What’s your motivation level like lately?
Do you have some things you’d like to be doing but find yourself blocked, stumped, and stopped?
Last week I wrote about how I did some research into aspects of motivation I hadn’t looked at before, including:
- The four stages of motivation
- Demotivators, and
- The action-reward-motivation cycle
I wanted some insight to help me do more of some sweet, simple things I love to do but I noticed I wasn’t doing very often.
I wanted to learn more about how to bridge the gap between “I know I should but I don’t wanna”
In this week’s post, I share my “Ta-Da” list with you.
My Ta-Da list is made up of twelve things that, armed with insight from the stages of motivation, demotivators, and the action-reward-motivation cycle, I put into place to help me take actual action.
Here’s my Ta-Da list of twelve things that have really helped me practice the piano, paint, meditate, and do yoga more
- Small. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start small. Really small. Think about even bookending (starting and ending) your day with something small that makes you feel good like a couple of deep breaths, looking at a beautiful tree outside, or smelling a favourite scent.
- K.I.S.S. You’ve got a lot going on. I get it. So be sure to – Keep It Super Simple.
- 3D. Use my 3D method to make things super super simple.
- Brain ears. Pay attention to what I like to call your “brain ears,” that inner voice, that chatter, that can be so unkind. Banish it like an uninvited guest.
- Fear. Pay attention if you’re feeling fearful. For me, I realized I was feeling self-induced pressure, that if I started doing more of what I love I’d have to do them forever. Ridiculous I know. But once I realized it was a fear I could let it go.
- Environment. What’s your environment like? Is it conducive to doing things you love? Think of having a favourite scent nearby (I have peppermint and lavender essential oils near my desk), a vase with a beautiful stem of greenery, and/or a candle.
- Emergency Reserves. Give yourself grace and “emergency reserves” to avoid the what-the-h#ll effect which is the tendency, with one small slip up, you give up.
- Bundle. As Katy Milkman says, bundle something you want to do with something else to increase your motivation.
- Technology. Use technology to help you. I tried several apps including Fabulous (too complicated for me) and Break the Chain (too simple, I wanted to record more than one habit). I settled on the Habit Tracker app. It’s elegant, easy, and captures all the habits I want to track.
- Emotion. Make an emotional connection. Ask yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing. Yes, tracking my habits with the habit tracker is helpful for my achiever motivation style but sinking into creativity by making art and music and quieting my busy mind with yoga really helps too.
- Mindset. Watch yours. Give yourself room to get excited about your adventures ahead.
- Reward. Make sure you bask in a feeling of contentment and accomplishment when you do more of what you love to do. Not only will you feel great but you’ll be reinforcing the action-reward-motivation cycle (dopamine reward cycle) I talked about last week from Emma McAdam.
It’s your turn. Pull together what you’ve learned last week about the four stages of motivation, the action-reward-motivation cycle, and demotivators, with this week’s Ta-Da list and you’ll be well on your way to doing more of what you love. Imagine if we all were able to do that. Our world would be infinitely better. So get going. I’ve got your back.
Now go on and learn, learn some more, and lead
Learn
- If you haven’t already, read part one of this post to get more insight into doing more of what you love.
Laugh
- Whether you jump in quickly to doing more of what you love or take a pause to reflect and think (like these two very different cats on a treadmill) I wish you well dear reader.
Lead
- Share your insights with a friend and/or colleague and let your motivation take you to the moon.
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