"I need to be motivated...."

Overall I think those of us in the physical activity field have done an okay job on creating awareness. Canadians are aware of the importance of physical activity. I am not even just guessing on this statement! Back in 2007, CFLRI conducted research and found that most of Canadians believe that there are benefits to being physically active. They also found Canadian’s attitudes about physical active to be positive. For example, 92% indicate that physical activity is pleasant. Pretty positive right?

So… If the majority of Canadians believe there are health benefits to being physically active and they view physical activity as positive- why are do we have low physical activity participation? It does make you stop and scratch you head.

Of course the answer is complex and laden with many issues and barriers. One key issue, I suspect, is motivation.

Ahhhh motivation... this fleeting entity that so many want but cannot find when it comes to physical activity.

In fact one of the most sited barriers to physical activity is lack of motivation. The same series of surveys done by CFLRI also found that the Canadians who are the least active report their top barrier is a lack of interest/motivation to being physically active.

Do I hear the word 'duh' coming from the crowd? This fact comes as no surprise to many folks who have been in the physical activity field. We hear about this all to often. So, as practitioners and community leaders, we often wonder how we can influence motivation. And in some cases, the people who want to influence also look to us to provide motivation as well. Yikes!

A little unfair isn't it? Especially since motivation appears to be a complex mystery to most of us. In fact, it is such complex huge issue there are in fact researchers who study motivation. A colleague of mine, here at Centre, is very familiar with the psychological side of physical activity and motivation. I encourage you to check out this link. She wrote this piece on our website about motivation and I think it’s excellent.

To summarize one of her points: There are different sources of motivation. Some come from within the person (internal) and some come from outside sources (external)... and often what really influences a person is a mix of both.

As well, what motivates a person will vary from person to person. What motivates me to drag my butt off the couch may not be what motivates you.

I suspect us practitioners may often focus on the external motivators when we are trying to influence others. This can be risky, as we may end up doing more damage than good. For example focusing on guilt and fear.

That being said, I don’t want to be a negative ninny about external motivation. In fact, in many cases it can help encourage someone to try a new activity out for the first time.

The important thing to keep in mind is that for an activity to stick and behaviour change to happen (i.e. being physically active regularly) the motivation has to primarily be internal.

So, what are we to do??

We need to keep in mind it is okay to provide some external motivation- initially. But we must recognize that for this behavior to stick, the folks we are working with, need to find the internal drive to continue.

Along the way we can provide them guidance to help them discover what their motivation is, and how they may in fact harness it. If you have time, check this article out on motivational interviewing.

We can also look at how we can shape our programs and the social and physical environments that people may experience. We know people like to have fun, socialize and feel safe. So lets make it that way for them.

Finally, we need to allow ourselves not to feel responsible for another persons' source of motivation. I know, I know- sometimes easier said than done.