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The 4 motivation vectors

Sometimes we lack motivation. And sometimes we are motivated but are blunted by various factors.

Perspective

Let’s be honest here, when things get really bad, we’re motivated to change them. Otherwise, not so much. However…if your financial situation causes you stress, if your relationships cause you stress, if your career or employer cause you stress, if your health causes you stress, aren’t things already really bad? They are. You’re just so used to them being this way that you don’t see it. You’re waiting for the shit to hit the fan before you act. But the shit hit the fan a long time ago. The problem is that it happened so slowly over such a long period of time that you didn’t notice.

Blunting Factors

There are three hurdles to our goals. Lack of direction, fear and the size of the task.

Lack of directionis frustrating and leads to procrastination. You want something to change, to improve, to get to some place in life but you don’t know what that is. The answers are…at the end. Your end. Yes it’s a bit morbid but there’s nothing better for perspective. For example, when I lacked direction I started with my deathbed. On my deathbed when I look back on life what do I want to see? The answers I came up with, set my goals. My goals are my direction.

So when you’re lacking direction, start at the end. What did you want your life to look like?

Fear…it’s a $%@# and paralyzes action. It stems from three things: failure, the unknown, a threat.

The idea that failure is bad is bullshit. Failure is trying something and not getting the preferred result. So what? Seriously, so what? There are meaningful benefits to failure: experience, learning, confidence from having tried something and confidence from overcoming the fear of trying. So failure has at least 4 benefits. You will actually *achieve* 4 things just by failing. Go fail!

The unknown and a threat are the same thing. What we don’t know is scary. It’s threatening because we’re unsure of the outcome.

We can address all three fear reasons by simplifying a problem/task. Simple things become clearer to see and understand. The simpler something is, the less chance of failure. The simpler something is, the less threat there is. This is how to simplify a problem/task.

Size of the task. This can often be the non-starter. Let’s say you want to start your own company. There are a million things to do. It’s too much, how will you ever get it all done? It’s impossible! Or is it? Here’s the thing, unless you’re on your death bed, you have plenty of time.

Perhaps you want your financial situation to improve. What would that look like? Going back to school? Starting a business? Managing your finances better? Looking for a new job?

Whatever your goal is, just start at the very beginning and do the first thing. Don’t think too much about the big picture. Do you want a better job? Ok, spend an hour or two researching what makes a good resume. Next week spend an hour or two researching how recruiters look at resumes. The following week spend an hour or two researching what makes an effective LinkedIn profile. Keep going like that and doing little tasks as you have time (and even better, you can set aside specific time every week to dedicate to your new adventure).

That’s how big things get done. Consistently do small things and you’ll get there. You can spend the next 6 months complaining and miserable at your job. Or 6 months from now you can be getting an offer for a job you actually want. So what are your goals? What can you start doing to bring them closer to reality? Think on it and get going. You’ll thank yourself 🙂

Pro Tip

It’s medically proven that dopamine increases motivation. It’s also medically proven that exercise raises the levels of dopamine. Consider taking a 20 minute walk a day starting tomorrow. Every week increase it by 5 minutes until you get to 30/35 minutes daily. It takes about a month to feel the psychological and physical benefits. Here is the evidence.