Thread: My Motivation

I find Motivation a very, very important ingredience in that cake called life
That`s why I`d like to start a discussion about motivation.
What is everybody using to motivate yourself in order to:
- sit behind you desk and do the tasks that should be done,
- workout regularely,
- eat healthy food,
- achieve your major life goals,
- living a purposefull life ...and so on,
Please join the discussion round and talk how you motivate yourself, what do you use to get into a motivated state...
Let`s have some fun here
Cheers,
Torsten

Big topic.. but I use curiosity as a major motivator and hook on my love of learning in general. I seem to get a real chemical buzz from each 'ah ha' moment so look at things in a way that might stimulate it.

I ask myself what I can find interesting, relevant to me, new to me in a task..

Although this works well over time, it can be slow as it results in lots of interesting tangents which all consume time. Stuff gets done eventually but its just not a one-by-one approach. I end up working on many things at once and switching between them which makes the whole thing more fun. I switch depending on what mood closely resembles the task. Sometimes I am in a more 'technical' mood, sometimes more 'pychological' mood, sometimes more 'musical' mood etc, sometimes more 'physical' mood. As for excercise I do dance and acrobatics because I just find gyms boring after 15 mins. Find a way that suits you rather than what 'should' suit you.

This is quite a chaotic approach that probably only works if you have the opportunity for flexibility in your schedule. I work freelance in a few different fields so can switch my time to suit me. When making promises I overestimate so as to leave me time for switching. I once heard someone say "don't do what you say, say what you do" and this had a big effect. Base your promises based on self knowledge (what you really would do) rather than wishful thinking and stressing trying to then stick to your word.

This probably doesn't work in a rigid environment where someone else is defining what needs to be done when.

Really interested in anyone's / everyone's thoughts and approach,

When working in the office I always start each day with 30 minutes of mediation and 30 minutes of light exercise - sort of clears the decks and sets me up right. When away from the office I go with the flow.

I'm also lucky in that I do what I enjoy, even the challenging bits.

I don't really see things in terms of motivation. I think that if theres a motivation, it does itself and all I can do is not get in the way of it. The initial motivation isn't something that I chose or that I can really alter.

So in terms of allowing this motivation to do its work on my actual actions, one of the big things for me would be balancing my blood sugar through what I eat, just as a prerequisite to any serious work - work cant be done when youre facing highs and lows, or if your body is reminding you that's its there when something important needs doing.

"Hi! I'm hungry. What are you doing? I'm sleeping now. Lets go to sleep!"

So basically my only real input into motivation is that if i don't 100% like doing something in that moment, I wont do it, and Ive never really tried to get myself to do anything, because shifting my attention and behaviour is like trying to carry a staircase upstairs, it doesn't really happen no matter how much you try .

I think its a matter of resolving the conflict for dos and donts for every action, the little wasteful monologue of what would be more beneficial for you at a certain time. So as a rule of thumb you can do what I do which is just go with whatever the first thought is, just because it got their first and it demands that level of manners.

And stop your body talking too much. Eat some porridge, thatll do it.

Have fun. If it's not fun, make it fun or don't do it.

For me a lot of it is just feels natural, but If I drill down into that a bit,
-sometimes it's greed (if I make this call there could be $$$ on the other end of it)
-sometimes it's fear (if I food with hydrogenated oils it will do nasty things to my body)
-sometimes it just happens (I work out pretty mch every day because that's what I do).

So with very few exceptions that I've never thought about much, I've never need to do a lot of strategizing in this area.

In client work on motivation, I usually bring the focus to why they don't want to do X, clear whatever that is, then they usually go do it without a lot of extra amping of motivation.

-Brian

I find that if I have to spend time and energy motivating myself then something is "off." Lack of motivation is a sign of some type of mental/emotional block or perhaps an indication that I don't really want to do the task that I supposedly want to motivate myself to do.

In those times and areas where I have long-term, consistent motivation, I am usually motivated by curiosity and a desire to do/be or have something that fits deeply with who I "am" or want to be.

Originally Posted by Briancorrigan

Have fun. If it's not fun, make it fun or don't do it.

I find being relaxed and having the attitude that everything will work out in the end works good. If I have to motivate myself or push things then it doesn't run so smoothly. If I take the policy of enjoying and remember that there is a large scheme of things, far bigger than me but will be able to sort me out then things usually slip into place and are far more enjoyable.

Originally Posted by Briancorrigan

Have fun. If it's not fun, make it fun or don't do it.

Wao, thanks everyone for their posts, I find lots of food for thought here.
And thank you Brian, that brings it to the point.
A question:
Does anyone have experienced a situation, wher she/he is super motivated for weeks or months, just the major goal(s) in your vision, working happily 12 - 14... hours each day, if it only brings you faster, closer to your goals - and than to fall into a "motivational hole" of demotivation and fatigue later on?
How do you guide, lead, switch- on your motivation to set proper goals and do what ever it takes to reach them, to keep your motivation up?
Torsten

I have quite recently, but its a pretty sad story.

My best (first) friend died about a year ago, he was a film-maker and he asked me to finish his film for him - which actually meant starting the film for him as well.

Well, it took a year of obsession, and for the last month I was literally sleeping an hour or less a night, but I got it done. Now we're using it as a template for a funded project, so effectively all of my work is paying off.

Pretty extreme example, but hits the spot.