We all want to succeed. And one path to success is identifying the
intrinsic motivation, by building up the purpose driven life and
acknowledge yourself that you are the in-charge of your life.
It seems modern society is always encouraging us to think about the
next milestone. However, what we don’t think about enough is the
science and strategy of how to accomplish your goals.
You might always find yourself wrapped up in billion reasons that drive
us off track from our goals. Motivation is a powerful, yet tricky beast.
Sometimes, it is nearly impossible to figure out how to motivate yourself
and you’re trapped in a death spiral of procrastination.
Now for the important question: What can we do to make it more likely
that we cross this mental threshold and feel motivated on a consistent basis?
YOU CREATE THE PATHS FROM YOUR STEPS
We create self-doubt and fear within us; thus, we don’t succeed; and the
concern that we are not setting realistic goals are just a few of them.
One must have the discipline to prioritize our day-to-day actions based on
what is more significant, not what is more urgent.
Discomfort Is Temporary
Greece philosopher Epicurus, once said, “continuous bodily pain does
not last long; instead pain, if extreme, is present a very short time and
even that degree of pain which slightly exceeds bodily pleasure does not
last for many says at once. Diseases of long duration allow an excess of
bodily pleasure over pain.”
Discomfort only exists if it bothers you. If it doesn’t bother you, it isn’t
discomfort. This is habituation. You need a great level of faith in a feeling
that your mind somehow tells you, that its SIMPLE. It doesn’t remove the
sensation of discomfortness but makes it more livable & comfortable.
The 3R’s of Habit Formation
The key to any good ritual is that it removes the need to make a
decision: What should I do first? When should I do this? How should I do
this?
Most people never get moving because they can’t decide how to get
started.
You want starting a behavior to be easy and automatic so you have the
strength to finish it when it becomes difficult and challenging.
Reminder Routine Reward
There is a simple, 3 step cycle that every habit follows. It’s been
proven time and time again by just about every behavioral
psychologist out there. The cycle is called the “3 R’s of Habit
Change”.
- Reminder (the trigger that initiates the behavior)
- Routine (the actual behavior you perform)
- Reward (the benefit from doing the behavior)
Apply them and start forming new habits.
Step 1. Pick a trigger for the new habit
(for example: set the alarm for early morning workout)
Step 2. Make your habits incredibly easy to start and impossible to fail
(for example: follow the next baby step of stepping out of your bed and
doing the things as planned)
Step 3. Reward yourself
(last but not the least, since you performed the tasks throughout the day
as planned now you may reward yourself by utilizing the spare time for
your hobbies, grabbing a beer with your friends or spending time with
your family.)
DON’T BORROW, CHANNELIZE THE FIRE IN YOU
It doesn’t matter what you are trying to become better at, if you only do
the work when you’re motivated, then you’ll never be consistent enough
to become a professional. Anyone can work hard when they feel
motivated.
The ability to show up every day, stick to the schedule, and do the work
— especially when you don’t feel like it — is so valuable that it is literally
all you need to become better 99% of the time.
Sometimes We Cross A Mental Threshold
In the words of Seth Godin, “You don’t need more time, you just need to
decide.”
Grit is the perseverance and passion to achieve long–term goals.
Sometimes you will hear grit referred to as mental toughness. When
others’ acceptance of you impacts how you make decisions about where
to spend your time, you lose awareness of what’s important to you, what
drives you, and what makes you happy.
You might feel stuck doing work you don’t particularly enjoy and
continue habits that are counterproductive. If this feels true for you, it’s
time to focus your energy on getting in touch with what really matters to
you.
Start asking yourself questions like:
What do I value?
What keeps me awake at night?
How is it that I prefer to spend my time?
Start to listen to what you really want for your life, and
align your actions with your values, principles, and goals.
When you live in line with what you value, your life
becomes much simpler and more effortless.
Stop waiting for motivation or inspiration to strike you and set a schedule
for your habits. This is the difference between professionals and
amateurs. Professionals set a schedule and stick to it. Amateurs wait
until they feel inspired or motivated.
The simple fact of the matter is that most of the time we are inconsistent.
We all have goals that we would like to achieve and dreams that we
would like to fulfill, but it doesn’t matter what you are trying to become
better at, if you only do the work when it’s convenient or exciting, then
you’ll never be consistent enough to achieve remarkable results.
REMINDER THE WHOLE WORLD BELONGS TO YOU
Let’s jump to the last insight of what does it really take to gear up the
process of succeeding!
WHAT IF I FAIL?
Fear is part of human nature. As an entrepreneur, I faced this same fear.
At times, I forgot that who I was wasn’t what I did. My ego and identity
became intertwined with my work, and when things didn’t go as planned,
I completely shut down. I overcame this unhealthy relationship with fear,
and I believe that you can too.
Typically, when we fail to reach our goals, we think something was
wrong with our goal or our approach. I often mention, “You need to
choose one thing and ruthlessly eliminate everything else. Pick a dream
that is so big it will motivate you every day.”
These excuses cloud the bigger issue. What often looks like a problem
of goal setting is actually a problem of goal selection. What we really
need is not bigger goals, but better focus.
As always, self-experimentation is the only real answer. Play around
with these five habit cues and see what works for you.
Commit to something and begin it now.
Once you fully decide to start, the world will find ways to help you finish.