If you haven’t learned the ins and outs of motivation, getting and staying motivated can feel like an uphill battle.
Fortunately, there are many tried-and-tested techniques for not just temporarily boosting your momentum but — for permanently transforming it.
In this guide to regaining and generating motivation, you’ll discover Lifehack’s ultimate formula for creating and maintaining motivation. You’ll learn how to take back control of your life and prepare yourself to tackle your dreams. With motivation on your side, you’ll set short and long-term goals that will set you up for success.
If you’re ready to learn everything you’ll ever need to know about motivation, let’s begin.
What is Motivation?
Motivation is the force that compels you to stick with your goals and achieve them. It’s the desire to run a marathon, excel at your job, and lose weight. Without motivation, you wouldn’t have any inclination to pursue greatness. Your basic motivations must first be met before you can start working towards improving the finer aspects of your life.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explains how you’re motivated first to take care of your physiological and safety needs before you can pursue love, self-esteem, and self-actualization. Before you get ahead of yourself and dive into all of the psychological theories of motivation, take care of your most basic needs.
Once you’ve taken care of the basics, you’ll be ready to take on your higher purpose. Some will have a hard time sticking to their goals if they lack passion behind their motivation. When your thoughts, goals, and actions are all in line, you’ll see yourself crossing the finish line before you know it.
The most important step is putting purpose and passion behind your motivation. That’s why you need to ask yourself:
“What goal is important enough to me, right now, that I can put my mind, body, and soul behind it?”
The Importance of Motivation
Finding and building motivation is vital as it will allow you to:
- Change your habits
- Become the best you
- Set achievable goals
- Learn how to manage time
- Build skills and talents
- Improve your mental health
Motivation has an exponential effect. In the beginning, it can be difficult to stick with your goals. When you’ve made it past the initial pain period, you’re more likely to keep working towards the finish line. You’ll find that in those moments it allows you to:
- Adapt to a fast-paced, ever-changing environment
- Function productively
- Build courage and character
- Increase your internal drive
Motivation is also linked with our physical and mental health. When we lack motivation, our well-being will diminish. Our basic needs will stop being met and our mind and body will suffer because of it.
You need to have the motivation to go to the gym and work out. You need to have the motivation to be a good parent, partner, and friend. When we start to become less motivated in simple tasks like cleaning our room, this has a butterfly effect that can negatively affect our well-being.
It’s for these reasons why you need to find your motivational drive. It’s a crucial aspect to living a Full Life and achieving happiness, success, and more.
Why Is It Difficult to Stay Motivated?
The tricky part about motivation is not starting, but staying motivated. Every New Year, thousands decide they’re going to change their lives. Fewer than 10 percent actually stick with their resolution, and that’s being generous. Below you’ll find many common reasons why you’re losing motivation.
Not Aiming High Enough
While it’s easy to think setting easy goals will keep you motivated, it may harm your long-term motivation. If you make goals that are too achievable, you’ll get bored and lose interest. Ideally, you want to strike a balance between pushing yourself and creating realistic goals.
If you’re used to staying within your comfort zone, you’ll be missing out on the satisfaction of achieving a life-changing goal. When you push yourself, you’ll be able to build unshakable confidence as you crush goal after goal. When you look around one day and you’re living your dream, it’ll all be worth it.
Suffering From Procrastination
If you find it hard to stay focused and get started, you’ll find yourself falling behind.
Procrastination is a bad habit that you must learn to deal with if you want to achieve your short-term goals. Some simple steps you can take to defeat procrastination are: commit to starting a task for at least 3 minutes, create daily, weekly, and monthly to-do lists; and reward yourself when you complete your tasks.
Unclear Vision
Uncertainty about the future is a fear that many of us deal with. It can be paralyzing, instead of taking action, we start worrying about “What if?”
“What if it doesn’t work out? What if my dream isn’t truly my dream? What if I don’t succeed?”
If you have trouble creating a vision, then you’re at risk of drifting aimlessly through life. When you find your purpose and passion, you’ll be driven to strive for excellence. You can start the process of discovering your life purpose by asking yourself: “What would my ideal life look like?”
This is how to Create a Vision for the Life You Want
Letting Fear Control Your Mind And Actions
Fear can prevent you from achieving your dreams. Instead of taking action and moving forward, you might be finding yourself apprehensive due to the fear of failure.
You mustn’t allow fear to hold you back. You’ll inevitably miss out on career, relationship, and self-improvement opportunities if you don’t learn how to manage your fears. Fortunately, fear can be overcome.
One way to manage fear is to look for the root cause of your fear. With deep introspection, you can uncover the exact moment that triggered the fear that has been hindering your growth. This will give you a window of opportunity to communicate with your inner being and find release.
Facing your fear is the only way you’ll be able to become the best version of yourself. You don’t need to fix your problem overnight, but taking slow, thoughtful actions can have massive impacts on how you deal with your inside and outside world.
Feeling Overwhelmed With Work and Responsibilities
Otherwise known as burnout, it places you into a state of depression from overexertion and you struggle to achieve your goals. Burning out occurs when we put our well-being on the back burner to further ourselves in our careers or hobbies.
When we feel overwhelmed and forget about ourselves, it becomes a challenge to unwind and find balance in life. Burning out is a sign that you’re motivated, but you need to learn how to separate work and home life. Without this separation, the lines begin to blur and you may find it increasingly difficult to find motivation for yourself when you’re constantly wiped out from work.
Deal with burnout by improving your time management, and learn how to take regular ‘you’ time. Find out more in How to Spot a Burnout And Overcome It Fast.
Types of Motivation
Understanding and knowing how to use the different types of motivation can help you reach your goals.
Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation stems from finding satisfaction from within and doesn’t rely on the potential external gain.
If you play a sport but only for enjoyment, you’re doing it out of intrinsic motivation. The same could be said for drawing, meditating, learning, and reading. Anything that you pursue for enjoyment rather than for potential personal benefit is intrinsic motivation.
You’ll find that it’s easier to stick with an intrinsic motivation because you’re enjoying the process rather than depending on an external factor to bring you happiness.
Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation is working towards a tangible goal that has a specific outcome.
Working hard to get promoted is extrinsic motivation. Playing a sport only to win is extrinsic motivation.
Extrinsic motivation doesn’t necessarily mean “bad”, but you may find that extrinsic motivations bring you less fulfillment than intrinsic motivations.
Reward-Based/Incentive Motivation
Similar to extrinsic motivation, you can think of it like a carrot-on-a-stick. A reward is waiting for you after you complete a task.
For example, your partner tells you that if you clean the house, they’ll cook a delicious dinner for you. If you don’t like cleaning, getting you to clean can be an insurmountable task. With the incentive of a reward for a tasty meal, you’ll easily find the motivation to get the job done.
Fear-Based Motivation
Fear-based motivation is an example of negative reinforcement.
You may be fearful that if you don’t stick to your goals, you’ll never fit into the size clothes you want or get the job you’ve been dreaming about.
Fear-based motivation can be extremely powerful when used towards achieving the right goals.
Achievement-Based Motivation
People who are striving to achieve higher roles, better positions and better titles are all working through achievement-based motivation.
Those who are utilizing achievement-based motivations are working towards a goal they have in mind, they aren’t necessarily working solely for personal gain. If you’re a professional that’s looking to expand your horizon, using achievement-based motivation can help you get there while keeping the ego at bay.
Power-Based Motivation
If you want to change the world (or at least some part of it), then you’ll be able to call upon power-based motivation. Essentially, if you want to be a leader and a visionary, you’ll only be able to succeed with a thirst for power. This could be a negative (think of dictators), but it could also be very positive (think of Martin Luther King, Jr.).
Affiliation Motivation
If you’ve ever been part of a sports team, you have seen affiliation in action. It’s that special team spirit that motivates each player to perform their very best.
Work can be the same too. You just need to make sure you’re part of a harmonious and supportive team.
Competence Motivation
If you’re always trying to learn new things and become an expert, you’re being driven by competence motivation.
Competence motivation is incredibly powerful when you’re trying to build a business and start facing obstacles. Instead of giving up, you’ll continue learning and keep pushing forward.
Attitude Motivation
Imagine trying to tackle a big goal such as learning a new language by starting with a negative mindset. Your defeatist attitude is likely to lead to just that — defeat.
But now picture the same scenario with your mindset switched to positive. With this hopeful, go-getting attitude you’ll have the motivation to start learning and speaking the language of your choice.
Want to find the motivation styles that work best for you?
Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation
When To Use Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation should be used wisely as only focusing on fame and fortune can lead to a feeling of unfulfillment. Some situations to use extrinsic motivation are:
- Offering it to those who don’t want to do a particular task. Getting someone to do a task can be rewarding if they have something to look forward to at the end of it.
- Making and saving money for retirement
- Wanting to run for public office only for publicity
When To Use Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation is doing something for personal enjoyment rather than a reward.
Without having anything to look forward to at the end, you’re more likely to enjoy the task you’re doing. When you’re only worrying about your enjoyment, you don’t have to worry about achieving any goal.
Having only intrinsic motivations can lead you to do tasks without purpose. A mixture of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations is needed to have a balanced life. You want to enjoy what you’re doing but at the same time find fulfillment along the way as well.
Positive Reinforcement vs Negative Reinforcement
Reinforcement is a consequence that when applied will strengthen the chances of you performing the same habit again. Think of reinforcements as another layer to motivation and that it influences specific actions that we do.
Reinforcements come in two ways: positive and negative.
Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is presenting a motivating stimulus to someone after a certain action or behavior is done. An example of this is receiving a bonus for performing better than your co-workers.
Negative Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement is all about removing a certain stimulus after a certain action or behavior is done. For example, you’ll clean the dishes if it saves you from your partner telling you to do them. Another is waking up and turning off your phone’s alarm.
Aligning Your Thoughts, Goals, and Actions
Have you ever hyped yourself up with motivation only to later question why you started in the first place?
This is a common reason why people have difficulty sticking to their goals. Without inspiration and positive thinking to go along with your motivation, you’ll be left with only a piece of the puzzle. When your passion and motivation are in line together, the amount of energy you have available can feel limitless.
You don’t need to worry about motivating yourself right away. Take your time deciding where your passion lies. Envision yourself where you want to be and write it down. Your positive thoughts will affect your actions which will, in turn, get you to your goals quicker.
Sharing your vision with your closest family and friends will help you stay accountable. You’ll influence the way you think by telling others that you’re going to accomplish a certain goal. Aligning yourself is going to be the most powerful tool you have when it comes to being and staying motivated.
The Motivation Flow
If you’re looking for proper motivation, you need to understand that motivation is a flow.
For you to feel motivated, you need to dive beyond the surface of your source of motivation. You’ll need to find something deeper.
One way to think about motivation is that it’s like the Sun. The Sun is a self-sustaining and long-lasting ball of energy that continuously supplies energy to all life on Earth. Like the Sun, your motivation engine has several layers to it as well, starting from the core and spreading out to the surface.
The surface is what we all see. From a motivation perspective, those are the speeches, quotes, videos, and more. But if you rely on that, you have no core – no real process or drive to achieve your long-lasting goals. It’s a crucial part of any motivation engine.
If you’re able to create a motivation engine that’s self-sustaining, not only will you find meaning and purpose, but you can enjoy every minute of what you’re doing. It’ll shift your roles and responsibilities from chores to things that drive you.
To help you understand the motivation flow better, it’s best to break the motivation engine down into 3 parts or layers:
- Layer 1: Core – Your ultimate purpose that drives everything you do.
- Layer 2: Support – The enablers that support your work.
- Layer 3: Surface – Your acknowledgments
You’re likely more familiar with the second and third layer as we all come into contact with this daily, however here is a breakdown of all three.
Surface
This layer encompasses any type of external recognition or acknowledgment that could give you motivation. Maybe it’s respect from a manager, other co-workers, or compliments and praise.
It can also be emotional support like encouragement, feedback, and constructive criticism. It could even be from affiliation like having a friend who has the same goal as you.
Support
The second layer is the enablers that support the goals that you have. They ultimately ensure that things go smoothly to achieve your goals. How they do this is by magnifying your motivation core or speed up your momentum that you’re building up.
Some examples of these are your friends and networks who can provide advice, encouragement and keep you focused on your task.
Learn about goal setting tips.
Core
The first layer is the core and is most important. It is the driving force behind your motivation flow – your purpose. Think of it as a why, but much deeper. Your purpose is what differentiates those who are motivated and those who are demotivated, the achievers to the underachievers, and the happy from the unhappy.
Your core is your purpose and it’s sustained by two things: Having meaning and forward movement. With these two as foundational pieces, you’ll have a power source that can give you motivation forever.
So how do you get to your core? Here is how:
1. Having Meaning
It’s as simple as asking yourself a question: Why?
Why are you pursuing this goal over anything else? If it’s vague or unclear, the energy will be the same. If it’s precise and clear, the energy will be the same too. Without meaning, there is no direction.
That said, having meaning doesn’t mean it has to be grandiose like changing the world. Finding meaning boils down to contributing value to something or someone that matters to you.
2. Forward Movement
The short version of this is to keep moving. Motivation stems from making progress and building that momentum. As soon as you stop, everything else will. The other thing to keep in mind is that progress doesn’t have to be massive leaps and bounds. Even if one thing changed for the better, that’s still progress.
A good strategy to ensure forward movement is to be setting milestones and having checklists. These are good ways to visualize big and small wins. Video games do this all the time and while those achievements are virtual, they still trigger the same motivation centers that you would have in any other instance.
Join our free Workshop Hacking Procrastination and learn more about how to break your procrastination loop and keep moving forward.
Motivation For Specific Purposes
In addition to all the motivation tips above, we understand that you may be looking for motivation for a specific purpose. This section can help you find ways to achieve your goals.
Life Motivation
Life motivation is what gets you out of bed in the morning. If you have no life motivation, then chances are low that you’re open to doing anything at all.
While the only person who knows how your life is going is you, some possible reasons for why feel stuck can be things like:
- You’re not sure what you want.
- You’ve made “lack of motivation” part of your identity.
- You’re not aiming high enough.
- Feeling overwhelmed.
- Procrastinating too much.
- You’re too busy looking for motivation rather than doing.
- You’re going through a difficult period in your life.
- You’ve fallen behind on daily habits.
Finding your inner motivation and building yourself a sustainable motivation engine will help you regain life motivation. You can also check out these 21 Powerful Words That Will Give You Life Motivation or 50+ Best Motivation Quotes to get you through your day.
Work Motivation
Another area where people lose motivation is through their work. Where most people get stuck usually stems from one of these four traps:
- Your values are mismatched. A task doesn’t connect with or contribute to your core values. You see no reason to do it so you don’t do it.
- You lack confidence. Deep down you think you aren’t capable.
- You’re experiencing disruptive emotions. You’re consumed by various negative emotions whether that’s fear, anxiety, anger, or depression. These emotions sap away your motivation so you don’t do the task.
- Victim Complex. You attribute your lack of performance to something that’s outside of your control.
To overcome these lack of motivation scenarios, check out How to Get Motivated to Work and Start Your Day With Positivity.
Weight Loss Motivation
There are times when you feel like giving up on your fitness goals, especially when sticking to a workout routine and healthy diet is so challenging. Here’re some reasons why you lose your weight loss motivation:
- You’re doing the same thing every day. Not necessarily the same workout but if you’re doing 3 sets of 10 reps every week, you’re eventually going to get bored of doing it.
- You’ve plateaued. If your goal is to lose weight, it can be demoralizing to see the same number on the scale every morning even if you’re working out hard.
- You are working out alone. While being on your own is fine, it can get lonely, and bringing a friend can help you in showing up.
- You’re not recovering properly. You’re going to lose motivation if you’re working out and then immediately going down to a fast-food joint.
- The environment has changed. Visiting the same gym all the time can get old as well.
To keep your weight loss motivation high, try these 17 Ideas to Get Motivated to Lose Weight Now and check out our guide on How to Stay Fit.
“Motivation will almost always beat mere talent.” — Norman Ralph Augustine
Getting and staying motivated will make an immense difference in your life. You’ll be able to tackle those goals and dreams that you’ve put aside for years. You’ll also be able to set yourself new and exciting goals that you would never have considered before.
Stay motivated always!
This article was published originally at https://www.lifehack.org/motivation-guide !
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