Ready to rock your world? Write the word “motivation” as three words in a notebook like this:
Motive
For
Action
As you study the psychology of change and as you implement the changes you come up with that would be best for you to make, you’re going to come against what I call “The Motivation Complex.” You’ve been there before. Maybe it was when you set a personal “New Year’s Resolution” that only lasted a couple of months (or weeks). Perhaps it was a promise you made a boss - or a partner - that you couldn’t keep.
The first time I “unpacked” that word motivation was way back when I was a high school teacher. After school one evening, I was working on a way to get the students to understand their “WHY.” (This was LONG before Simon Sinek gave his famous TEDx Talk, and wrote the best selling book, “Start With Why.”) Just a couple of years before that I’d earned my Master’s Degree in Education (from the University of California) and I studied the impact of personal connection to new information.
My question to you is:
“Are you personally connected to what you’re doing?”
It’s a big, important question. And, the more you answer it using SPECIFIC examples, the better off you’re going to be. And, the more able you will be able to practice a new routine.
Look, if you’re going to build a new routine it means you’re going to change WHAT you do, HOW you do it, and probably even WHEN it gets done. And, as you already probably know, “Change is HARD!” So, identify and then tap in to your Motive For Action (or, in this case Motive For Change).
I’ve got two questions to ask yourself about the experiment you run as you start that new task/action/practice:
Is this an INTRINSIC move?
When people are intrinsically motivated, they hear a voice, they have a feeling, they “just know” it’s time to do something. (If you want an example, interview Jodi, the founder of www.NoMoreNylons.com about her journey.) When you’re motivated from the inside, you’ll find it impossible to NOT think about what you could be doing. But, you might find it challenging to get started.
Is this an EXTRINSIC one?
Is the world outside - or, just one person - pushing on you to get something done? Are you being “encouraged” by an outside event or circumstance? When you’re motivated from the outside, you’ll continue finding examples AND reasons to get started.
No, you might not need any motivation. But, when you clarify your motive for action you’re that much closer to building everything up to another level.
Ready?
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