 20 minutes. I don't know if folks listening to this episode have listened to a past episode where part of the title was know your number. What I meant by that is there's a certain number in my mind, and I feel like if it's happened, if it happens with me, I can't be the only person. There's a number I have in my mind where I'm like, okay, I can do this. I have no issue, any number beyond that. It's like I almost feel like mentally weighed down. So with exercise, my number is 20 minutes. I'm like, I can go to the gym 20 minutes. Easy peasy. If that's all I do for today, at least I got it done. Anything beyond 20 minutes. I almost feel like mentally weighed down when it comes to exercise.

Amaka (00:43:33) - Like 30 minutes, 45 minutes. Okay, you're doing too much there mentally, but I don't know. There's something about the number 20 where my mind is just like, oh, okay. Yeah. Let's go. And then kind of telling myself, let's just go for 20 minutes, I get on the treadmill, I start walking, I put on my music, I get into my peloton workout, the momentum is generated so much so that I will double that time, sometimes triple it. So I think that all of this I'm saying is pretty much to drive home that motivation takes the power away from you. You don't have the power when it comes to motivation, because you're leaving it up to whether or not it comes to you versus momentum that you can start generating with even the littlest change. The littlest change. You know you're not running on autopilot anymore. You are making your brain stop and think and take in what you're doing, and things start to shift. And when you are maybe going hard and fast and you're starting to feel a little fatigued or burned out, burnt out, you don't have to.

Amaka (00:44:44) - It's hard to go all the way to zero because you still have that momentum kind of propelling you forward, but you can dial it back to where you get a little bit of a break, and then once you kind of regain yourself, you continue forward. So with that, I'm going to end the podcast here. Thank you guys so much for listening. Please reach out to me. As always, thank you for your support with the transition with the new name for the podcast. Thank you for the support. Please rate and review on your preferred listening platform. Please share. Please recommend. Please reach out to me via email through my social media channels. And as always, thank you guys so much. Love you guys so much. Talk to you soon. Bye.