I’m giving up on motivation…
Today is the day I’m drawing a line in the sand. I’m officially giving up on one of the fluffiest, most overused words in our world today - motivation.
F*&# motivation.
There. I said it. You can join me if you want to. I would actually love some company over here in Anti-Motivation-Land.
You may already be on board with me. I know who you are. I see you. We’re in the same boat. But if you’re a little skeptical about throwing motivation to the wind, keep reading. Let me explain my rationale, then you can be the judge and jury as to whether or not I’ve officially lost it.
I’m going to start this out with a business story.
When I started my health coaching practice back in 2020, I was SO ready to take on the world! I had such big ideas and big visions. But the most exciting part of being my own boss and finally doing something I loved, was that I got to do what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it. (This sounds a lot like becoming an adult, right? All new freedom and a highly romanticized version of the world.)
I knew I wanted to write blog articles and create content. I love writing and I’ve always been a writer. I scheduled time during my weeks to write this amazing content. The day would come, I would sit down with a blank document staring me in the face, and patiently wait for the amazing words to flow….
They usually didn’t.
In fact, it only took a few months of this excruciating process for me to resent writing these articles. So I stopped. I sent out random emails and wrote random articles. No plan. No strategy. No consistency.
It went on like that for a while. Then, one day, my motivation came back! Hooray! I was in the zone!
I could bust out a few articles a day. It was gold! Maybe that’s what they call writer’s block. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.
Guess what happened next? It happened again. I lost my motivation. The day would come for content creation and I hated it. It made me want to quit this whole thing. Why couldn’t I just be inspired? Where the hell did my motivation go?
And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Motivation isn’t enough.
To be honest, this wasn't my idea. It just took me until that moment for it to finally sink in.
Through some pretty intense coaching with my coach, I realized that I can still do things even if I don’t feel like it. Wtf?
You mean, I don’t need to wait until inspiration strikes to write gem-packed content? Nope!
That would have saved me a TON of time!
And frustration.
And several fights with my laptop.
Instead of relying on motivation to help me through my days, I could simply choose to be the type of person who does the things she says she is going to, whether or not she feels like it.
I am now that type of person.
Sure, some of my best articles come from something deep. And sometimes I do need to just write, otherwise, I feel like I might explode. But that has nothing to do with motivation. That, my friend, is passion.
So, how do you become the person who does things when she doesn’t feel like it?
You throw motivation out the window. Stop using it as a crutch. Worse yet, stop using it as an excuse to not do things.
Let me say that again.
If you are waiting to feel motivated to do things, you’re using motivation as an excuse to not do the things.
It’s meta, I know.
How many times have you not felt like brushing your teeth? I bet you did it anyway.
How many times have you not felt like getting up in the middle of the night to change a kiddo’s diaper? I bet you did it anyway.
Working out?
Eating healthy?
Going to work?
Having a difficult conversation?
I bet you’re already the type of person who does things even when she doesn’t want to. Just apply this to whatever goal you’re trying to reach.
Doing things when you don’t “feel like it” has nothing to do with motivation. It has to do with the greater goal. You do things out of love for others or yourself. You do things out of necessity. You do things because it’s the right thing to do. You do things because you know it’s the only way you get to where you want to be.
That, my friend, is discipline.
Do not fall into the motivation trap. It IS a trap!
It’s beautiful when motivation works, but as soon as it starts to slip away, you’re in trouble.
Motivation is rarely ever enough.
I see this all the time coaching my clients through the ups and downs of life. When they’re feeling motivated, such as they lost weight last week, they are excited to build on that this week. Easy. But when the weight loss slows or stops for a week, the motivation is gone. It’s tough to get back on the hamster wheel.
That’s why I spend a lot of time coaching on discipline, not motivation.
Motivation isn’t enough.
The most successful people in the world are disciplined and do what needs to be done despite how they feel.
Since I started surrounding myself with other high-achieving people, this became abruptly obvious to me. Put yourself in a room of other like-minded people and it will blow your mind!
Most health coaches out there base their coaching programs on building motivation. But it only goes so far. You can choose to ride the motivation wave for as long as you would like, but just know, it will dry up. And then you’ll be stuck.
That’s why so many health programs don’t give lasting results. They’re built on motivation. As soon as the motivation dries up, so do the results. Eventually, if you can’t catch the tail of motivation, you will find yourself back at square one.
I can teach you to be the type of person who gets sh*t done, even when you don’t want to. Yes, I can teach you to eat healthy food even when you don’t want to. I can help you learn discipline.
Enough is enough. Stop using motivation as an excuse for not crushing your dreams.
It’s possible.
And I can help you.