Four Things You MUST Know About Motivation
Motivation is one of the most powerful - and misunderstood - forces in the entire world.
It’s powerful because every action requires motivation. Think about that for a moment. Every invention, contribution, and decision throughout human history started from motivation.
At the same time, motivation is understood and underutilized by nearly every person in the world. Most people believe that motivation is accidental or, at best, coincidental. They don’t know how much control they have over their motivation, and this lack of awareness causes them to miss out on endless opportunities and infinite untapped potential.
Like most of the problems we face, awareness is the first step toward a resolution. As we try to become more knowledgeable about motivation, we must ask three crucial questions. This article takes a deeper look at the question that’s arguably most important. In addition, we must learn how to determine what motivates us and how we can increase (or adjust) our motivation.
Before addressing these two topics, we must answer a big question: How does motivation work?
If you’ve heard me talk before, you know I believe strongly that we all have the same amount of internal motivation. The reason why some people appear more motivated than others isn’t because they possess more motivation, but because their motivation is more focused or binary. We often struggle to take action because our motivation is competing with itself. We want to exercise but are also motivated to maintain our comfort. We want to save money, but we’re also motivated to spend on things we don’t need.
Once you realize that we all have the same amount of motivation, you’ll be well on your way to harnessing the power of the motivation you already have inside you. In addition, we must understand four components of motivation if we’re going to learn how to tap into deeper sources of motivation to pursue our goals.
Motivation is NOT the same thing as discipline or willpower
I wrote an entire article on the differences between motivation, discipline, and willpower. These three traits are connected, but not identical, with one another. Although we all possess the same amount of motivation, discipline and willpower vary from person to person. Thankfully, you can use motivation to develop discipline and strengthen the quality of your willpower. You can also create situations where willpower isn’t necessary because of how you’ve primed your environment. You'll learn more by reading the article I linked at the beginning of the paragraph.
Your unconscious mind impacts a large percentage of your motivation
I’m not a scientist, but I love thinking about how our unconscious mind impacts our motivation. There’s a lot of overlap between motivation and habit formation. You can learn more in this article, but for now, it’s critical to understand that your brain prioritizes certain activities based on the amount of dopamine the activity produces. Dopamine, or the pleasure chemical in the brain, is released when your brain expects a reward. Understanding how dopamine impacts your motivation will help you be more intentional about your choices.
Intrinsic motivation is more powerful than external motivation
Most people know that there are two common types of motivation - internal and external. However, they don’t understand that while external motivators are easier to perceive, internal motivators are more powerful. For example, most people think they want money, power, or success. These are all external motivators. What people actually crave is comfort, respect, or a sense of meaning. Wealth, status, and prestige aren’t ends in themselves - they are simply vehicles that help us reach a destination.
As you try to understand your intrinsic motivation, it’s important to consider how you’re uniquely motivated. We’ll discuss this more when we talk about Question Two - “what motivates you?”
Every action requires a cost and offers a reward
I mentioned earlier that our motivation often competes with itself. This is because every action has a cost and a reward. For example, imagine you’re interested in waking up early to exercise.
One option is to get up when your alarm goes off and go for a jog or hit the gym:
Potential cost - You’ll lose sleep and you may become uncomfortable or tired during your workout
Potential reward - You’ll release endorphins, you’ll take a step toward being in better shape, and you’ll feel like a disciplined person
You could also choose to hit snooze and stay in bed:
Potential cost - You don’t get to release endorphins, you don’t improve your physical condition, and you feel like you failed on your goal.
Potential reward - You maintain the comfort of staying in bed and you get to sleep longer.
There are two things to note about this example. First of all, notice how running a thorough analysis of the costs and rewards for both options allows you to make a more informed decision. You will also see that the decision to hit snooze and stay in bed offers a greater short-term return and requires a short-term cost. On the other hand, the choice to get up and exercise invokes a greater upfront cost but produces a better long-term reward.
If you have ever wondered why motivation is hard for many people to find, this is why. Remember dopamine, your brain’s primary pleasure chemical? Your brain prioritizes the activities that offer an instant dopamine release. Your brain considers these activities safer because they provide a more immediate and definitive outcome. If you’re not used to exercising, your brain tries to protect you from future uncertainty by telling you it’s more comfortable to stay where you are.
There are several ways that you can overcome this state of mental lockdown. One of the most effective tactics is to focus on the long-term goal or reward you hope to receive. While it won’t take away all of the short-term pain, it will give you an extra degree of grit or perseverance to move forward.
If you want to read more on the power of motivation (and the control you have over your motivation), check out this article I wrote about how to find motivation to complete any task.
