The spark of the engine of progress is motivation. Even a good plan can fail without it. So whether you’re trying to keep your professional presence sharp, grow as a person, or just keep up with a daily to do list, figuring out motivation is the key. In this blog I will go deep into what motivation is, why it is important and how to cultivate and sustain motivation to reach your goals.
What is Motivation?
Motivation is an internal process which makes us take action. That’s what motivates us to go and do something, and keep going when things get rough. Motivation is a bit of a loaded word and comes in many guises, but the fact of the matter is being able to understand how it works for you personally, and how you can use it to your advantage, is the most important factor.
The Two Types of Motivation
Motivation can be broadly categorized into two types:
1. Intrinsic Motivation
This comes from within. That’s the drive driven by personal satisfaction, curiosity and the desire to achieve for its own sake. You do things because it makes you feel good or you feel fulfilled afterward. For example, there was a skill that was released that interests you so you decide to learn it, or you exercise because you feel healthy and strong.
2. Extrinsic Motivation
Where as incentives are extrinsic motivation leading from outside sources like rewards or recognition. A bonus at work, praise from others, or avoiding negative consequences like penalties, may make you do a task. All that being said, extrinsic motivation is powerful, but it’s short lived because it’s entirely dependent on external things.
Why is Motivation Important?
One thing important to know is that motivation affects all things. It decides how lost you are, how you command your time and thus eventually make it to your goals. Below are some of the key reasons why motivation is so important:
1. It helps you to set and achieve goals.
Goals are dreams without motivation. Dreaming makes you happy, hoping makes you creative, but it is motivation that transforms these dreams into achievable plans, while providing the energy to do the things needed to achieve them. It motivates you to keep pushing through obstacles, and to keep being committed even when it’s not easy.
2. Enhances Productivity
A motivated person works more focused and productive. Motivation helps you stay on task and fight procrastination whether you’re at work or at home. This allows you to put your focus on what is really important and not get in the way when it comes to distraction.
3. Boosts Mental Health
Mental health and motivation are linked. Being purposeful makes you feel better, reduces anxiety, and relieves depression. On the other hand, it’s possible for a short of motivation to spark a sense of stagnation, even burnout.
4. Aids Growth and Development
Personal growth is driven by motivation. It helps you learn new things, step out of your comfort zone and keep constantly improving. There is no personal development without motivation and you become complacent and resist change.
Understanding the Science Behind Motivation
Motivation isn’t just a buzzword, it’s grounded in scientific fact — psychology and neuroscience in particular. We’re hardwired for rewards and painful to avoid pain. In fact, the chemicals that make us feel motivated are in our brains like dopamine. First of all, it’s time to look closer to the core scientific principles that motivate us.
1. The Dopamine Effect
Keeping dopamine, which is sometimes called the ‘feel good’ neurotransmitter, and dopamine’s role in motivation, in mind, will also help you. Your brain releases dopamine when you expect something good, leading you to take action. That’s why small, achievable goals can set off a “dopamine loop” — something where each new win empowers us to motivate once again.
2. The Role of Willpower
And self control: as much as willpower is often seen as a limited resource, that is true; we can deplete our self control over time. It’s known as “ego depletion.” Motivation, however, can erase this effect because it can provide you with the energy and drive to get through when willpower is dying.
3. The Habit Loop
Moreover, habits can also help explain what is motivation. According to the habit loop theory, habits consist of three stages: cue, routine, and reward. Motivation keeps our positive routines going and turns hard tasks into autopilot over time.
Common Myths About Motivation
Before we go into strategies for increasing motivation, we’ve got to smash a few common myths that might be keeping you from reaching your goals.
1. Starting Up Requires You to Feel Motivated to Start.
Questions about feeling motivated before taking action is one of the biggest misconceptions out there. In practice, however, it’s typically action that precedes motivation. Starting a task can in fact, get you started on the motion needed to continue.
2. “Motivation is Constant”
A lot of people think that you either have motivation or you don’t. Motivation ebbs and flows. At times you can feel highly motivated and other times less so. It is about figuring how to be able to manage these fluctuations and also progress until one reaches his or her target weight.
3. “Only Big Goals Matter”
Although setting big goals is necessary, it’s demotivating to just go after big milestones. Big goals need to be broken down into smaller, more manageable steps. Small wins have to be celebrated because they maintain motivation high.
How to Cultivate and Sustain Motivation
Having understood what motivation is and why it matters, let’s get to some practical strategies for building and sustaining motivation in your life.
1. Set Clear, Achievable Goals
The first thing is to set clear specific goals. Goals such as “get fit” or “be more productive” are fuzzy and hard to measure and rarely get you anywhere. Don’t; rather, breakdown your objectives into smaller, actionable steps. For instance, if you are aiming for being fit — set your target something like; exercise three days a week for 30 minutes.
2. Develop a Morning Routine
The mood you set in the morning plays a huge role in how motivated you are for the rest of the day. The beginning of the day provides a window of opportunity to build a habit that will enhance your physical and mental health, which in turn will ensure that you’re more grounded for the rest of the day. It’s the kind of weapon that lives outside of your creative activities, such as meditation, stretching, journaling, or even, heck, reading for a couple of minutes.
3. To Make a Motivating Environment
Motivation greatly depends on your surroundings. An environment cluttered and disorganized can take away your energy and focus. On the flipside, having a clean inspiring space can help motivate you. Whether it’s a vision board, replacing those motivational quotes around your room or making sure your work desk is tidy, surround yourself with reminders of your goals.
4. Use Positive Reinforcement
Staying motivated can be done using positive reinforcer. Even if you complete the smallest task, reward yourself, somehow. The rewards can be as simple as taking a short break, or treating yourself to something you enjoy. This way, you’ll make the progress feel positive, and you’ll reinforce the behavior and maintain motivation.
5. Cultivate a Growth Mindset
The belief that individuals can develop their abilities, and intelligence, through effort and practice is called growth mindset. Those with a growth mindset are more likely to face challenges head on, and persist through failure, looking at failure as an opportunity to learn. If you take on this way of thinking, it makes maintaining motivation in the wake of obstacles that much simpler.
6. Find Your “Why”
One of the strongest ways to ignite motivation is to identify what I refer to as ‘your why’. So why are you trying to do this? What’s driving you? Having a clear sense of purpose makes staying motivated while the road is rough. Reflect a while on what you value and whether it aligns with your goals.
7. Build a Support System
Being surrounded by positive, supporting people will make a huge impact on your motivation. Having a strong support system of friends, family and colleagues can even keep you accountable and encourage you to stay strong when motivation starts to wane. Creating communities, or social groups, of people that also work toward similar goals can also give a person a sense of camarade no and inspiration.
8. Practice Self-Compassion
Everyone isn’t motivated 100% the time and that’s okay. Practice self compassion when you have bad days or days that you are not as productive as you would like. Don’t be too hard on yourself and refrain from speaking negatively about yourself. Know that motivation rises and falls, and that it’s ok to rest and refill.
Overcoming Common Motivation Killers
While some strategies might help increase motivation, even the best don’t guarantee success, sometimes. Here’s what you can do to overcome some of the most common motivation killers.
1. Procrastination
The ultimate distraction book is procrastination. The longer you hang onto something, the harder it becomes to do it. A way to battle procrastination is to divide tasks down into smaller, more manageable pieces. When something can be done in two minutes or less, do it immediately: the “two minute rule”.
2. Fear of Failure
Many times fear of failure keeps people from doing anything. The solution to get around this is to reframe failure as a learning opportunity. Instead of assuming that this is a projection of what you can do, think of it as part of the growth experience. This will take the pressure off you as you’ll find ways to stay motivated and keep moving forward.
3. Burnout
Caregiver burnout is the state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion brought on by long term (chronic) caregiving. Also, make sure you’re not about to burnout by balancing work with rest and self care. You need to set boundaries, and have time to recharge. But to prevent burnout and (eventually) make sure your motivation keeps staying high, take frequent breaks, and practise mindfulness.
Conclusion: How to Stay Motivated for the Long Haul
The key to success in any aspect of your life is motivation but that doesn’t happen magically and, believe it or not, it’s not that hard to find. A skill, it can be cultivated and sustained through conscious work. Clear goal setting, developing positive habits and dealing with obstacles all can help you keep high motivation level, even when the going gets tough.
Motivation isn’t a constant though, but read through this article and you’ll now be motivated to re-motivate yourself whenever you
need it. Keep building forward, and don’t be afraid to change your approach as you go. With persistent and a driven frame of mind, there’s every little thing you can attain.
Frotpox 