The 4 keys To Sustainable Motivation

Here are the 4 things that will determine whether or not you can motivate yourself to do something.

Motivation. Noothertopicisaddressedasoften in the personal development industry as the topic of motivation. Therearehundredsofmotivationbooks, thousands of motvation coaches, motivation seminars, motivation courses, and of course Motivation Monday.

In a way, this is justified, because without motivation we feel lousy. Without motivation, we don’t feel like achieving our goals and wedony ‘achieve them.

That’swhyI’d like to dive into motivation in this article and shed some light on it. However, I’m not goingtodrillthephrase “Youcan do it!” intoyoudozens oftimes so thatyou’lleventuallybelieve it. Itdoesn’tworkthatway. Otherwise, anyonecould do it. Instead,  I’mgoingtoshowyouwhatitmeanstobetrulymotivatedandeverythingthatgoesinto it.

So, what are the parameters thatarenecessaryfor motivation to increase or decrease?

After I reveal them toyou, you will beableto analyzeyourselfand understand whyyouare sometimes unmotivated. Also, you will understand howto hack yourmotivation in thefuture.

The underlying principleis based on thebook “The Motivation Hacker” by Nick Winter. This articleisthe quintessenceof it. I also workwiththis formula withmy clients, in mymentoring. The formulastatesthattherearefour parametersthateitheri ncreaseor decrease motivation. Twooftheseparameters must be high andtwo must beaslowaspossible.

Let’sstartwiththefirstparameter, which must beas high aspossible:

The so-called expectation of success

Expectationofsuccessmeans: Howconvinced am I that I will achievethisgoal? Manypeopleset a goalthattheyknow (consciously or subconsciously) they will never reach. It’s just toofaraway.

Anyonewhohaseverworked in salesor in a sales sectorknowsthatthere aremanagers whosometimesset such utopianfigures thatever yoneknows: Hey, we won’tmake itthis quarter!

Managers thinkthey motivate their peoplewiththe biggestnumbers possible. This maybetrue in a visionofthefuture – but not in concretegoals. Ifyousetyourownvision (the manager only givesthevision ofthe company, not yours!), you will be sustainably motivated.

But todayweare not talkingaboutvision, but aboutgoals. Achievegoalsandstaymotivated.

 

In doing so, it’simportanttosetgoalsthatyoubelieve in andthatyoucanachieve. Not a checklistof 100 different thingsto do today. Not a miserablylongto-do listthatyouknowfor a factyou’llonlyget 30% done at most.

Ifyousetyourgoalseverydayanddon’tachievethem, you’resignalingtoyoursubconscious, “Hey, youcan’t do it.”

This lowerstheexpectationofsuccess. So it’simportanttosetgoalsthatyouknowyoucanachievebythedeadline. Ofcourse, theyhavetobe smart goals. You’veprobablyheardofthe SMART formula.

SMART means:

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Attractive

R = Realistic

T = Time (-> Deadline)

 

Ifyouunderstandthisandalwaysachieve 90% to 100% ofyourdailygoals, thenyourexpectationofsuccess will automaticallyincreaseaswell. That was thefirstimportantfactortokeepmotivation high.

 

Nowwecometothesecondpoint.

 

Just asimportantisthevalueofyourgoal.

How important isthe goal to you?

Ifsomeoneelsegivesyou a goalanditis not important toyou personally, thenit will bedifficultforyouto achievethisgoal. Set goalsthatare worth somethingto YOU!

If I weretoset a goalofmaking 1,000,000 Dollars thisyear so I couldbuy a Ferrari – I wouldn’tmake it. I wouldn’tmakethemillion, because I hate Ferraris. I hatesportscarsthat I feelsqueezedinto.

Forme, luxury items havebecome increasinglyun interesting in recentyears. I find sportscars in particular completely uninteresting. The valueofthis goalwould therefore beverylow.

However, if I say: “I wanttobuild a villa in Thailand and do myretreatstherenextyearwithThe ChainlessLIFE” – then I definitelywantto makethatmillion! Then I will giveevery thingforit, becausethisgoalisworth a lottome.

So alwayssetgoalsthataretiedtosomethingthatisworthittoyou. Ideally, thegoalitselfisworthsomethingtoyou. In the end, youwalkthepathtothegoaltoimproveyourself.

Set goalsthat will helpyougetbetter. Thenyouareautomaticallymotivated.

Set goalsthat bring a resultthatyoureallywant. Manypeoplefoolthemselves. Theyparrotgoalsfromothers. These arepeoplewhohave not yetconnectedwiththeirvalues, who do not yetknowwhotheyareandwhotheywanttobe. Andthesearepeoplewhoneverachievetheirgoals.

Thatismyexperiencefromverymanycoachingsessionsand also freetelephonecounselingsessionsthat I havehad. When I noticethatthepersondoesn’treallyknowwhat he orshewants, thenitbecomesdifficult. Wealwayshaveto find that out first. That’sexactlywhy I do thesefreecounselingsessions.

 

Ifyouwanttoapplyforoneofthoseandgettested, just clickhere.

 

But feelfreetoread on firstandclick on itlater. Becausewenowhavethetwo variables thatneedtobeas high aspossible: ExpectationofSuccessand Value.

Nowtherearetwootherfactors. Theyhavetobeaslowaspossible, becausethey kill yourmotivation.

First is procrastination

Delay meansthatthemoredistant in thefutureyourgoalsare, thelessmotivatedyouareto do anythingaboutthem. So set a goalthatyoucanachieve in theforeseeablefuture. Daily goalshave a veryshortdelay. That’swhyyouaremoremotivatedtoachieveyourdailygoals. Withweeklygoalsyou also know: they will comesoon, I will reachthemsoon.

However, whenwetalkaboutmonthly goalsorannual goals, itisdifficultformetostaymotivated.

That’swhythere’s a very simple hack. Youstartdividingyourbiggoals (whichyou absolutelyhavet ohave, don’tgetme wrong!), intosmall intermediate goals. You turn a yearlygoalinto a 6-month goal, a 3-month goal, a monthly goal, a weekly goal, andthen a dailygoalforeachday.

 

For example, ifyou want to reach 10,000 followers on Instagram fortheSwipeUpfeatureandthat’syourgoalfor 1 year, you mightthink, “Uff, that’s so faraway.” Just do themath: Howmanynewfollowerswould I havetocreate per week?

And right away you’l lbe Muchmore motivated because you’ll see how close the goal is. Nowyoudon’thavetoreach 10,000 followers, but only 192.

Orifyouwanttowrite a book in a year – that’s just one page a day. That’showyou subconsciously helps yourself keepyour motivation high.

Nowwehavethe last variable and this is one that is often underestimated.

It is the so-called impulsivity.

Impulsivity means that you very quickly stray from your goal because of impulse decisions.

So you have a goal. Youworkpurposefullytowardsthisgoal – and then you are constantly distracted from the leftand right. The best example here is your cellphone. If your iPhone is vibrating next to you all day and you’re trying to achieve your goal for the day, how the heck are you supposed to stay focused and motivated?

 

Then you’ll be distracted again and again – just by impulse decisions.

There is a function called “Moon or sleep” for this very purpose. Just click on the “Moon” and the device stop vibrating cause all notifications are suppressed. On most Android devices, thisfeatureis called “Do Not Disturb“. If you can’t find it, just use flight mode in your work hours.

Then close WhatsApp Web, email, and push messages on your computer as well. Youdon’tletyourselfbepermanentlypenetratedbythe outside world. This applies not only to your cell phone and computer or laptop but also to your surroundings. If you live in a flatshare, then arrange yourself. Tell those around you, “Hey, I’mtryingtowork, please don’t distract me forthenext two hours.”

Ifyouhavefamilymembersor a girlfriend or boyfriend, communicate with them. It’sprettydarnimportantthatyoucommunicateyourneeds. Thatyoutellyourenvironment, “Hey, I don want to be disturbed here, it kills my motivation. I want to do anything.” Thatwayyouautomaticallycommittoyourowngoal a lot more and that sharpens the motivation.

What else can you do to lower impulsivity?

Oneofmyfavorite tricks install ways to thinkof yourself as a professional. Saying to yourself, “Hey, I’m a professional, I’m working on my business by myself, and I have my schedules.”

Whenyouseeyourselfas a professional, you make a very clear routine for yourself. Youlayeverything out on that.

Best case scenario, if you have a good coach, then he helps you adjust your goals so that through your routines and habits, you achieve the goals on autopilot mode. This is also a blatant hack. If you adjust your habits serve your goals, you’re mostly there.

Seeing yourself as a professional is super important. Just having that self-image of yourself: I’m not goingtobe distractedby anyone, including my own phone.

Another secret tip is a commitment to other people. A topic that is very closely related to sustainable motivation.

Commitmentreducesimpulsivityto an absolute minimum and you will realize for the first time: “Hey, I don’t want to be distracted anymore. I don’t want to make impulse decisions anymore.”

Here again is a summary of all 4 parameters:

Set expectations of success and valueas high as possible, avoid delay and impulsiveness. Because.. (successexpectation + valence) – (delay + impulsiveness) = motivation

If you apply this formula, you will know how to hack your motivation yourself in the future.