An informal analysis on how to make habit-based, goal-driven actions exciting and sustainable!
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In my daily explorations of the internet and its never-ending supply of productivity related content, I often come across sentiments dismissing the concept of “motivation”. David Goggins, the noted former Navy seal, endurance athlete, author and all-around bad ass, says “don’t be motivated, be disciplined”.
I do like this mindset and think it has value. After all, it’s coming from a highly inspirational person! If we haven’t built our goals into daily habits and are solely relying on motivation to spring us into action, we’re on a slippery slope that often results in unused gym memberships, crushed ambitions and self-loathing. Discipline, built through consistent intentional effort, is the daily engine that drives our progress forward. However, I don’t believe this is an either/or situation. If daily discipline is the foundation and bedrock of our productive habits, daily motivation is the little spark that can give us that extra boost to make our habits that much more effective.
BLUF: We LIKE motivation. Ask yourself, why do you follow self-development channels on Youtube? Why do you read so many biographies and entrepreneurship books? Why do you re-watch the same movies or the same scenes from movies over and over again? We like things that make us feel like we can also achieve! Yes, we read and workout and learn and work hard because we seek to be better and want to improve our lives, but we should also realize that tied up with that desire is another thing we experience at the same time: FUN! We seek things that motivate us because it’s fun and revitalizing. When we find motivational sources, they make us feel excited that we are achieving success in our lives. At the very least, they make us aware that it is possible. There are a few things to unpack here. Read on to find out the underlying reasons why motivation and motivational sources are important and should not be easily dismissed.
The Push
In my last article, I spent some time talking about habituating productive habits. This is the key, to not only getting more done but also saving energy and making daily tasks feel significantly easier. By completing tasks as habits, built through daily self-discipline, it’s almost as if the march towards our goals is on auto-pilot. It requires some management but not the energy needed when first initiating the goal. However, even with a plan in place and all the reason to start, sometimes we get…….delayed.
It’s 6:12 a.m. and I’m sitting in my car outside the gym. According to the program I’m following, today I’m supposed to do 5 sets of 8 of back squat, among other things. I’ve been steadily accumulating volume each week, knowing it’s the best way to stimulate hypertrophy and grow these skinny legs of mine. However, it’s difficult, both physically and mentally. So, I procrastinate. I scroll Instagram, I watch Youtube videos, and I begin to dread my upcoming workout. It’s so cozy here in the car, shut in, away from the world and all its noise. Of course, there’s no real possibility that I’m not going to go inside and do my workout. I’ve been prioritizing my fitness for a few years now, and it’s ingrained in me. I’m not going to just drive off and skip my fitness regimen altogether. I’ll just need to exert some good old-fashioned self-discipline.
Just then, I come across a post from a lifter that’s around my same experience level. I’ve enjoyed following their progress on social media because I see a lot of similarities between where they’re at and where I’m at. This person used to lift a little less than me and has been consistently getting stronger over the past year. Their legs have grown noticeably in the past few months.
Okay! That’s all I needed! Just like that, I’m putting my phone away, getting out of the car, and marching towards the front door with renewed motivation and a drive towards accomplishment that wasn’t there just a second ago. This little boost of energy towards action I’ve come to think of as the push, and a lot of times it’s just what we need in order to transition from ready to act, to actually doing the work.
If I’m being completely honest, sometimes it really is that I see someone else having success and I want that for myself too. I’m only human. But I don’t see it as jealousy per se. Much of the time it’s genuine inspiration, like when I see how The Rock manages to balance fitness, business and family time while still being grateful and having a great attitude. It makes me want to be a better person. Sometimes, if I’m reading a book or listening to a podcast, I hear an idea that is new to me. Or it may be an old, familiar idea phrased so that it finally registers in a way I can understand it.
No matter how it strikes me, when I find something motivating it transforms my feelings and energy level almost INSTANTLY. All of a sudden, I don’t feel as tired! What once seemed daunting, now seems like a fun challenge. Whereas I felt hesitant or wary about my ability to complete something, I now feel empowered and driven to make it happen. This push isn’t enough by itself to cause you to accomplish your goals and I don’t recommend relying on it solely. However, if you’ve already got a plan in place it can help drive you in the moment to act on that next part of your plan.
A Reminder
Another reason I enjoy seeking out motivational sources is because I can often draw parallels between my life’s journey and the themes and stories of those I follow. Maybe this is just because I choose to see things this way but even so, it’s a valid and powerful tool. Since the idea behind this website is to have expertise in multiple areas of life, I’ve read books on all kinds of topics this past year to include index funds, Leonardo Da Vinci, gamification, habit formation, and marketing. Recently, I’ve been engrossed in the biography of bodybuilding legend, action movie star, and former Governator of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Arnold is someone I’ve been inspired by ever since I was in high school. Early in his career, he built one of the most impressive physiques ever, eventually becoming a seven-time Mr. Olympia. He went on to become a world class entertainer, and has had success in multiple businesses resulting in him becoming a millionaire before his movie career even took off!
To top all of that, as an immigrant who speaks English as a second language, he decided he felt strongly enough about serving his community that he would run for public office. And he succeeded! He became the 38th Governor of the state of California, entering a field that presumably no one would take him seriously in, having never before held public office (unless you count running the President’s Council on Fitness).
What does all of that have to do with me? Well, I have been serious about working on my own fitness and physique for several years now. I am motivated to build this site into something that provides value to those who would read it. I want to make strong investments financially and build a secure future for my family. Finally, I have wanted to learn to speak Spanish, at least conversationally, since I was a young adult and I’ve been consciously working on that for the past month or so. Picking up a book about someone who was already inspiring to me and then taking note of how learning a second language was so crucial to his success gets me fired up to continue working!
Reading about Arnold’s journey has been a really impactful reminder of where I want to go in life and has galvanized me in my commitment. It’s reminded me of the things I value. I will never be a larger than life Hollywood action star, but each day when I run into obstacles, I can think about the steps Arnold took to be successful. Whether those obstacles are fatigue, a lack of time, unexpected schedule complications, or frustrations over learning something new and difficult, I am strengthened in my pursuit of being better by leaning on that example from someone who’s been through those same struggles (and more).
Furthermore, not only is this a good reminder of what I’m working toward, but it also illuminates to me why I’m working toward these various goals; because I value health and fitness, financial prosperity, providing value, and always learning. By engaging with sources that cover things YOU are interested in, you are providing yourself with reminders of where you are headed in life, what you value, and whether you’re on the right track or need to course correct.
Additionally, if you have interest in multiple areas like I do, it’s really easy to get distracted by the next thing and lose focus on areas that require long term commitment. This is another reason engaging with these sources on a regular basis can be valuable. It grounds you and can refocus you on your goals.
Reading a financial book today reminds me of the last personal finance book I read. I think to myself, “Oh yeah, I meant to sign up for that high-yield online savings account a month ago but I forgot. I’m gonna go do it now.” This works especially well if you’re going to do a deep dive on a subject and read several books/articles on it, returning to it several times throughout the year.
Ping Pong Effect
I seek out motivation constantly, in the form of books, Youtube videos, movies, podcasts, social media, and on and on the list goes. A couple months ago while reading Cal Newport’s excellent Deep Work, I was intrigued to find a passage about something called the eudaimonia machine. This is a concept for a building designed to enable its occupants to reach maximum levels of creativity and human potential.
I get excited about this concept because environment design is something I’m actively working on in my garage workshop and home office. It reminds me of the video I watched on Adam Sinicki’s The Bioneer Youtube channel about home batcaves. In fact, that was the original inspiration I had for building out my own garage space, so I could have an area of the house where I can work, think and be creative.
I wanted to have a fully kitted out workshop like Batman does in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice or like Tony Stark does in the first Ironman movie. Speaking of which, I’ve been reading the Matt Fraction run of Ironman and man is it good! Ironman is such a constant inspiration to me, as I want to learn how to do ALL THE THINGS and expand my knowledge and skills in every area, including having a successful online business. Speaking of which, I should really write that next article! 😲 You see where I’m going with this???
Now don’t get me wrong. This could quickly devolve into a Walter Mitty-type situation here, where one might only daydream and never take any action, their head lazily stuck in the proverbial clouds forever. In his fun, nerdy treatise on self-development, Level Up Your Life, author Steve Kamb refers to this as “collecting underpants”, which itself is a South Park reference. It means to exist in a state of perpetual planning and dreaming but never actually taking any action. However, if you’ve been intentional and taken the time to map out your values, goals, and a plan to reach each one, while taking action each day, it can only strengthen your resolve to notice that inspiration is all around us! This leads me to my next point.
Engaging with an interesting motivational resource will often lead you to ideas and solutions that may help you figure out something in your life, your daily habits, workouts, etc. But it can also lead you to discover ALL NEW SOURCES of information and inspiration! I can’t count how many times I’ve noticed that a good book is mentioned in a podcast, a blog/website is mentioned on a Youtube channel, or a worthwhile expert is mentioned or recommended on a social media account. And I take advantage of ALL of it. We live in an amazing time where valuable quality info and knowledge is available everywhere at the click of a button. It’s pretty darn exciting to be constantly discovering new sources of knowledge and inspiration to spur us on to greater and greater heights!
Develop a Vision
It’s often tossed around on the web and social media that you should find a mentor. Someone who is a little further along in life than you. Someone who is where you want to be. This is pretty sage advice in that emulating a successful person and/or their habits can speed up the time it takes us to become successful at a given endeavor. And the great thing about this concept is that this person or persons do not need to be someone you know personally or see on a regular basis in day-to-day life.
Back to Arnold Schwarzenegger for a moment here. There are many great interviews and media available with Arny where you can get a look into his thought process and I highly suggest you do. I never fail to come away inspired by his speaking. A recurring theme in his interviews is the idea of having a vision for yourself or your goal.
Arnold says it is so important because if you don’t have a clear vision of where you want to go, or in other words who you want to be, you will have a hard time honing in on the sorts of actions that will get you there. James Clear also touches on this in his book Atomic Habits, stating that “true behavior change is identity change.” Instead of telling yourself, “I want to read more”, tell yourself, “I am a person who reads all the time.” If you then are a person who reads a lot, it follows that you must read every day or nearly every day. Therefore, not reading daily will cause at least some discomfort as it does not fit with how you envision yourself.
You can see this clearly in Arnold’s career right at the very start. In his mind, he clearly envisioned himself as a bodybuilding champion. A champion must work out for several hours a day, eat the right foods, learn as much about building muscle as he can, etc. He adopted these habits as if they were already a part of him and then built evidence of this new identity day by day. Over time, through consistency and hard work, he brought that vision into reality. This method can be applied to almost any goal in life.
Researching various kinds of motivational sources is one of the ways I achieve coming up with a vision of where I want to go in life. This is a highly important process in over-all self-development, not only because it helps you sort out where you want to direct your efforts, but also because it’s very motivating to envision and put together the future version of YOU. Or at least it can and should be! Every time I come across a person who interests me, whether I’ve heard them speak on a topic, read their words in a book, or watched them on the big screen in a Hollywood movie, I take a little lesson from their performance, and I add it to the vision I have for myself. We are, after all, an amalgamation of the subjects, people, and ideas we love and pay attention to.
Fun for the Long Haul
When I see, hear, or experience something that gets me excited to work towards achieving my goals, it stokes a feeling of optimism in me that gets me fired up about life. This is important. You need to experience feelings of happiness and positivity about reaching for your goals if you want to sustain the effort over the long haul. Our culture can be so focused on always working, always achieving, never wasting any time at all, do, create! Build! Work! Can’t stop, won’t stop! After a while, if you lose sight of what made your goals fun or why they are important to you, it can turn into a real grind and can lead to burnout.
Sometimes I can engage with this sort of optimism just by reading about a certain topic or seeing an image of someone I admire. Other times, I draw energy more from seeing others succeed, whether it’s in a biography I’m reading or through someone’s social media accounts. I suppose it’s a sort of kinship I feel with others out there who are ambitious, who are moving towards making their dreams a reality. It’s comforting and inspiring to see them deal with similar struggles as me, rise above them and have success. At any rate, this FUN feeling helps to ritualize the habit(s) we associate it with, as we tend to repeat things that make us feel good. James Clear refers to this as the 2nd law of behavior change: Make it attractive (fun).
Motivation in Practice
So how does this work on a daily basis? Every person is different. As for myself, you could say that I’ve habituated the act of seeking motivation (stimuli that will drive me towards self-improvement). More often than not, this act of seeking motivating things leads me to new sources, new ideas, or just a familiar feeling of being inspired. That helps me to take action, which results in improvement that is small and iterative. This isn’t about making giant leaps, but about taking the next step of daily work, like a craftsman. After this I’ll go about my daily business at work or at home, but eventually I’ll return to this and repeat the cycle. For me, this cycle takes the following form-
Finally, we’ve all experienced that let down after finishing a great book or tv series. That bittersweet feeling of having enjoyed the journey so much, yet feeling let down that after all this time it’s finally over. What comes next? My answer again is that the world is full of wonderful inspiration and teachable moments.
Don’t stop after the book or speech that made you feel alive! Your next lesson is just down the road if you’re willing to look for it. It may bolster your motivation for the next day or week, or it just may change your life!
