MOTIVATON

Motivation…. What is it? How do you get motivated and how do you sustain motivation?

James Clear puts motivation in a very simplistic yet real statement from his article Motivation: The Scientific Guide on How to Get and Stay Motivated, “Every choice has a price, but when we are motivated, it is easier to bear the inconvenience of action than the pain of remaining the same.”

To make things happen or do what you want to do, you need motivation! Motivation is what drives us to behave in certain ways and is the desire to achieve a need of some sort. It can be the difference between waking up before dawn to go workout vs lazing around the house all day. It's the key component in setting and achieving your goals.

When it comes to motivation, it can be broken down into four categories:

Intrinsic motivation, or drive to achieve comes from inside an individual and isn’t motivated by external factors. This kind of motivation has many positive benefits to yourself and personal well-being.

Extrinsic motivation, or external factors (for example, compliments, competition or pressure to perform) might get a person started but long-term motivation depends on a person’s values and processes for achieving goals.

Positive motivation, focuses on positive things that will happen when you take action (for example, someone working out at the gym four times a week because they like the way they look and feel when they work out regularly.)

Negative motivation, focuses on negative reasons that will occur if you don’t take action (for example, a player may work hard on the football field to avoid being ridiculed at the end of the game by the coach or team members.)

Both negative and positive motivation can be effective in different situations. However, people are much more successful when they’re doing something because they actually want to it, rather than if they’re acting to avoid an outcome they don’t want. That means positive motivation usually has a bigger and better impact.  

The diagram below shows a relationship between the four types of motivation in two facets:

Let’s at a look at why three of the sections are not as effective for creating motivation. Without relying on a system of rewards and penalties, positive intrinsic motivation may be the most reliable motivational practice for the greatest outcome to start and sustain your motivation.

4 Kinds of Motivation:

Making any change in your behavior, such as starting a training program, is significant and can be challenging – the next thing is to make it a habit, (refer back to my blog on Habits.) If exercise is another task on your never-ending list, chances are it won’t be sustainable. If you find something that you enjoy and that makes you feel good and you can easily fit in your day to day living, you’re more likely to make a sustainable change.

Motivation levels vary in everyone; even the best athletes find it hard to get motivated from time to time. So before you start, accept that there will be brief setbacks or times when you do not feel like exercising. If this occurs, remind yourself to set small, attainable goals, (refer back to my blog on Goal Setting.) This gives you a direction to focus on - one that’s measurable and has an end point; all factors which can help you stay motivated.

Be ready for these 'setbacks'. Below are some tips to overcome those hurdles and how you can pick up where you left off. Don't be discouraged. It happens to all of us.

Choose goals that interest you.

You’re much more likely to stay motivated if you are working towards something that you genuinely want to do or achieve.

Track your progress.

When you are working towards something, it can be really motivating if you can see evidence that you are making progress. Your emotions and motivation reacts strongly to progress towards your goal. Measure the balance between the cost of your choices and rewards they bring.

Break up your goal.

Start with easier tasks and work your way up to bigger challenges. Breaking up a task in your mind into achievable chunks helps build confidence.

Use rewards.

Promise yourself some sort of reward each time you complete a task.

My next blog will cover how performance and stress go hand in hand (refer to the Yerkes-Dodson Curve below) and why sometimes a little bit of stress can actually help you perform your best.