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Most definitions describe motivation as "a force or factor that motivates a person to act." Motivation is considered as a spark, a condition, a prerequisite, something necessary before the start of movement. If you are not motivated, you cannot start. If you are not motivated, you are not able to act. Complete nonsense! Motivation comes after you start acting. This is not the result of an inspiring speech or watching a movie, and is certainly not “warming up”. Motivation is not passive, it is active.
How to start if you have zero motivation
The best way to motivate yourself is to sweat, literally or figuratively. The first step, of course, is the hardest. There’s a reason financial planners recommend first paying off a small debt, even if the balance on this account has the lowest interest rate of all debts. It seems that this approach is not rational: if you owe, say, three credit cards, it is more logical to first repay the debt with the highest interest rate. Nevertheless, the idea that you need to pay, for example, seven thousand dollars, when you can cut out no more than two hundred a month, sounds almost unbearable. The timeline is too longg to be worth the reward. An “irrational” approach often works better: the goal of paying off debts with the lowest-paid card is more achievable. One has only to start, as soon as the difference becomes visible. Having written off two hundred dollars from a debt of eight hundred, you will feel that you have taken the first step. And after paying out next month, you're halfway there! When the first debt is fully repaid, you will certainly become more motivated to settle with the rest.
Think about why you put things off for later sometimes. Just don't say you never do that. Only robots don’t do this. The most important thing is not to think about complications, but about inspiration, which covers at the moment of transition from inaction to action.
The main thing is to enjoy the feeling of success, which arises from the fact that you improve your skills a little, and then refresh yourself and repeat, again and again. Why? Because any achievement causes positive emotions. Improvements generate self-confidence and create a sense of competence that, in turn, strengthens self-confidence. Success in one’s field, and sometimes in another, increases motivation. It is pleasant to feel improvement in yourself, and anyone who has experienced this will want to grow further.
You finally get down to the business that was postponed, and, barely starting, you think: “Why did I procrastinated? I'm doing great. This is as difficult as I imagined.” The fact is that it is never as difficult as we think. Why? Because, as soon as you get down to business, as soon as you start to do something, it becomes easy - not anything, but what you think will bring you one step closer to your goal. You begin to act, and motivation appears. A good luck cycle starts. You are satisfied with yourself, because you are busy with the right things. You feel motivated because you are doing something. So, motivation is the result, not the condition of doing.
You don’t need motivation to sweat. Sweat and feel motivated.
After you get down to business, it’s not so difficult to continue. Getting yourself to go jogging is sometimes harder than running a few kilometers planned. Forcing yourself to sit at the table and write the first sentence is more difficult than stitch twenty pages. Picking up the phone is harder than calling twenty potential customers. It is difficult to start, because motivation does not facilitate the start. On the contrary, the start gives the motivation to finish the job.
Motivational speeches will not provide long-term motivation, but will ensure progress. Inspiring posters will not give motivation for a long time - it will give real success.
If you have not yet achieved your goals, then lack or lack of motivation or self-confidence is not a problem, but a tool for solving the problem. When you understand and accept your weaknesses, when you accept your imperfections, you can motivate yourself to change and improve.
You will always be weak is you hide your weaknesses. Accept them, work on them, and over time you will become stronger and be more motivated.
Based on "The Motivation Myth. How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win" by Jeff Haden
How to start if you have zero motivation
The best way to motivate yourself is to sweat, literally or figuratively. The first step, of course, is the hardest. There’s a reason financial planners recommend first paying off a small debt, even if the balance on this account has the lowest interest rate of all debts. It seems that this approach is not rational: if you owe, say, three credit cards, it is more logical to first repay the debt with the highest interest rate. Nevertheless, the idea that you need to pay, for example, seven thousand dollars, when you can cut out no more than two hundred a month, sounds almost unbearable. The timeline is too longg to be worth the reward. An “irrational” approach often works better: the goal of paying off debts with the lowest-paid card is more achievable. One has only to start, as soon as the difference becomes visible. Having written off two hundred dollars from a debt of eight hundred, you will feel that you have taken the first step. And after paying out next month, you're halfway there! When the first debt is fully repaid, you will certainly become more motivated to settle with the rest.
Think about why you put things off for later sometimes. Just don't say you never do that. Only robots don’t do this. The most important thing is not to think about complications, but about inspiration, which covers at the moment of transition from inaction to action.
The main thing is to enjoy the feeling of success, which arises from the fact that you improve your skills a little, and then refresh yourself and repeat, again and again. Why? Because any achievement causes positive emotions. Improvements generate self-confidence and create a sense of competence that, in turn, strengthens self-confidence. Success in one’s field, and sometimes in another, increases motivation. It is pleasant to feel improvement in yourself, and anyone who has experienced this will want to grow further.
You finally get down to the business that was postponed, and, barely starting, you think: “Why did I procrastinated? I'm doing great. This is as difficult as I imagined.” The fact is that it is never as difficult as we think. Why? Because, as soon as you get down to business, as soon as you start to do something, it becomes easy - not anything, but what you think will bring you one step closer to your goal. You begin to act, and motivation appears. A good luck cycle starts. You are satisfied with yourself, because you are busy with the right things. You feel motivated because you are doing something. So, motivation is the result, not the condition of doing.
You don’t need motivation to sweat. Sweat and feel motivated.
After you get down to business, it’s not so difficult to continue. Getting yourself to go jogging is sometimes harder than running a few kilometers planned. Forcing yourself to sit at the table and write the first sentence is more difficult than stitch twenty pages. Picking up the phone is harder than calling twenty potential customers. It is difficult to start, because motivation does not facilitate the start. On the contrary, the start gives the motivation to finish the job.
Motivational speeches will not provide long-term motivation, but will ensure progress. Inspiring posters will not give motivation for a long time - it will give real success.
If you have not yet achieved your goals, then lack or lack of motivation or self-confidence is not a problem, but a tool for solving the problem. When you understand and accept your weaknesses, when you accept your imperfections, you can motivate yourself to change and improve.
You will always be weak is you hide your weaknesses. Accept them, work on them, and over time you will become stronger and be more motivated.
Based on "The Motivation Myth. How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win" by Jeff Haden
