Motivation
Why is motivation so important?
Why is motivation so important? Because without it...you die. Allow us to explain.
Motivation is the mental willpower that causes your body to take action. Without
the motivation to pick up your food and consume it, you will sit idle and die of
starvation. Sounds drastic.
Luckily for us humans, one of the primary default motivators is pain. Once your
body begins to feel hunger pain, it is motivated to eat. Thus, we pick up our food,
and consume it.
On the other hand, we humans may also motivated by pleasure. And because food tastes
good, we can continue to be motivated to eat by the simple please we receive from
consuming food.
When you first consider how the body causes hunger pain or tasty pleasure to motivate
us to eat, it may appear that motivation is nothing more than a preprogrammed response.
It appears that motivation is something out of our control. But the truth is that
these responses triggers can be overridden. You can teach your body to override
these motivational triggers.
Consider for a moment the fact that there are thousands of people who build their
bodies into finely tuned specimens. How can they do this when their body is telling
them to "eat"? How can they achieve this level of physical fitness when there is
so much "pain" in the simple process of "exercising"?
The answer to this can be summed up in a single word.
Goals.
Goals are a great way for you to override your "natural" pain motivator and replace
that motivator with your own pleasure motivator of accomplishment.
A sample from the book
Simple Success...
The carrot versus the stick
Have you ever had a problem that bothered you so much that you decided you just
had to do something about it? There are certain times in your life when the pain
caused by a problem can drive you into action. Perhaps you are overweight and someone
calls you fat. The pain of this insult may be enough to trigger you to begin a workout
routine. Perhaps you are a chronic smoker and a family member dies of lung cancer.
This may spur you into kicking the habit. You may live in a rough neighborhood and
have your apartment broken into. You may immediately decide to search for a new
apartment.
All the actions I described above are motivated by pain. When pain reaches a level
that a person is no longer willing to tolerate, they take action to rid themselves
of their pain. This type of motivation is known as “the stick.” If you hit a rabbit
with a stick, it will eventually get off its butt and do something.
The other method for taking action is motivation by pleasure; also known as “the
carrot.” If you dangle a carrot in front of a rabbit, it will be enticed into action
and begin chasing the carrot.
Perhaps you have decided to increase your financial income, or live in a larger
house. Perhaps you want to laugh more in your relationships or take more family
vacations. These goals may be driven only by the simple desire to improve your existing
situation. They bring more pleasure to your life. These goals are motivated by “the
carrot.”
Whether you are motivated by the carrot or by the stick, both methods are still
causing you to take action. Now on the surface, there may not appear to be any significant
difference between the two methods of motivation. But I assure you, the differences
between these two motivational methods is the difference between night and day.
Have you ever heard of the saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?
This philosophy is the way many people view life. It either works or it doesn’t.
I’m either happy, or I’m sad. If I were to draw this in picture format, you would
have something that looks like the picture below.
According to this picture, there are two sides to life, either happy or sad. If
you are not on the happy side, then you must be on the sad side. If you are not
sad, then you must be happy. When you view life this way, then for all practical
purposes, there really is no difference as to whether you choose the motivational
method of the carrot or the stick. Either method will kick in the moment you cross
the line between happy and sad.
Although many people view life that way, let me share with you the reality of the
way happiness and sadness really happen. Take a look at the picture below in which
we have broken up our emotions into three main parts (HAPPY, NEUTRAL, SAD).
This picture more accurately reflects the way life works. The truth of the matter
is that life is not black and white when it comes to happiness and sadness; rather,
there are gray areas (neutral areas). The significance of adding these neutral areas
to our picture has a profound effect in determining which motivational method we
choose. If you are motivated by the carrot (by happiness), then the moment you cross
the line from happiness into the neutral area, you will be motivated to take action
and change. Because you are motivated by happiness, then the moment you see that
you are neutral, you are motivated to move back to your happy state. If, however,
you are motivated by the stick, then you must not only cross the line between happiness
and neutral, but rather, you must completely pass through the neutral area and enter
into the sadness area before you are motivated enough to take action. The difference
between these two methods of motivational styles can mean the difference between
living a happy and fulfilling life versus leading a life of mediocrity and pain.
Let me explain by applying a practical example of fitness.
I’ve asked John to explain to me what he considers his fitness scale to look like.
John provided me with different weights reflecting his own belief as to what his
weight would be for each of the categories that I have listed below.
What’s interesting about the picture above is that when I asked John about his happiness
scale, John stated that he would be happy with his weight if he weighed less than
175 lbs, and he would be upset with his weight if he weighed more than 190 lbs.
So I asked John one more question: what if you weighed between 175 and 190? Would
you be happy or upset? John shrugged and responded, “I wouldn’t really care.”
If you apply the motivational methods of the stick or the carrot, you can see what
a profound difference this would have on John’s life. If John is motivated by the
carrot (happiness), then the moment that John weighs more than 175 lbs. he would
be triggered to take action. Because he is motivated to always be happy, he would
take action the very moment he enters into “the neutral zone.” Why? Because when
you are motivated by the carrot, you are programmed to take action when you are
no longer in your happy state. You are driven by the carrot. You are driven to stay
happy. The neutral zone is not John’s happy zone, so John would begin taking action
the moment he enters into this neutral zone. John has determined that he is only
happy when he weighs 175 lbs or less. With this type of motivation, John would almost
always stay in shape throughout his life. Contrast this with John being motivated
by the stick. If John were motivated by the stick (pain), then John would only begin
to take action once he feels pain. According to John, he would only be upset when
he weighs 190 lbs or more. So most likely, John would spend most of his life not
in shape, but rather, he would linger in the neutral zone. His weight would most
likely stay around 190; bordering between out of shape and neutral.
The method of motivation that you choose (carrot vs. stick) is one of the key factors
in determining how happy your life will be. If you choose the philosophy of “if
it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and you find yourself motivated by the stick, then
you are choosing a life of mediocrity. If you want to truly be happy, then you will
find that the carrot as a motivator will bring you much closer to that goal.
Setting goals allows you an opportunity to fulfill your dreams and your passions.
Those are your carrots. Chase them. I’m asking you not to wait for something negative
to happen in order for you to pursue those goals. I’m asking you to be motivated
by those carrots.
Motivation is nothing more than a skill. You learn about it and practice it just
as you would any other skill. What makes motivation so special is that it is highly
leveraged. You will find that once you master this skill, it will provide exponential
results throughout your life. So do yourself a favor, and teach yourself the skill
of motivation by the carrot.
I have found that confidence itself can breed motivation. The more confident I become,
the more motivated I am to succeed. I realize that life is always going to have
its ups and downs, and that I can’t always control these little bumps in the road.
But I have found something that works well. I have found that staying focused on
your goals and sticking to a routine can be enough to get you through the moments
when your motivation may otherwise fail you.
I personally have taught myself to be motivated by the carrot. Over my life I have
constantly pursued the goals that I believed would bring my family and me the greatest
amount of pleasure. I have reshaped my philosophies over time. I now have a core
set of beliefs that I follow that helps to guide me when I make decisions. Beyond
that, I have a certain set of routines and techniques that I utilize that help me
to stay on top of my life.
To understand more about success and motivation, read the book
Simple Success.