In this post – Motivation: What is it and how it works, we will look at what it means and why it is important to becoming productive. Scientists define motivation as your general willingness to do something. It is the set of psychological forces that compel you to take action. A typical example is waking up in the morning getting ready and going to school.
Why do you need Motivation?
We all want to progress in our life, be it a student going through school, college or university or an employee in an organisation everyone needs to move. If we don’t then we fall behind, may that be in education and exams or in progressing our career., without having some level of motivation no one can move from position ‘a’ to ‘b’.
It is easier to change than to stay the same. It is easier to take action and feel insecure at the gym than to sit still and experience self-loathing on the couch. It is easier to feel awkward while making the sales call than to feel disappointed about your dwindling bank account. As a student, it is easier to put your head down and get the work done than to sit back and worry about it or worse fail the exams.
This is the outline of motivation. Every choice has a price, but when we are motivated, it is easier to deal with the difficulty of action than the pain of remaining the same. As a result of impending deadlines and after hours, of procrastination, we somehow complete the task. We do this through a certain level of mental threshold. What can we do to make it more likely that we cross this mental threshold and feel motivated consistently?
How to Get Motivated and Take Action?
Many of us struggle with finding the motivation or the drive as we focus on the tiny details rather than focusing on the wider goal or objective. If you want to make it easy to find motivation and get started, then it helps to automate the early stages of your behaviour.
Schedule Your Motivation
A lot of people don’t get around to what they want to achieve because they find excuses for themselves not to do it. However, this can be prevented if we plan our motivation alongside. E.g. if you don’t have a scheduled time when you write every week, then you’ll find yourself saying things like, “I just need to find the willpower to do it.”
An article in The Guardian summarized the situation by saying, “If you waste resources trying to decide when or where to work, you’ll impede your capacity to do the work.”
Setting a schedule for yourself seems simple, but it puts your decision-making on autopilot by giving your goals a time and a place to live. It makes it more difficult to stray away from your plans as they have been set in your mind. This will require willpower and motivation. Stop waiting for motivation or inspiration to strike you and set a schedule for your habits. Professionals set a schedule and stick to it. Amateurs wait until they feel inspired or motivated.
How to Get Motivated (Even When You Don’t Feel Like It)
- Exercise more consistently: Use the same warm-up routine in the gym.
- Become more creative: Follow a creative ritual before you start writing or painting or singing.
- Start each day stress-free: Create a five-minute morning meditation ritual.
- Sleep well: Follow a “power down” routine before bed.
The key to unlocking a perfect ritual is having a pre-game routine. This means having a catalyst that will kick-start your mornings or work time.
The key to any good ritual is that it removes the need to make a decision: What should I do first? When should I do this? How should I do this? Most people never get moving because they can’t decide how to get started. Don’t you want to start a routine to become easy and mindless?
How to Make Motivation a Habit
To make motivation a habit stick to the 3 R’s of habit formation. 1. Reminder. 2. Routine. 3. Reward.
When you have something that MUST get done, set a Reminder so that you don’t forget or procrastinate over it. When this alarm goes and reminds you of the task, don’t think too much over it, get up and start that task. Doing the task on one occasion is easy, but to overcome procrastination and build up your motivation muscle you need to make this get-up and go attitude a habit, thus develop a Routine. Soon as you realise something has to be done, set a reminder, when the alarm goes off, get-up and do-it-without too much effort spent on thinking if you should do it or not. After you complete the set task, give yourself a Reward, this reward can be a simple 10-minute break, or go and eat something etc.
As you practice the 3 R’s, overtime and with practice, you will develop a higher level of motivation, doing so will make you more productive and successful.
What to Do When Motivation Fades
Inevitably, your motivation to perform a task will dip at some point. What happens when motivation fades? This may not always work, but you should give it a try.
Your Mind is a Suggestion Engine
Consider every thought you have as a suggestion, not an order. For example, when you are hungry your mind suggests for you to go and find food. You are given the option as to whether you follow it or remain impassive. Remember, none of these suggestions, are orders. They are merely options. You have the power to choose which option to follow.
Discomfort Is Temporary
We complain about all the work we have to do, yet after we have done the habit you will realize how fast it was to complete. So why do we complain? Isn’t everything much easier for us than it was 100 years ago? We must remember that even if the task feels like it is so long, it will be over before we know it.
Maintain perspective. Your life is good and your discomfort is temporary. Step into this moment of discomfort and let it strengthen you.
You Will Never Regret Good Work Once It is Done
We all know how hard it is to force yourself to do the task. However isn’t it so much satisfying after having completed the task? How can you expect to have a flat stomach if you don’t dedicate time at the gym or working out? We want the gold, but not the grind.
Sometimes, the simple act of showing up and having the courage to do the work, even in an average manner, is a victory worth celebrating. Carryon practising developing the Motivation muscle.
