We see it happen all around us and chances are it has happened in our lives as well, at some point. That feeling of loss and disinterest that seems like a hole has opened up between something we once did and where we are now. Loosing motivation to do anything, especially things that are good for us, can creep up on us at any moment, sometimes so slowly that it is imperceptible. Other times it can be as quick and clean as a hammer blow, a single choice knowingly made. Motivation is a fickle beast, but what is it exactly and how do we harness it for our benefit.
Motivation, by definition, is the reason or reasons one has for doing something. That means when we loose our motivation we are actually loosing the reason or loosing sight of the reason we are doing something. It also means that good motivation can come in literally any form, from anywhere in our lives.
For example, if someone takes on a weight loss goal motivated by the bad news of their recent doctors visit. They have an immediate and glaring reason to start the journey and they do. For a few months, their visit and the thoughts of that bad news follows them and they stay the course but after a while those memories fade. Just like that their resolve to keep up their diet begins to slip and cheat meals turn into cheat weeks, slowly giving up all of their hard earned progress. Before long they are back where they began and when the subject comes up the simply say they lost their motivation and it got to hard to keep it up.
So, how do we harness the power of motivation and change our lives for the better?
If you have felt motivated and maybe even taken steps to action, then the hardest part is already done. Taking action is the big hurdle at the beginning of the race and it is the place to start. Once you take action and start down your path you reach the place where your motivation, the reason you took action, is in the greatest danger. Now is the time to safeguard your motivation and help it grow.
We now understand that motivation can come from anywhere and that is the key to safeguarding our progress. Take a step back and look around you. What was it that spurred you to action? What are the other benefits you have noticed? Who is in your corner, cheering you on? The answers to these equations and many others are all more sources of motivation. Start building a list, written or unwritten, of all of the motivations, big and small, you can find for what you are doing. This lost is your motivational safeguard. Daily, Weekly or when in need go back to this list and look it over, see if there is anything else you can add. If your list is always growing it will be hard to run out.
Time and people change, your life changes everyday but you need a motivation for nearly everything you do. Everyday actions from brushing your teeth and putting on shoes to helping your children with their calculus homework, they all require some form of motivation. Reasons for doing things are all around us if we are willing to look, collect them and build your motivation.