How risky is your Motivation?

I think it’s safe to say that there’s no better feeling than being motivated. Motivation carries this ecstatic energy with it, and we base a lot of our decisions on this temporary emotion. I’m not saying that motivation is a bad thing by any means, but it’s being used and abused to the point where it’s beginning to have a negative effect on us. As new “trainers” and “life coaches” pop up daily, it seems like they just want to motivate, motivate, motivate! They mean no harm, but here’s my problem with it.

First, let’s start with what motivation means at its core. Motivation is the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. Now, let’s use an example we can all relate to… food. I like to use food because within a 15-30 minute span, our behavior on food completely changes. The reason or emotion of being HUNGRY leads us to spend time, money, & energy to perform the action of EATING. If you have an 8 hour road trip, the goal is to get to your destination, but being hungry on your road trip is motivation to inconvenience your trip to eat. After eating, our motivation to complete the road trip outweighs our desire for food, so we simply get back on the road to fulfill our desire to arrive at our destination.

Secondly, the logic behind motivation may be the exact same type of logic we’re constantly trying to avoid.  Let me set the scene, because many of us have been in this situation before.

It’s Spring time, the pools open in five weeks, the sun is rising earlier, and it’s a beautiful day outside. The circumstances are perfect for an outdoor morning walk/run. The rest of your neighbors most likely have the same idea in mind. These circumstances result in you feeling like exercising outdoors.

Now, let’s take the contrary. It’s a rainy gray cold windy day, and we hit the snooze button a million times because it’s one of those mornings the sunlight barely breaks through the clouds. We’re familiar with how the rest of this day ends up! Essentially, wanting to run outside because it’s nice out, is the same logic as wanting to stay in bed because it’s grey out. OR Going to the gym because you feel motivated is the same logic as skipping the gym because you don’t feel like going. It’s an action based on emotion.

I stated that all this “Motivation” is hurting us because it’s encouraging us to make a temporary emotional decision for a goal that requires much more than just an emotional high. Discovering your physical peak, feeding an everlasting relationship, or  running a successful business demands discipline, patience, and purpose.

Allow me to be clear! I love motivation if used and shared to a client/student/friend properly. Motivation ignites us to start. To start training for your version of physical greatness. To ask that girl or guy out for dinner. To work an additional 3 hours on your side business before or after your 9-5. This is why I love motivation. It just needs to be shared with a side of warning labels and hard truths.

Truths such as:

• Motivation doesn’t last.

  • The food example above explains this perfectly.

• Motivation is a drug.

  • Let’s take motivational YouTube videos and relate them to the caffeine in coffee. To make it simple, avid coffee drinkers need several cups of coffee to combat sleepiness. Caffeine essentially keeps adenosine at bay. Adenosine is a chemical in our body that builds up during the day which makes us tired, and is then released during sleep. Overtime, the brain will understand what’s going on, and will release more adenosine to  combat the caffeine, and you’ll respond by getting up for another coffee break. This is why caffeine is the most addictive drug in America, but that’s a whole other topic.

  • Watching a Motivational YouTube video tends to have the same effect. Let’s say you’re feeling lazy and don’t want to get out of bed. You reach over, grab your phone, and run into a motivational video on FaceBook your friend posted. Within 2 minutes, your perspective on the day has completely changed. So you think to yourself, “Hmmm, this video really inspired me and got me excited for the day ahead.” You make this a part of your morning routine to get out of bed, but it seems as if the videos are getting worse, predictable, and/or you need more of them to get your feet on the floor. This motivation can do some great things, but should be used sparingly and saved as a weapon for our days we need that extra push.

Lastly, let’s dissect motivation itself. Generally when we throw the word motivation around, we’re thinking of extrinsic motivation. However, there’s a different kind of motivation that needs more spotlight, and that’s call intrinsic motivation.

• Intrinsic Motivation- is engaging in a behavior or activity for the sake of that exact behavior. This behavior is performed because one finds the activity itself rewarding and gratifying rather than the reward that comes from these actions. For example:

  • Someone getting up to run because they love the way it makes them feel first thing in the morning is intrinsically motivated, and this action will result in them being in shape.

• Extrinsic Motivation- is engaging in a behavior or activity for the reward/result said behavior will produce. For example:

  • Someone getting up to run because they want to get in shape for the summer.

Although both forms can be beneficial, the one who’s intrinsically motivated will be motivated to complete said action for a very long period of time, whereas the one who’s extrinsically motivated will face large amounts of resistance to attain their goal, and after the goal is attained, motivation will plummet. The chances the extrinsically motivated will continue for the rest of their lives is slim to none.

There’s no better feeling in the world than being motivated. And all of the innovations, breakthroughs, and accomplishments we’ve experienced and lived all started with some spark of motivation. Let’s share our new found knowledge on motivation and enhance our decision making for the rest of our lives from here on out!