Motivation Doesn’t Work

Have you noticed that motivation doesn’t work? You attend a motivational seminar, and you’re all hyped up, but after a week you’re back to your “normal” self. The motivation has gone.

A motivational video on YouTube inspires you into action. But again, the initial excitement goes away when you’re faced with reality. You join the gym after putting on some weight. You watch a few inspirational videos and start going regularly. Before long, your old habits catch up with you and you lose your enthusiasm. By the time it’s March, you haven’t been for weeks and consider cancelling your membership!

Motivation is sporadic and fleeting, at best. Some days you’re motivated and others you’re not. So how can you maintain your motivation levels over the longer term, in order to accomplish something meaningful to you?

Motivation Doesn’t Work, Habits Do

How often do you brush your teeth? Most people have made a habit out of brushing their teeth. Even when they’re not motivated to do it, they still get that simple job done! But why then do we not make habits out of doing things we intend to do? Going to the gym, building that online business or learning how to play an instrument are all within reach of everyone who has the discipline of creating habits out of doing simple things regularly.

The problem comes with building this discipline. Most people are motivated to change something in their lives which isn’t working. So they are starting with old habits which are working in opposition to what they want; eating too much, drinking alcohol, watching television, busy lazy, etc.

To change things, use that (fleeting) motivation to build tiny habits, rather than try to change everything overnight! Habits are like a freight train; they gain momentum over time and eventually become unstoppable. Old habits which don’t serve you are often acting against your best intentions. They are the momentum you already have.

Motivation Doesn’t Work, Use Tiny Habits Instead

Since motivation is so fleeting, it’s much better to use this motivation to build tiny habits. Tiny habits, or mini habits are habits which are so small that they are like brushing your teeth. Once you’ve created the habit, it feels wrong not to do it. Once the tiny habit is established, it is much easier to add to it in a meaningful way. You won’t always be motivated to achieve a goal so it’s much easier to use your (limited amount of) motivation to build tiny habits which will ultimately accomplish the goal for you, even on your bad days.

In Stephen Guise’s book Mini Habits, he uses the idea of a single daily push up. It’s fairly easy to do just one push up a day. It’s also fairly easy to commit to doing it, much harder to spend an hour in the gym every day. A mini habit should be something which takes you closer to your ultimate goal, but is easy enough to do even on your worst days.

Once you have established the daily push up, it’s far easier to add to it, and maintain it. Whereas if you start out with a larger goal, it’s easier not to do it, or to quit! So choose a daily habit which would be super easy to do, even when you don’t feel like it. See also motivation vs habit.

Online Business

I struggled maintaining the motivation to build an online business. But I realised that I didn’t have to do it all at once! I only needed to do a little step each day. A daily blog post was my tiny habit, and there’s now nearly 600 blog posts on this website!

Most people are motivated to escape their jobs and live with more financial and time freedom. An online business can give you this, but it takes consistency to make it happen. Some days you’ll be motivated and other you won’t! That’s why it’s vital to build some habits you can establish over the longer term.

If you’re ready to take the first step in building an online business, access a free video series here to learn more.