Motivate and Elevate

Motivation is often a struggle for most people, I know I struggle with it. The excuse, “i didn’t have enough motivation to do it”, is readily used when someone did not complete something they had said they would like going to the gym or doing homework. Motivation is the feeling of being ready to accomplish something, or the urge to do a behavior, but when it is not there, procrastination happens. 

There are two kinds of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic. Extrinsic motivation includes outside rewards such as money, good grades, physical body changes. Intrinsic motivation comes from within, such as simply enjoying the action or due to personal interest. Having intrinsic motivation when trying to do something can ultimately be more beneficial because there is an underlying interest and appreciation for it. If the activity is being some simply for an external reward, ther act will become less rewarding overtime. Having an interest will keep the activity rewarding for a longer period of time because you are noticing a change and may even feel  like you have learned something or benefitted yourself in some ways.

I have learned that motivation is not really needed as much as people may think. If you make something a habit, you naturally do it with or without motivation. This goes for anything whether it be taking time each day to be mindful, write thoughts in a journal, prepping healthier meal options, going to the gym, etc. If you wait for motivation to hit, there is potential for nothing to ever get done. Making changes to behaviors is hard. Making that change into a routine will make it so you get used to doing that activity and the change will get easier. Motivation won’t be needed to complete the activity. 

As well as making something a routine, it also may help if it is a scheduled routine, where not only is the activity done each day but it is done at the same time each day. This ensures that time is allotted for that activity. For example, if journaling in the morning is something that is super important to you, schedule a time that works for you to wake up each day and write in the journal.