Is Motivation Really That Important?

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PinkCoconut
PinkCoconut Posts: 655 Member
in Motivation and Support
One of the most common complaints I get from people who come to me asking for help is "I know what I have to do but I just can't seem to get motivated to do it".

Well here's my take on the concept of motivation:

It's not motivation you need to accomplish your goals, it's ACTION! For most people, motivation occurs AFTER you see results. It's not the start to something but a by-product of doing the work. For me, I'm rarely motivated to actually work out but the way I FEEL afterwards, the RESULTS I get from staying consistent and how much more PRODUCTIVE I am after I exercise motivates me to keep going.

Recently I went through quite the slump. May was just ROUGH for me. As we had to adjust to the chaos in our home due to renovations my typical routine was totally thrown off and you know what happened? I stopped working out (the longest I've gone without working out since I had Quentin), I ate crappy food, I didn't work as hard and spent most of my days frustrated about it all.

Trust me when I say I was NOT motivated to start getting up at 5am daily so I could get my workout in, shower and take care of myself. But I also knew that my situation wasn't going to change for several months and if I was going to achieve the goals I set out for myself *I* had to be the one to make the changes necessary and the best course of action was to start getting up before anyone else in the house and before the workers come.

So when my alarm now goes off at 5am and I am NOT wanting to leave the coziness of my bed, I tell myself to suck it up and just go do it. Guess what? Motivation is slowly building because I LOVE having uninterrupted time to myself! I can work out with full attention to what I'm doing (and not on making sure Q's out of the litter box), I can shower for as long as I please. I can read my personal development over coffee and even put some makeup on!

Too often people rely on motivation to keep them going or, worse, use it as an excuse not to do the work they know they need to be doing. Instead of focusing on motivating yourself, focus on WHY you want the results in the first place. WHY is it so important to you to eat healthy? To lose weight? To get up early? To create that budget? How will the results impact your life? What will it do for you? Your family? Your future? Your present?

Then ACT! Just do the work whether you want to or not. Tell yourself that motivation isn't as important as your WHY and do the work necessary. You'll thank yourself later!

Replies

  • DogRiverDude
    DogRiverDude Posts: 433 Member
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    Good read. Now, if I could only find the "Like" button... ;)
  • brynnsmom
    brynnsmom Posts: 945 Member
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    I also need a "Like" button. Totally agree with you PinkCoconut, you just have to start DOING it. Seeing results, feeling the health benefits - that's what truly encourages me to keep me going. When I see posts asking for motivation, I honestly have no idea how to answer those.

  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    I agree to a point, but you need something to motivate you to take action. You have to make the decision to act, and there's usually some point where you're motivated to do so. The motivation dies without seeing results, which may be why a lot of people get discouraged when the weight loss is so slow. But without that initial push of motivation, action never happens.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
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    No motivation needed for me. If following MFP wasn't so easy, I wouldn't do it.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I'm with you, sister!

    Chris Hadfield, Canadian Astronaut and overall Really Cool Guy says something similar. I can't find his quote right now. Maybe later.

    http://zenpencils.com/comic/106-chris-hadfield-an-astronauts-advice/

    When someone posts here asking for motivation, I'm at a loss. So I ask them. What's important to them? I can't impart my motivation, and I certainly can't drag them out of bed in the morning. They have to know the WHY of what they do. And it can't be mine.

    It's action. Totally.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Found it!

    "It’s puzzling to me that so many self-help gurus urge people to visualize victory, and stop there. Some even insist that if you wish for good things long enough and hard enough, you’ll get them – and conversely, that if you focus on the negative, you actually invite bad things to happen. Why make yourself miserable by worrying? Why waste time getting ready for disasters that may never happen?

    Anticipating problems and figuring out how to solve them is actually the opposite of worrying: it’s productive. Likewise, coming up with a plan of action isn’t a waste of time if it gives you peace of mind."

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/secretlife/blogposts/astronaut-chris-hadfield-on/
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Also, there's some tantalizing studies that if we change our actions, it can modify the associated mood.

    http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smile-it-could-make-you-happier/

    When I had trouble getting "motivated" by exercise, I had a good little think about it and tried a new activity. I am never going to enjoy brussel sprouts, but I love green peppers. If something isn't working, do something else.

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