How Do I Feel Motivated to Get Outside More?
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Get a podcast or audio book! Or even an album you want to go through. Stick it on and give yourself a goal I.e this walk I'll get through 3 chapters etc. walk until you reach your goal and then walk back home
that's what I do! 1 -
Personally getting going is hard for me but once I'm there I love it. I drive to a city park and walk there. The calories I get for getting some exercise tend to motivate me. I may not eat them all but knowing they're there makes all the difference. I have lost 86 pounds and my moods have really improved from the exercise. There's something about living in a city of over a million people and seeing a doe and her two fawns in a local park that makes you want to do it. I lived here for 30 years and had no idea that was right outside my door. Set reasonable goals for yourself. Make it achievable.2
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I love nature and it all it's scenic beauties -- thats enough to get me outside. However, Im an introverted guy and before I started my weight-loss journey I was the same way. Just didn't feel motivated. For me, part of the motivation came from the weight-loss itself. As I started losing more weight I found myself invigorated with more energy and in turn, drive.shinedowness wrote: »I have a hard time feeling motivated to go outside. Any tips on how to make being outside fun?
Things I never felt like doing I suddenly wanted to do. My favorite thing in the world to do is swim. If you like swimming, find water and swim! That will get you outside and swimming is great cardio at that!
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I'm in South Carolina. This is our stay-inside season. To get a good walk in, go to a big-box store like Walmart or Home Depot and do a circuit or two of all the aisles. It's not outside but it's at least not in your own house.1
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CattOfTheGarage wrote: »shinedowness wrote: »CattOfTheGarage wrote: »shinedowness wrote: »Nature looks somewhat boring to me. I only like swimming by myself, walking in an environment that doesn't look like it's been tainted by humanity's industries, houses, etc., and I only like walking by myself in nature. But, there are cruel people out there. So, I feel cynical...
You are over thinking this. Don't hang about waiting for motivation or thinking dark thoughts about the human condition. Just get out. Once you have built up a habit you may enjoy it more, and even if not, it's good for you.
Overthinking how?
Thinking about how you prefer to walk in only pristine environments, thinking about how cruel people are, thinking about how humanity is ruining things, thinking about how boring nature is - even thinking about how unmotivated you are. All of this is unnecessary and will further discourage you.
If you sit around waiting for conditions to be perfect or waiting to feel 'motivated', you'll never do it. If going outside is something you want to include in your exercise, there are three steps:
1. Put your shoes on
2. Open the door
3. Go out
We all feel unmotivated sometimes to do what we ultimately want to do. The secret is not to sit and try to conjure motivation. The secret is to make yourself do it. If you do, you might just find yourself enjoying it.
Great advice and well-written.
Beautiful pic!
Thanks ... it is a hike we did near Jasper, Alberta. We took a sky tram to the upper terminal (little building sitting on the edge of the cliff) and then hiked to the top of the mountain. Breathtaking ... just stunning!! Well worth the effort! 1 -
OP, I am having a similar issue. I found out last year when I did Couch to 5K that I really enjoyed exercising outside. But last fall, I had a lot of vacation days so between those days and the weekends, I could get out in the early afternoon when it was actually NICE out.
Right now, the heat index is about 100 degrees, humidity is awful, I don't have any vacation days. My neighborhood doesn't have a *safe* walking area so I have to go to another neighborhood. This forces me to cross the road during rush hour. It all got so stressful, with the traffic and heat, that I totally lost my motivation for it. Trying to get it back...0 -
Get a podcast or audio book! Or even an album you want to go through. Stick it on and give yourself a goal I.e this walk I'll get through 3 chapters etc. walk until you reach your goal and then walk back home that's what I do!
Great suggestion!
I have FM radio on one of my MP3 players and listening to the news on NPR is usually good for getting my heart rate up.0 -
shinedowness wrote: »Nature looks somewhat boring to me. I only like swimming by myself, walking in an environment that doesn't look like it's been tainted by humanity's industries, houses, etc., and I only like walking by myself in nature. But, there are cruel people out there. So, I feel cynical...
I'm sorry to hear that it's the idea of encountering cruel people that's preventing you from getting out there. You deserve to be out there enjoying nature and the sunshine as much as anyone else.
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shinedowness wrote: »Nature looks somewhat boring to me. I only like swimming by myself, walking in an environment that doesn't look like it's been tainted by humanity's industries, houses, etc., and I only like walking by myself in nature. But, there are cruel people out there. So, I feel cynical...
Get some mace from your local gun shop...they even have super cool mace that will turn the object of it purple and has something in it that shows up under a UV light for up to 48 hours, even if you shower. Take your mace and yourself for a walk in the woods or a local park. In over 12 years of hiking and traveling alone, I've only had one instance of encountering a "cruel person" in nature and my agility and ability to run faster than him made me the winner of that one.0 -
This does not compute...
Heading up to San Pedro Parks for a bit of camping and hiking this weekend with the fam...
Climbing is something we have come to enjoy quite a bit as well...we're taking our first trip outside of the climbing gym in a few weeks and I can't be more excited...
The Paseo Del Bosque trail is one of my favorite places to ride and it's just down the street from my house...
The La Luz trail is one of our favorite hikes...hike up, tram down...get beer...
Boring is sitting around at home doing nothing...3 -
Work indoors everyday
You'll crave being outside!!! 0 -
@cwolfman13 - awesome pics!
Just FYI, they're not mine...I'm always too busy doing the stuff and forget to take pictures, but other than the climbing photos, these are all real places I go. I couldn't find any stock pictures from my climbing gym and I'm not sure where they are taking in a few weeks for our outdoor class.
I just don't understand how getting outside is boring and wanted to illustrate a point...this kind of stuff makes up most of what I do for exercise...the only other thing is a couple days of weight lifting which isn't my favorite thing in the world, but I gotta get 'er done.1 -
I'm in Houston, so hot and humid are what I have to deal with. But the fact that it gets ungodly hot in the afternoons, my motivation is to get out as early as possible so I can take advantage of morning breezes before it gets too hot.
Also the fact that I get off work at 6:30-7 depending on when my kids leave and how long it takes to break down my room, plus 45 minutes to an hour commute kills most evening workouts if I have to cook dinner. So mornings are the only time I can get out.0 -
Where do you live, OP? What's the climate?0
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