GO! GO! GO!
Like me, you went to a motivational lecture where you had to clap your hands, dance, and shout your desire for success out loud. The kind of "Go! Go! Go! You can do it. You're the best" we often hear in sports
It's like teaching that motivation results from a constant hyperactive state. It always brings me back to this question: "So, I can't be motivated when I'm calm?"
I'm not saying it's terrible, but it's not my cup of tea. Motivation is more than this hyperactive state and is not necessarily related to it. So, the fundamental nature of motivation needs to be understood..
Investigating its real nature leads us to a more concrete utilization of its incredible power.
The definition of motivation
Then where do we start? Why not with its definition? So, motivation is the belief in our capacity to reach a goal.
No matter how small or big the goal is. It always comes back to that belief. To dig deeper, we need to ask ourselves what this belief is.
It goes like this. Because I want to reach a goal, I immediately start to measure the gap between where I think I am m and where I want to be. From that point, I will constantly ask myself these two questions:
- Do I possess the resources to reach that goal?
- Am I progressing towards that goal?
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Resources
Resources refer to the knowledge I need to acquire, the training I must do, or the steps to progress toward the goal. I require the proper knowledge and training to possess the resources to succeed.
Maybe I've gone through the proper training. But, if the strategy or the steps I'm following pull me away from my goal, it will kill my motivation. Furthermore, I must soon understand that my strategy has become the problem. In that case, there's a chance that I feel helpless instead of motivated.
GOAL
Am I progressing towards that goal? This question is the tricky part. Even though the data show that I'm going towards my goal, if I perceive, feel, or think I'm moving away, perception and negative emotions will always win.
In a resume, motivation results from knowledge, training, strategy, and perception.
Bringing myself into a hyperactive state will only help me if I have the necessary knowledge, have the proper training, and follow the correct steps to reach my goal.
Worst of all. If I have all the knowledge necessary, I'm perfectly trained, the steps to reach my goal are well-defined, and the data show I'm doing great. Still, the fear of failure will kill my motivation, moving away from the objective. Perception always wins over facts.
On the other hand, I have the knowledge. I'm perfectly trained. The path to success is clear, and if I focus on the data that shows I'm progressing towards my goal, my motivation will be at its peak. All this without the necessity to be in a hyperactive state.
Motivation is not just about shouting that we're motivated.