MOTIVATION and WILLPOWER

“I can’t motivate myself!”

“She knows how to motivate her staff!”

“He’s just not motivated!”

We’ve heard this all before. But what is this thing called “motivation” that some people seem to have while others don’t?

“Willpower” is another word we keep on hearing. Some people seem to have the willpower to move mountains, while others can barely drag themselves out of their beds. But what is this “willpower?” Are we born with it, and if so, do some of us have more than others? Or is it something we can strengthen by repeated exercise and good nutrition, like muscles?

“Procrastination” is a habit that many people want to change. Lacking motivation or willpower to do something important, they do unimportant things instead.

And before we can stop procrastinating and start to motivate ourselves or exercise our willpower, we need to decide upon a goal. Some people make decisions easily, while others dither, or are pulled like a tightrope between equal and opposite desires.

A goal is something that we aim towards. But in football the goal is clearly visible, whereas in life the goal may be far away in the future. And because it’s in the future, in the here and now it does not yet exist- except in our imagination.

We cannot aim towards a goal if we cannot imagine it.

Maybe some folk are born with an extra dose of willpower, just as some people have more explosive muscle-power than others.

If that’s true then there’s nothing we can do about it. We cannot change our genes, or choose a different set of ancestors.

So let’s focus on what we can change, because that’s plenty.

If willpower is like a muscle, then we can make the most of what we’re born with by exercise and good nutrition.

When you exercise a muscle, you start off with light weights and build up gradually to heavy weights.

When you exercise your willpower, you start off with the small things, like getting out of bed, washed and dressed each morning, even if you don’t have a job to go to.

But how do we feed and nourish our willpower?

We can do this by developing a strong self-image, a belief about our self, pictured in our imagination.

We must imagine our goals so we can aim for them, because if our goals are in the future, right now they can only exist in our imagination.

There’s a right way and a wrong way to visualise a goal, so for more information on this topic you can click the button below to join my Visualisation Mailing List and receive emails which will explain this in more depth. Your address will not be shared with anybody else, and there’ll be no annoying marketing, just useful information.

But strong willpower is not enough for effective motivation.

We need to focus our effort and attention on a few goals, like a firehose or a laser, rather than spraying it in all directions.

And the goals we choose must fit together, not contradict each other.

Some people admit they find it difficult to make decisions.

But people who believe they’re focused on a goal, nonetheless find themselves aiming in the opposite direction, destroying what they wanted to create.

“I want to do it and I tell myself to do it but my brain won’t let me!”

What we call our “I” is our conscious mind, the part of us that thinks logically and is our spokesman to other people.

What we call “myself” or “my brain” is our unconscious mind, which is ruled by emotion and imagination, and controls everything we’re not consciously focused on.

Without the conscious mind we’d be like animals, just doing what comes naturally and going with the flow.

Without the unconscious mind we’d need to think hard about everything, even putting one foot in front of another. The simplest activities would be mentally exhausting!

So the conscious mind and the unconscious mind are different, almost like two different people, and like any two people they may have different likes and dislikes, different fears and desires and priorities.

A plan that makes sense to your conscious mind, based on the evidence of what you see and hear, may just not feel right to the unconscious mind.

So you probably won’t do it.

Even if you do attempt it, you will give it only some of your attention and energy, probably not enough to succeed.

You’ll be constantly distracted and diverted by that inner voice that says, “this isn’t right for you…. this isn’t going to work.”

How should we deal with this internal conflict?

Most people will just give in to their unconscious mind and not do anything that feels frightening or uncomfortable.

Some people will resist the unconscious mind’s demands and warnings, and insist on following the plan by conscious effort, ignoring all negative feelings. They may succeed, but more often they will fail when they become exhausted or distracted.

The most successful people find a way to bring the conscious mind and the unconscious mind together, to find a way that is acceptable to both of them.

So they have all their energy and attention focused on the same goal, working together as a team.  

So how can we bring the conscious and unconscious minds together in this way?

For more information on Motivation and Willpower, click the button below to join my Motivation and Willpower Mailing List.

These emails are for education and interest not marketing. If you want to contact me already to discuss working 1 to 1 with me on these issues, you can get in touch through the contact form HERE.