2762: Internal Motivation: How To Build Routines That Stick by Tyler Tervooren of Riskology on Healthy Habit Formation

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[00:00:56] This is Optimal Health Daily. Internal Motivation. How to Build Routines That Stick. By Tyler Tervorin of Riskology.co. And I'm Dr. Neil.

[00:01:07] Hey there, happy middle of the week Wednesday and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily.

[00:01:12] Where I read some of the best health and fitness blogs to you and always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

[00:01:17] And now today is Wednesday and like I do every Wednesday, I like to share a little bit of inspiration with you.

[00:01:22] So with that, here we go.

[00:01:24] Quote,

[00:01:26] 20 years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do by the ones you did do.

[00:01:33] Mark Twain.

[00:01:35] Alright and with that, let's get right to it and start optimizing your life.

[00:01:44] Internal Motivation. How to Build Routines That Stick. By Tyler Tervorin of Riskology.co.

[00:01:51] On my running routes, there are a few folks, the regulars, I can always count on seeing. We don't know each other, but we wave and say hi. I like to add, enjoy the run for good measure.

[00:02:03] Thanks, I always do, is a typical reply.

[00:02:05] I was talking to a friend about exercise recently. It can be so hard to get into any kind of rhythm.

[00:02:12] Productive routines are difficult to build.

[00:02:14] You want to be more reliable and accountable to yourself, but it's really hard to make the time in your busy life.

[00:02:21] You might try a few routines at home or at work you think are productive, but they don't stick.

[00:02:26] So you decide you just don't like them.

[00:02:29] Routines don't work for you.

[00:02:31] That reminded me of those daily micro exchanges.

[00:02:34] Enjoy the run. I always do.

[00:02:37] They aren't just a formality.

[00:02:40] My trail buddies and I really do enjoy running.

[00:02:43] And the reason we enjoy it is because our motivation to do it comes from inside of us.

[00:02:48] If you've ever struggled to stick to a routine,

[00:02:51] the solution could be as simple as channeling your motivation from the right source.

[00:02:56] Here's how to do it.

[00:02:58] Internal vs. External Motivation

[00:03:01] Talk to someone who works with drug rehab patients,

[00:03:03] and you'll hear the same wisdom shared over and over.

[00:03:07] Success depends on your motivations.

[00:03:10] A professional can often tell if their patient will get clean and stay that way.

[00:03:14] Everyone who overcomes a drug addiction is motivated,

[00:03:17] but the ones who succeed long term are the ones who are motivated for the right reasons.

[00:03:23] So, what are the right reasons?

[00:03:25] Research shows rehab success lasts when patients are motivated to make themselves better for themselves.

[00:03:33] Some go to rehab because they're afraid they'll lose their job, their house, or their family.

[00:03:38] These patients might get clean, but it rarely lasts.

[00:03:42] Others go to rehab because they fear they'll lose themselves.

[00:03:46] These are the individuals who turn their lives around for good.

[00:03:51] That example illustrates the difference between internal and external motivation.

[00:03:55] When you're externally motivated to change, the things that drive that change are outside of you,

[00:04:02] and therefore, outside of your control.

[00:04:05] For those with addiction and in rehab, it could be the loss of a relationship, a job, or something else.

[00:04:11] For you, trying to build routines to save time or improve yourself, the motivation could be similar.

[00:04:17] Maybe your partner has been nagging at you to get healthier, so you try to build a fitness routine.

[00:04:22] Or maybe your boss mentioned you're not as productive as you should be,

[00:04:26] so you're trying to organize yourself at work.

[00:04:29] The data say that if these are your motivations, your efforts probably won't work.

[00:04:34] You'll get started, but when things get difficult, you'll give up.

[00:04:38] And things always get difficult before they become easy.

[00:04:42] External factors change.

[00:04:44] You can't control them, and trying to keep up with them proves useless over time.

[00:04:48] But when you're internally motivated, you're driven by a desire to make yourself better.

[00:04:54] You're only accountable to you, and that means you control the variables that decide whether you succeed or fail.

[00:05:01] When those factors are stacked in your favor, the odds say you'll make lasting change.

[00:05:08] Internal motivations create sustainable routines.

[00:05:12] What's more interesting, the external motivations that drive you are often better satisfied when you ignore them

[00:05:18] and focus on finding your internal motivations and acting on them instead.

[00:05:23] Consider an example.

[00:05:25] Let's say you've been told by your boss that you don't contribute enough to your team brainstorming sessions.

[00:05:31] You're too quiet, and it's going to keep you from getting promoted.

[00:05:35] If pleasing your boss and being promoted are your primary motivations to improve, you're going to struggle.

[00:05:41] You'll take the feedback and try to speak up at team meetings, but it'll feel unnatural,

[00:05:46] and you won't express yourself well.

[00:05:49] This is the folly of external motivation.

[00:05:51] You're allowing someone else to determine what's good for you, and taking actions to fix it for them.

[00:05:58] That's not sustainable.

[00:06:00] But what if you took that feedback and looked a little deeper?

[00:06:03] Maybe you have a real desire to be influential, and that feedback from your boss shows you that

[00:06:08] you're not rallying your team like you could be.

[00:06:11] That line of thinking, focusing on an internal motivation, will lead you to different solutions

[00:06:17] to the same problem.

[00:06:18] Maybe you'll make more time to have one-on-one conversations with your teammates, or build

[00:06:23] a routine of reaching out to your colleagues via email or chat to discuss ideas as they come up.

[00:06:29] These routines will be sustainable because you built them from a desire to please yourself

[00:06:34] instead of someone else.

[00:06:36] And at the end of the day, your boss and your co-workers are going to get what they need

[00:06:42] as well.

[00:06:43] Strategies to inspire your own internal motivation.

[00:06:47] Let's face it, we're all externally motivated to some degree.

[00:06:51] If you struggle to build systems and routines that will become a part of your life and produce

[00:06:56] the lasting changes you hope for, the trick is to tilt the scale just a little.

[00:07:01] Find the internal motivations that will produce those external results.

[00:07:06] Here are a few things you can try that have worked well for me and millions of others

[00:07:10] who enjoy the benefits of reliable routines.

[00:07:14] 1. Focus on change you feel instead of change you see.

[00:07:19] Exercise and health are good examples.

[00:07:21] Everyone wants to look great, but the only reason to look great is so that others will

[00:07:26] like what they see.

[00:07:27] If you want to improve your appearance, go a little deeper.

[00:07:31] Instead of making your looks the prime motivator, focus on increasing your strength, becoming

[00:07:36] more agile, and building more stamina.

[00:07:38] These are things you actually control.

[00:07:41] As those metrics improve, so will your appearance.

[00:07:45] 2. Only do what you enjoy.

[00:07:48] The idea that you can do something you hate over and over until you like it is a fairy tale

[00:07:53] in most cases.

[00:07:54] Listen on to learn when it isn't.

[00:07:56] You might succeed at first, but it's excruciating.

[00:08:00] And the resentment that slowly builds will eventually cause you to fail.

[00:08:04] You'll lose the progress you made.

[00:08:06] Instead, have the discipline to only focus on doing things you enjoy that will also produce

[00:08:12] the results you want.

[00:08:13] This is what it looks like to be true to yourself.

[00:08:17] Consider the example from earlier.

[00:08:19] The quiet employee who needs to become more influential to move up in their company.

[00:08:23] There's a swimming pool's worth of strategies and tactics they could try, but long-term

[00:08:29] success comes when they find the teaspoon of strategies that are the perfect fit for them.

[00:08:35] 3. When you start a routine, don't give up for at least 30 days.

[00:08:41] When I started running, I didn't like it that much.

[00:08:44] I was overweight, out of shape, and not very good at it.

[00:08:47] But I wanted to give it a fair trial, so I stuck with it for a few months.

[00:08:52] Tens of thousands of miles later, it's one of my favorite activities.

[00:08:57] Don't give up on something important to you just because you're not good at it.

[00:09:01] And don't convince yourself that you don't like it until you've become proficient and

[00:09:05] still don't like it.

[00:09:07] It's hard to like something you're not good at.

[00:09:09] It's not much fun until you know what you're doing.

[00:09:12] If you commit to trying something new for at least 30 days, your skill will improve.

[00:09:17] As you improve, you might learn you actually like it.

[00:09:21] And 4. Focus on consistency, not results.

[00:09:26] You have more control over how often you do something than the results you get from doing it.

[00:09:32] And results come from consistency, not the other way around.

[00:09:36] These are the primary factors in building a routine that is a natural part of your life

[00:09:41] instead of one you struggle to implement over and over.

[00:09:44] When you let your internal motivations guide you, the results you get won't just be better,

[00:09:49] they'll be more fulfilling.

[00:09:55] You just listened to the post titled,

[00:09:57] Internal Motivation, How to Build Routines That Stick by Tyler Tervorin of Riskology.co.

[00:10:03] And I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:10:05] Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:10:07] I really liked all of today's authors, Tyler's suggestions.

[00:10:11] But I want to go back to Tyler's third suggestion and clarify something.

[00:10:16] Tyler's third suggestion was all about trying a routine for 30 days.

[00:10:20] Does that mean after 30 days, the routine will now be a habit?

[00:10:25] No.

[00:10:26] Instead, Tyler was saying that sometimes we have to give ourselves enough time to try out a new behavior

[00:10:32] before deciding whether it suits us or not.

[00:10:35] But at the end of 30 days, it may not mean the new behavior is automatically a habit.

[00:10:40] We may have heard, it takes 21 days to form a new habit.

[00:10:44] Yeah, well, forget it.

[00:10:46] That's a myth.

[00:10:47] So, instead, allow yourself enough time to really try out a new behavior

[00:10:53] to see if you actually like it or not.

[00:10:55] It may take longer than 30 days.

[00:10:57] But be real with yourself.

[00:11:00] Did you actually give yourself enough time to decide whether you like it or not?

[00:11:04] And as Tyler said, you have to become proficient at it

[00:11:08] before you decide whether or not you like it.

[00:11:11] All right, that'll do it for today.

[00:11:12] Thank you so much for being here.

[00:11:14] Thank you for listening all the way through to the end.

[00:11:16] I hope you have a great rest of your day.

[00:11:18] And I'll see you back here for tomorrow's show, where optimal life awaits.