My partner loves to go to work. He has been at the same workplace, the family business located 3 kilometers away, for 45 years. And the building is not large. He jokes that, whereas some people work 5 days on and have 2 days off, he works 7 days on and then 7 days on. He leaves home around 7:30am and returns around 6:00pm and doesn’t sit down all day. Loves it. If you love what you are doing, motivation is not required. I was once told that if you need to motivate yourself to do something, don’t do it because you obviously aren’t having a good time. There are arguments for and against this statements since there are many things we must do that we don’t enjoy. I believe it is probably better to briefly consider the benefits and drawbacks of the decision to be made. You can weigh up advantages and disadvantages of choosing to act or not and perhaps find motivation there.
I like to shower. The warmth, the getting clean, the time to think offered by the beautification process. I do not need to motivate myself to in the shower at all. I don’t think, ‘yes, but all that water will be wasted,’ I just get in, wash, get out and dry off. Many benefits to this activity so I couldn’t understand why my youngest son needed cajoling and coercion to get in. He did not like to shower and would much rather spend the time gaming with another player on the other side of the world. He needed sufficient motivation to move.
It takes me a little more motivation to exercise, do yoga and run out in the cold. But the benefits of fresh air, getting the body moving and the shot of feel good chemicals coursing through the veins makes these a valuable way to spend time. Playing piano and walking in the sun also requires no motivation. Good to know what excites you and why. Remember when you have felt completely energised and buzzing with life and get more of that. Those are life tasks to reward self.
But there are always tasks requiring completion that we don’t enjoy. So then we need to know what must be done and prioritise these activities. I like to write lists of things to do then cross off items as these are completed. Partner just keeps lists in his head. He forgets things and I don’t usually forget. But it is what works for you. Then look at the list hard. Consider the benefits and drawbacks arising from completing the tasks. Reward yourself by doing the things you love once you have spent time doing the ones that require motivation. I find the best way to do this is to schedule rotten jobs in one hour timeframes. Often I find that, once I’ve got stuck in and have given sixty minutes to the work, I’ve either completed it or am actually enjoying myself.
Are you motivated by money? By the acquiring of certain stuff? Paying off the family home? Starting your own business? Perhaps you are going through a tricky time and the motivation is simply to survive the next day. Once you have set yourself some nice life goals, try to complete something every day that will see you moving towards goal achievement. Then reward yourself. Do something that requires no motivation, something that you love and would do 7 days on and then 7 days on.
Understand what motivates you and why.