Meet Me On The Mat: What Motivates You?
Good morning, amazing people!Happy Labor Day to you. :)How are you and how's the long weekend going so far?We just got back from a fun (and hot... 100s) weekend in Paso Robles, so unlike my typical weekend recap for #MeetMeOnTheMat Mondays, you'll have to wait just a couple more days for the full scoop. ;) Lots of pics to look forward to.Today, I thought I could check in with you about a topic my Mom (Hi, Mom!) brought up to me when I was asking her about what subjects she thought would be good to discuss on the blog—motivation and perseverance.
Both of us have always been pretty motivated and share so many similar outlooks on life, work, relationships, and our well-being. So, this post required me to step back out of my own skin and really try and examine the idea of motivation without thinking of my own feelings.It really pushed me to think about my own life and what gets me trying my hardest to succeed and find happiness each day. Once I started thinking about it, the list started flowing...What motivates me? (in no particular order)
- Myself
- Sam
- My family and friends
- Pressure
- Time
- My future
- Money
- My career
- Health
- Yoga
- Music
- Movies
- Wanting to buy a home
- Having a family
- Self-improvement
Kind of all over the place, huh?That's when it kind of clicked that, what motivates me really encompasses all the same things that inspire me. These are my "reasons" for waking up and working hard. What are yours?My Mom brought up another good point:"Why are some people more motivated than others and never give up? Is it upbringing, role models. Is it innate? What gets in the way? Anxiety, fears, procrastination, laziness?"I think there are so many variables and "what if's" that get in between people and their motivations. I think a large part of it has to do with your upbringing, your personality, and also your level of confidence. A lot of times, we're motivated by what has happened in our pasts. Moments shape us.It might be easy for me to wake up and check boxes off my to-do list, but if I struggled with depression or had four kids I was trying to feed and provide for, that might be a way harder task for me to accomplish.It might be easy for me to go to yoga everyday, but if I didn't have a steady job or a genuine love for fitness, I'd probably still be under the covers every morning.Being motivated takes guts. It takes a kick in the ass sometimes to even get moving. It's not always natural to act on it or to push yourself.
So, if you're naturally not a motivated, where should you start?Shape magazine had a great article and it included these 3 easy steps you can take to boost your motivation.
- Sip java"Caffeine amplifies the effect of dopamine, immediately pumping up your energy and drive," says neuroscientist John Salamone, Ph.D. (We have 10 Creative Ways to Enjoy Coffee.)
- Try the two-minute rule"The hardest part of any task is starting it. To get over the initial hump, James Clear, the author of Transform Your Habits, suggests committing just two minutes to it. Want to make it to the gym more often? Pull out some cute workout clothes. Trying to clean up your diet? Look up healthy recipes. The momentum you get from doing that one simple thing will propel you forward."
- Delay, don't deny"Tell yourself you'll eat that cupcake later. A study in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that this technique takes away temptation in the moment. You'll forget about the cupcake or lose your craving for it, and "later" will never come."
If you're looking for more reading on motivation, I found these super interesting.- Forbes hits on how successful people motivated themselves—and stay motivated"If you aren’t taking action toward what you want, you either perceive taking action as either being too costly, or too risky."- Time talks about how to motivate others in 4 steps"We rarely do anything we don’t feel and it’s very hard to resist things we do feel. It’s how your brain is structured."- Shape discusses how some people are just naturally more motivated than others"To really understand your implicit motives, you need to tune in to your emotions. Visualization is the best way to do this."On a scale of 1 to 10, how motivated do you feel regularly? I'd say I'm at a solid 7, but when I really want something, I'd push that up to a 9 or 10. Motivation ebbs and flows, that's something I'm always learning. We can't all operate at a 10 all the time.Just something to think about...I hope you can find the motivation you need to find what you want/need for yourself to reach all your goals. I think you have it already within you. ;)That's all for today.See you Wednesday for a full recap of my Labor Day weekend.Take care,Ari
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