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Are you ready to finally know the secret to always being self-motivated enough to achieve all your goals? Your life will change as soon as I shed light on this mystery! Are you ready? Okay, here we go! (← That sounds like a midnight TV ad for some magical pill, doesn’t it? “Send me your money, and I’ll tell you the secret!”) 😆
The truth is, no secret strategy can help you become a self-motivated person. I know, I know! Sorry to disappoint you. You can throw a tomato right at my face on the screen if it makes you feel better. I’m here to help in any way I can! 🙃
We’re all looking for self-motivation, as if it’s some valuable treasure that will help us reach the next level in all areas of our lives. We tend to think of self-motivation as our savior and our enemy. It’s our savior when it pushes us to achieve a goal, but it’s our enemy when we don’t stay committed and fail to obtain our goals. The morning we wake up feeling a little down for whatever reason, we jump to the conclusion that a lack of self-motivation is stopping us from becoming a “better version of ourselves.”
I get it! It’s beautiful to accomplish so much when you’re motivated. It would be amazing to wake up every single morning with motivation levels at 100% capacity. It’s easier to go to the gym when you’re motivated. It’s wonderful to go to work when you’re motivated. It’s rewarding to help others when you’re motivated. Life is so much easier when you’re filled with motivational energy. So why isn’t it consistent? Why does self-motivation come and go like the clouds in the sky? Can we actually do something to grab it, so it doesn’t ever leave again?
The simplest answer to all those questions is that self-motivation is an internal force; thus, it is as impermanent as our thoughts. The bad news is that it takes time and effort to learn how to work with it. The good news is that it is possible to get better at managing our levels of self-motivation. If it’s true that we won’t always feel 100% motivated, it’s also true that we can do certain things to bump up that level when it’s low.
The best way to start working on self-motivation is to have a clear goal in mind. Let me explain this concept with a little story. As you may remember if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, I went through a baby-hungry stage at one point during my marriage. I have already mentioned this fact, but it’s the best example I can share to help you better understand what I mean when I say you have to have a super-extra-defined goal in mind.
When I started the fertility treatments, I changed my diet. I completely stopped eating refined sugar. The only sugar I allowed my body to ingest was found naturally in fruits and vegetables. I became my own police officer, and I did not tolerate any deviation. My goal was so clear to me that I forced myself to stay extremely focused. Of course, it wasn’t easy! But my goal was way more important than the temptations.
From that experience, I developed a strong discipline, which has helped me tremendously in all other areas of my life. I’m pretty sure you’ve heard the phrase “discipline over motivation” before, and I can’t stress it enough. Discipline is your best friend when everything else fails. Having a crystal-clear goal along with strong discipline is a winning formula for success. Your goal is your push to turn on that internal force called motivation, and your discipline is the foot on the gas that keeps you going.
Even though I love many of the things I do, I don’t always feel motivated to do them, which is when my discipline kicks in. It bumps my motivation level up. For instance, today I wanted to stay on my couch all afternoon watching movies and petting my puppy. Usually, I’m excited to do my meal prep for the week on Sundays because I love cooking. However, today I wasn’t motivated at all. I didn’t know what to cook. I didn’t want to look up recipes. I simply didn’t feel like doing my meal prep.
Still, I got up and opened the fridge (See? Discipline over motivation!), and as soon as I did I saw the salmon I’d left in there to thaw the night before. Seeing that, I felt a little more motivated. I started by putting the salmon in the oven, and I ended up completing my entire meal prep. It took me three hours to prepare all my meals for the week, including breakfasts. When I finished putting the dishes away, I was smiling. I couldn’t stop thinking about how many hours I had saved by investing three hours today. I also recognized how happy I’ll feel every time my body receives the nourishment it deserves in the coming week.
I always leave my gym clothes ready the night before, even though I’m on autopilot when it comes to going to the gym at this point. The thing is, I know some days my energy level isn’t at its highest when I wake up, so I don’t feel motivated to go and do my workouts. But when I see the clothes there waiting for me, I get the boost I need. These are just little examples for you to see that motivation alone won’t make you succeed at your goals. You need to develop a system that keeps you on track for those days when your motivation is a little (or perhaps a lot) off.
Self-motivation is a beautiful force, my friends, and it’s amazing when we do things under the influence of its magic. However, because of its impermanence, you need to have a structure in place that helps you stay on track. Don’t blame self-motivation when you fail to achieve a goal. Instead, understand that this beautiful force is there to give you an impulse, but it’s your responsibility to keep your foot on the gas until you get to your destination.
Love,
Irene.
