Motivation: The Scientific Guide on How to Get and Stay Motivated

Motivation is a powerful, yet tricky beast. Sometimes it is really easy to get motivated, and you find yourself wrapped up in a whirlwind of excitement. Other times, it is nearly impossible to figure out how to motivate yourself and you’re trapped in a death spiral of procrastination.

Motivation: What It Is and How It Works

A.k.a. your willingness to do something

• It is the set of psychological forces that compel you to take action
• Motivation can be defined as your willingness or interest in doing something, i.e. your motivation to learn something new.

How to Make Motivation a Habit

Step 1: A good pre-game routine starts by being so easy that you can’t say no

• Your routine should get you moving toward the end goal
• You need to follow the same pattern every single time
• The primary purpose is to create a series of events that you always perform before doing a specific task

How to Reach Peak Motivation

Flow is sometimes referred to as “in the zone” – the mental state you experience when you are so focused on the task at hand that the rest of the world fades away

• One factor that researchers have found is linked to flow states is whether or not you are following The Goldilocks Rule
• If you are working on challenges of optimal difficulty, then you will experience a boost in happiness
• In order to reach this state of peak performance, however, you not only need to work on challenges at the right degree of difficulty but also measure your immediate progress

What to Do When Motivation Fades

Your Mind is a Suggestion Engine

• Consider every thought you have as a suggestion, not an order
• Discomfort Is Temporary
• You Will Never Regret Good Work Once It is Done
• Life is a constant balance between giving into the ease of distraction or overcoming the pain of discipline
• Maintain perspective
• This moment is not a dress rehearsal

Schedule Your Motivation

Setting a schedule for yourself seems simple, but it puts your decision-making on autopilot by giving your goals a time and a place to live.

• It makes it more likely that you will follow through regardless of your motivation levels.

Motivation

When we are motivated, it is easier to bear the inconvenience of action than the pain of remaining the same.

• What can we do to make it more likely that we cross this mental threshold and feel motivated on a consistent basis?
• It is more difficult to not do the work than to actually do it.

How to Get Motivated

Twyla Tharp, one of the greatest dancers and choreographers of the modern era, uses pre-game rituals to motivate herself

• The key to any good ritual is that it removes the need to make a decision
• You want starting a behavior to be easy and automatic so you have the strength to finish it when it becomes difficult and challenging

How to Stay Motivated by Using the Goldilocks Rule

Humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities

• Tasks that are significantly below your current abilities are boring and beyond your current capabilities
• Task that is just right is motivating
• You need to find a way to pull your tasks back to the border of your abilities where you feel challenged, but capable

Common Misconception About Motivation

Motivation is often the result of action, not the cause of it

• You don’t need much motivation once you’ve started a behavior
• Nearly all of the friction in a task is at the beginning
• It is often easier to finish a task than it was to start it in the first place

Get Motivated and Take Action

Automate the early stages of your behavior to make it easier to find motivation and get started

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