Motivation is not sustainable unless you are enjoying the thing that you are doing.
So we may have set ourselves some goals or outcomes we would like to achieve. It might be, that we are right in the midst of the activities, we need to maintain, to achieve these goals.
Often what happens is that, we use ‘will power’ to try and maintain these behaviours. Whether it may be going to the gym, eating more healthy, being more mindful, reading more, less phone time – you get the idea.
Using will power is just not sustainable. There is now a body of research that shows, with will power alone to achieve your desire, failure is highly likely. This is because when conditions change, then will power to be less effective – this could be a late night, less time, more stress, let’s face it life happens and we are faced with choices. When this occurs, as human beings we naturally take the easy and pleasurable path.
Look, a great example of this is kids. Kids will always find time to do things they enjoy and never want to do stuff they don’t find fun!
So as good parents we learn to make things fun for kids to get them doing things. Essentially we reframe the activity so it is seen from a different perspective and in a new light. We often turn things into games or little challenges with small rewards to create positive habits.
As adults we need to do this for ourselves too, so we can see the new behaviour we
want to adopt as enjoyable, so that we can look forward to it and would choose it, naturally.
This is essentially about enjoying the process so that the result takes care of itself. Or enjoying the journey to get to the destination.
So, whether it is going to the gym, learning something, finding quiet time, eating well or regular investing. Reframe the steps or activity for yourself so you have a natural desire to do it. This way the behaviour gets done naturally without thinking about it!
Hey if you found this post of value let me know below, and look out for one of my community workshops happening soon.
Make it a great one…