2951: Don’t Wait for Motivation by Stephen Guise of Mini Habits

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[00:00:30] Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:54] So, press play on good sleep tonight because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for good sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. This is Optimal Health Daily. Don't Wait for Motivation by Stephen Guys of MiniHabits.com. And I'm your host and personal narrator, Dr. Neil.

[00:01:18] Hey there, welcome back to Optimal Health Daily or welcome for the first time if you're new here. This is the podcast where I read to you from some of the most popular health and fitness blogs online. All right, and with that, let's get right to today's article as we optimize your life. Don't Wait for Motivation by Stephen Guys of MiniHabits.com.

[00:01:43] There are two types of people in the world. One type believes that motivation is an essential or even required part of taking action. The other type believes that action is best treated as a choice, with little regard paid to their motivational whims. Those who believe action is a choice don't wait for motivation. Every person is already motivated at all times. It's just not always motivation to do the right things.

[00:02:10] When people talk about getting motivated, what they really mean is, change my motivation to something more productive. And this is a key distinction, because it prompts an important question. Can motivation be transferred like this? If so, how effectively or reliably can it be done? Here's the fundamental problem with getting motivated. How do you change something that you don't want to change?

[00:02:37] You want to do X, but you wish you wanted to do Y. Or, to put it awkwardly, you want to want to do Y. You desire the desire. I will use one example for the rest of the article, but this concept applies to all behaviors. This is just a very common one. Example. Say you feel like watching TV, but you know that it would be better for your health if you got in a quick workout. You've introduced now a competing desire.

[00:03:06] Now you desire to watch TV and work out, but for two different reasons. In many habits, I talked about these two types of motivation. One is a reason to act. Work out for wellness. And the other is a feeling to act. Watch TV because it feels good or it feels right. You have a better reason to work out, but you still feel like watching TV.

[00:03:32] Some will try to convert their reason for exercise into feeling like exercising. But that feeling slot is already occupied with watching TV and therefore isn't likely to change. This is the motivation trap. The motivation trap. The motivation trap is the false belief that, one, you need motivation or a feeling before you do something.

[00:03:57] And, two, that motivation or feeling can come by desiring it to come. The fundamental problem here is that your motivation has already been determined by your circumstances, habits, and environment. You're probably sitting down and relaxed. Watching TV feels like the most natural next step, which is why you're most motivated to do it. When you feel like watching a TV episode, it is highly unlikely to change.

[00:04:25] This isn't a battle of two equal desires. Watching TV genuinely seems to fit your situation better. Most likely, excuses to relax will dominate your thoughts and seal your fate on the couch. People wait in vain for motivation or inspiration to hit them. And they do that day after day. They put in real effort, too, thinking about all of the things they want to achieve or the exciting results they could get.

[00:04:51] But it all fails because it's tied to the flawed theory that motivation is the key to action. And here's the worst part. Sometimes, miraculously, you will be able to convert your reason to exercise into motivation to exercise or whatever your target behavior is. But even if you happen to succeed, you get weaker. Why succeeding with motivation weakens us.

[00:05:16] If getting motivated helps you sometimes, then at least those times you succeeded are worth celebrating, right? Wrong. Getting motivated to do X when you are already motivated to do Y is more difficult and less reliable than other techniques for action. Thus, any success with it reinforces the wrong idea. It attracts you to an inferior strategy.

[00:05:42] Motivation seekers train themselves not to do anything unless they feel motivated to do it. That kills consistency. That rules out habits. It keeps them from real progress. How frustrating. Believe me, I understand the appeal and logic of doing whatever you feel motivated to do at the time. I lived that way for most of my life. Forcing action isn't a naturally easy thing to do. But it can be made easier.

[00:06:10] And in time, it will feel natural. The results of escaping this trap are extraordinary. As you change, you will feel increasingly more powerful. Waiting on motivation makes us feel weak and powerless. So, when you remove that artificial barrier, you'll see all the possibilities of who you can become. Read any of my five books for the best techniques to stop waiting on motivation.

[00:06:36] In my original book, Many Habits, I shared the eponymous technique that first helped me detach from motivation seeking. And it changed my life. I did one push-up a day, a goal so small that I could always force action. It taught me that doing a little was infinitely better than doing nothing. That it was always more meaningful than it seemed. And that I never needed to wait for motivation to act. Some think that action follows motivation. The truth?

[00:07:05] Motivation follows action. You just listened to the post titled, Don't Wait for Motivation by Stephen Guise of manyhabits.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. When we started this podcast, it felt like diving into the deep end. Each day brought new challenges and we were drowning in decisions. Finding the right tools became our lifeline. For millions of entrepreneurs, that essential tool is Shopify.

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[00:09:03] Dr. Neil here for my commentary. As we've all likely experienced, motivation is very fickle. Sometimes it's there, but more often than not, it's hard to find, especially when it comes to healthy behaviors. And it may surprise you to know that there are days when I struggle to want to plan my meals or squeeze in that workout or take deep breaths when I'm feeling stressed. But that's because I'm not a robot and I'm an actual human being. And that's part of being human.

[00:09:32] Motivation comes and goes. It's fickle. So, how can we still find a way to make these health behaviors happen when motivation just isn't there? Well, today's author, Stephen, had the answer. Just start. Perform one push-up. Walk for just five minutes. Have just one bite of a fruit or vegetable. You get the idea. Now, why does this work so well? It's because we often find that once we get started, like, we perform just that one push-up,

[00:10:02] we usually don't just stop there. We'll say to ourselves, Oh, I'm already doing one push-up, so I might as well just see how many I can do. Or, Well, I don't want to waste this piece of fruit, so after this one bite, I might as well just finish it. So, that's what today's author, Stephen, meant by motivation follows action. Once we just do it, it starts to motivate us to keep going. So, then how do we outsmart our lack of motivation? Just start.

[00:10:33] All right, that'll do it for another edition of Optimal Health Daily. Thank you so much for listening, and thank you for listening all the way through. I so appreciate you sharing this show with someone. That's one of the best things you can do to keep this show going and all of the shows in our network. I hope you have a great rest of your weekend, and of course, I'll be back here with more tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits. I hope you have a great rest of your time.