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Motivation is a powerful, yet tricky beast. Sometimes it is really easy to get motivated, and you find yourself wrapped up in a whirlwind of excitement. Other times, it is nearly impossible to figure out how to motivate yourself and you’re trapped in the cycle for hours, days or even weeks. You know what? It’s totally okay! If that sounds like you, I have some good news for you. Let me tell you how this all works, why motivation matters, what needs to happen in order to be motivated again, and why you needn’t worry!
Motivational Definition
Motivation can simply be defined as a desire to do something (involving doing something). So, motivation comes in many shapes and sizes. For example, there are motivational speakers, inspirational articles on social media, and motivational books, such as this one. But motivation doesn’t just revolve around a person. In fact, if you look at a definition from the International Journal of Management Development and Business Strategy, it states, “Motivation focuses more on individual differences and not organizational characteristics.”
Why Is Motivation Important to Success?
Motivation is important because it allows us to get through our daily tasks, challenges, personal trials, and those life changes we face. Whether they are financial issues, relationships, health struggles, work challenges, relationships, or whatever else our lives throw at us each day…we all struggle with motivation. We need motivation in order to accomplish just about anything we might be facing. It is imperative because without motivation, we would not be able to persevere through these obstacles. Without motivation, we would not be able to stay focused and determined. Without motivation, we wouldn’t be able to focus and continue working towards our goals. Motivation is necessary to succeed in all aspects of our lives. As an example, let’s take a look at someone who is lacking motivation: Imagine going to school as often as you want, but never being motivated to study. Then imagine struggling to pay bills, and staying up late at night watching TV. Both examples would be detrimental to their success in school (or life) in general…if motivation is lacking, then they cannot handle all the stress they put themselves under each day. That’s exactly where motivation comes into play! At least I am still learning so far, but at the end of the day, motivation helps you stay motivated. When you’re feeling unmotivated or stuck from beginning to end, a little motivation at first can make a big difference.
How To Become More Motivated
There are two ways to become motivated and be successful. They are:
1. Set small goals and focus on them
The best way to become more motivated is to set smaller goals to move forward. Think about all the smaller things that can go wrong along the road to achieving your goal. Every now and then, even when you believe that your job is going well, you’ll hit that nagging voice telling you that you can’t stay at that point and keep climbing upwards. It will eventually catch up to you and say no more. Your mindset is key here though. Once you start setting smaller goals to push you forwards, you see progress every step you take. Eventually, you’ll reach those bigger goals, which are much harder to achieve than your previous ones. One tactic often used by people to help build motivation is the method of visualization: Visualize everything you want to accomplish. Write everything down. Do whatever it takes in order to create a visual representation of what you hope to achieve in 5 years, 15 years, etc. This can also help you to visualize all the positive feelings you want to bring to your work (and in your personal life). These mental pictures are essential to building motivation. Afterward, track how many steps you have taken throughout the day, then break those down into shorter milestones of 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 1 hour, whatever it takes to encourage you to press on. This is the same technique used by David Allen, author of Atomic Habits, to teach his readers how to increase motivation and stick to it.
2. Use rewards and incentives
A great way to boost motivation is by giving yourself rewards and incentives for accomplishing your goals. All the little motivations we mentioned earlier, both mentally and physically, are important to motivating us. By rewarding ourselves every time we accomplish a goal or complete a project we started a few weeks ago, this creates lasting motivation. On top of that, this makes the process of completing projects feel exciting and fun, which tends to turn off that inner critic and give us all the energy we need to complete more. Additionally, keeping to a schedule and following through on goals improves our overall enthusiasm for activities. Lastly, rewarding yourself for meeting your goals can improve your motivation and help you to achieve our ultimate goal of becoming better versions of ourselves. This gives you the drive to do more, the passion to get through those rough patches, and the determination to reach higher heights.
How Long Does It Take To Be Motivated?
The amount of time it takes to be motivated fluctuates depending on multiple factors. Some studies suggest that around 3-5 months is the average period after acquiring new habits. However, the science behind this research is inconclusive. What is certain is that it takes some time to adjust to a new routine. According to Brian Tracy, the author of Mindset Workbook, the amount of effort required to change something starts right away and increases over time as the habit stabilizes. Once the habit becomes second nature and stable over time it will last longer. Another factor affecting the length of time it takes to be motivated is having a goal in mind. Having clear, specific, and challenging goals will help you to be inspired and motivated. Setting achievable goals is especially useful to those in business because it motivates people to work hard toward specific targets.
You could try adding another tip to boost motivation—a reward. Often we experience moments in which we are completely overwhelmed by our day-to-day activities, unable to focus, and barely moving forward with our plans. Even though it seems like nothing matters in our world, sometimes we need a distraction. A bonus (or two!) can work wonders and is especially helpful during that moment of overwhelm. My favorite part about this idea is that you don’t have to think about money, sex, fame, food, family, or any other number of things you might need as a reward to get anything accomplished. An extra cup of coffee, snack, movie, dessert, something you love to do, or even something simple like your favorite podcast episode can provide that much-needed dose of dopamine to fuel your motivation. Keep reading my article about 50+ easy ideas for getting that sweet shot of serotonin to motivate you!
How Can I Improve My Motivation?
We can all improve our motivation and overall happiness by starting small and focusing on smaller goals instead of reaching overwhelming peaks and valleys. Here are some tips to start improving your motivation:
1. Plan your dreams and ambitions for yourself
One thing most people forget to do when striving towards their goals is taking actual action. Maybe you’ve decided that you will write a book, sign up for 10k runs, learn a language, etc. Make sure that there is some tangible goal that you can strive for and take concrete steps to reach it. Not all goals will come true, but knowing exactly what you want and why you want it will go a long way in helping you stay on course. Most importantly, remind yourself why you want this goal and plan your actions accordingly.
2. Identify and define WHY you want things and do the things that you are already doing
By identifying what you want, you’ll be able to determine exactly what you have to do, and the resources needed to accomplish those things. Remember that the only way you can gain control is to actually hold yourself accountable. Ask yourself, what are the next steps towards realizing your goals? Which do you need to do and which do you currently have for achieving them? Create a list of priority tasks and assign them to particular times of the day, either in terms of quantity or quality. There’s no need to rush through everything because taking care of your own needs first is the best path to success. Once you have prioritized your list, schedule those tasks into your calendar like appointments, phone calls, emails, texts, etc. Doing this ensures that you work towards achieving that specific task each day and not waste time worrying that you have forgotten something. Taking care of the details may seem easier, but once you add a specific deadline for each task, suddenly you are almost ready to get serious and begin working on your next action.
3. Know when NOT to act and when to act to build your motivation
Now that you have identified your reasons and have created vision for yourself, it’s time to focus on creating the environment wherein you can act as opposed to waiting until tomorrow for some kind of inspiration. Yes, the world does exist. But what about the rest of the people in your circle/spouse/business/etc.? Who can you rely upon to motivate you and guide you toward achieving your ultimate goal? People in your life can support you, but not the one you chose for yourself. If you decide to seek external sources of encouragement to overcome your internal hurdles, you will likely fail at first. Instead of relying