Stop Relying on Motivation
Have you ever seen a post or a video that really motivated you?
That kind of post that gets you fired up and you suddenly feel like you're going to crush it in life!
You think to yourself… “Dammit! Time to take action! I'm going to go out, work hard, and I'm gonna make the best out of my life!!”
Then… only a week passes and nothing much has changed.
You're back to your old routines, living day to day, doing the same things you've always done…
Been there, done that.
A lot of advice we see in the self-help world is on how to get that pure, raw motivation to get things done.
And yes, this mindset has some benefits. And it can get the job done sometimes.
But here's the problem…
Motivation can just come and go. One day you're 100% focused, and then all of a sudden it's gone.
The truth is… we can't get far in life relying only on pure motivation and will-power.
At some point, we have to start working smart. Not just hard.
And instead of only relying on motivation here's a more reliable way to getting things done consistently:
Make good behaviors easier to do and bad behaviors harder to do.
What does this mean?
It's simple. You can change your environment to shape your behavior.
This way you don't have to rely on motivation or willpower or self-control, or anything “inside your head.”
Examples:
1. I just moved to Toronto and signed up for a new gym. Instead of picking a gym that's 30 minutes away by bus I've picked one that's 10 minutes walking distance.
This decision alone will make it incredibly easy for me to never miss a workout.
2. A while back I decided I want to be more productive and improve my focus. I cleaned up the computer desktop, removed all notifications from social media, and I leave my phone in another room when I'm working.
3. Want to stick to a healthy diet? Don't bring junk food or any poor food choices into the house. YES, it's that simple. This change alone will make it infinitely easier to follow through with your plan.
Bottom line:
If there's a new behavior you want to start doing or a bad habit that you want to quit… Stop focusing so much on motivation and willpower.
Think about how you can change your environment to change the behavior automatically.