Six Things I’m Learning About Motivation

“How do you stay motivated?” or “How do you GET motivated?”

This is a question I have been asked a lot in regard to my weight loss journey as well as my Young Living business growth.

I will be the first to admit that I have not always been super motivated. There are still days when I am NOT motivated. But I am learning SO MUCH about what motivation looks like and where it comes from.

There are three books I’ve read that have inspired me in this area lately: The 15 Laws of Invaluable Growth by John Maxwell, The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy and Atomic Habits by James Clear.

Six Things I’m Learning About Motivation

(this post also could have been called “How I Stay Motivated: It’s Not What You Think!”)

Do not wait to feel motivated. If you are waiting to jump on something or do the next thing or make some changes but you are waiting to FEEL motivated, you may be sitting there waiting quite awhile. “Motivation is not going to strike you light lightning. And motivation is not something that someone else – nurse, doctor, family member – can bestow or force on you. The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it.” John Maxwell from The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth.

As you begin to do the thing, you will begin feeling motivated. So, as you begin to do the thing – eat healthy, exercise, declutter your house, work on your business or work,  – as you begin to make those small, good choices you begin to FEEL more motivated. “You’re more likely to act your way into feeling than feel your way into acting.” Harvard Psychologist Jerome Bruner. I found this to be so true on my wellness journey. As I started making good eating choices, I began to feel empowered and more motivated.

Your motivation is directly connected to your why. Why do you want to make these changes? Why do you want to do what you do? What are you passionate about? Your WHY needs to be so powerful and so desired in your life that it outweighs the desire to eat the junk food or stay on the couch and watch tv all day. “The power of your why is what gets you to stick through the grueling, mundane, and laborious. All of the hows will be meaningless until your whys are powerful enough.” Darren Hardy from the Compound Effect. I can tell you all the HOWS and what to do to grow your business, I can tell you HOW I lost weight, what I ate, how I exercised. But until your WHY is more powerful than the desire for junk food, it won’t be enough.

Motivation works both ways. You are what you repeatedly do. Have you noticed that the more you sit around and eat junk food, the more you want to sit around and eat junk food?? You can be motivated to do positively or negatively. This is good and bad news. The bad news is, you likely have bad habits that you need to break. The good news is, YOU CAN DO THIS. Start. Today. Small good choices. And as you BEGIN to do the thing, you will begin to FEEL the motivation.

Think addition, not subtraction. Instead of thinking about what you can’t have, think about what you CAN have. When I was doing the Whole 30, it was much better for me to focus on the foods that I COULD have instead of focusing on the long list of what I could NOT have. Same goes with other habits — if you need to get up and clean your house, focus on the end result of the CLEAN house, don’t focus on the fact that you’re missing 2 hours on the couch watching tv. If you choose to work on these GOOD HABITS and small good choices, what will you GAIN?? Focus on addition, not subtraction.

Don’t despise the day of small beginnings. “All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow.” James Clear from Atomic Habits. Don’t focus on a big sweeping overhaul of life. Focus on today. Right now. What good choice can I make RIGHT NOW to move myself in the right direction? Go ahead. Do it. Drink that water. Walk around the block. Throw the cookies in the trash. Turn off the tv and get up. Text that friend. Do the work. You will begin to feel motivated as you do these small good things.

Let’s do it, friends! What will you get up right now and do that will take you one step closer to your goals? Most of us KNOW what we need to do. We just need to get up and do it! And, I have found, in the doing, the motivation comes.

{If you don’t follow me on instagram, you can follow me there and click on my “motivation” highlights to hear me talking about this topic.}