Motor City Hypnotist Podcast with David Wright – Episode 22 The Secrets of Motivation, Part 2

The Secrets of Motivation Part 2 Show Notes In this episode of the Motor City Hypnotist Podcast we will talk about the Secrets of Motivation. Have you ever struggled starting something or keeping consistent with things that you know are good for you? If so, this episode is for you And I’m also going to be giving listeners a FREE HYPNOSIS GUIDE! Stay tuned! INTRODUCTION What is up people? The Motor City Hypnotist Podcast is here in the Podcast Detroit Northville Studios. Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Motor City Hypnotist Podcast. I am David Wright and with me is my producer Matt Fox. FIND ME: My Website: https://motorcityhypnotist.com/podcast My social media links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/motorcityhypnotist/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCjjLNcNvSYzfeX0uHqe3gA Twitter: https://twitter.com/motorcityhypno Instagram: motorcityhypno If you would like to contribute financially to the show, you can find me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/motorcityhypno?fan_landing=true FREE HYPNOSIS GUIDE https://detroithypnotist.convertri.com/podcast-free-hypnosis-guide Please also subscribe to the show and leave a review. (Stay with me as later in the podcast, I’ll be giving away a free gift to all listeners!) This episode of the Motor City Hypnotist Podcast is brought to you by Bedrock! I want to thank them for their sponsorship! WINNER OF THE WEEK; Jackie Vandal Nashville, Tn https://www.wkrn.com/tag/jackie-vandal/ TOPIC INTRODUCTION What is Motivation? Scientists describe motivation as the overall willingness to do something. It is the compilation of emotional and cognitive forces that compels you to take some action. So what specifically is motivation? Here is a quote by the author Steven Pressfield from his novel, The War of Art, which sums up in a nutshell motivation and procrastination. “At some point, the pain of not doing it becomes greater than the pain of doing it.” College…waiting until the last minute and pulling an all nighter for an exam or project? This is the essence of motivation. Every choice has a cost, but it is easier to overcome the inconvenience of action when we are motivated than the distress of staying the same. We cross a mental threshold— typically after procrastination and in the face of an urgent deadline— and it becomes more painful not to do the task than to actually do it. Now for the critical issue: what can we do to increase the likelihood that we will break this mental barrier and feel compelled on a regular basis? One of the most shocking things about motivation is that it often comes after a new behavior starts, not before Author James Clear puts it this way “I like to refer to this effect as the Physics of Productivity because this is basically Newton’s First Law applied to habit formation: objects in motion tend to remain in motion. Once you begin a task, it is easier and faster to keep moving it forward.” Nearly all the resistance with a task will be at the start. Progress comes more naturally after you start. During a discussion about developing products, one of my colleagues said to me, “Most people never do anything because they’re always pondering what to do and how they are going to do it.” The same paralysis applies to working out, starting a project, creating content, and writing in general. • If you don’t have a fixed time to work out every day, then you’ll wake up thinking each day, “I hope I feel motivated to work out today.” • If your business doesn’t have a marketing system, then you’ll arrive at your job just hoping that you’ll find a way to market (in addition to all your other responsibilities). • If you don’t schedule a specific day and time to do something, you will find yourself saying over and over again “I need to get this project started” and nothing will happen. • If you don’t have a planned time to write each week, then you’ll find yourself saying “I just need to find the self-discipline to do it” and it doesn’t happen Don’t wait for motivation to strike you. Your habits must be scheduled • Maya Angelou rented a local hotel room and went there to write. She arrived at 6:30 AM, wrote until 2 PM, and then went home to do some editing. She never slept at the hotel. • Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon writes five nights per week from 10 PM to 3 AM. • Stephen King “I have a glass of water or a cup of tea. There’s a certain time I sit down, from 8:00 to 8:30, somewhere within that half hour every morning,” he explained. “I have my vitamin pill and my music, sit in the same seat, and the papers are all arranged in the same places…The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, you’re going to be dreaming soon.” • C.S. Lewis would wake up at 8:00 AM every morning, have breakfast and write from 9:00AM to 1:00PM. The strength of a ritual, or what could be called a pre-game routine, is that it makes it simpler to start your habits and that makes it easier to follow through on a consistent basis. Steps to get motivated! Step 1: Make the first steps easy! For example, your writing routine, might begin with a few minutes of mindful meditation. Or your workout routine may begin with some simple stretching excercises. Beginning is the most significant component of any task. In the beginning, if you can’t get motivated, you will discover that motivation often comes after you start. That’s why you need to make your pre-game routine relatively easy. Step 2: Your routine should move you toward your ultimate objective. There is often a lack of mental motivation associated with an absence of physical motion. Imagine your physical condition when you feel depressed, bored, or unmotivated. Your physiology dictates your mental state. Take a moment to stand, shout, do a little dance…anything to get your body moving. You will find your mental state improves when you change your physiology. As you start your routine with easy steps, begin moving into more difficult or challenging steps gradually. Your mental state will match your physical state. If you sit down to write, maybe take 10 seconds to stretch your arms, breath deeply in and out and then begin. Step 3: Do the exact same things every time! The main purpose of your routine is to create a series of actions that you complete EVERY TIME prior to starting your tasks. This routine eventually becomes so linked to your performance that you are drawn into a mental state that is prepared to perform by simply doing the routine. You don’t have to try to be motivated. Just begin your routine and the motivation will follow. James Clear three R’s of Motivation 1) Reminder; The trigger that precedes the habit (example: traffic light turns green). 2) Routine; The action you take. The habit itself (example; You drive through the intersection 3) Reward; The result from doing the task (example; You get closer to your destination). The Goldilocks Principal The Goldilocks principle is named by analogy to the children’s story The Three Bears in which a little girl named Goldilocks tastes three different bowls of porridge and finds that she prefers porridge that is neither too hot nor too cold but has just the right temperature. Since the children’s story is well known across cultures, the concept of “just the right amount” is easily understood and is applicable to motivation. Imagine you are participating in a one on one competition (such as table tennis). If your opponent is a young child who is unskilled at table tennis, you will quickly lose interest as there is no real competition. If you were playing the world champion of table tennis, you would also quickly lose interest as you have little to no chance of winning. Compare these experiences to playing against someone who has a skill set that is close to or equal to your own. The game is much more likely to be competitive with each person winning and losing some points. You have a chance to win the game if you are giving your full effort. You face a “just manageable” challenge The task you face is manageable. You may win or lose but the process itself keeps you engaged because you have a good chance to win. Activities like these are more likely to keep us motivated in the long run. People enjoy challenges, but only if they are within the ideal difficulty range. Activities that are well below your skill level will fail to keep your interest. Activities that are well beyond your skill level will cause discouragement. But activities right on the edge of success and failure motivate our minds. The Goldilocks Rule states that humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities. Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right. (jamesclear.com) One of the keys to keeping long-term motivation is working on assignments that conform to the Goldilocks Rule. If you feel unmotivated to work on a job, it is often because it has faded into a boredom zone or has been driven into “a too difficult” area. You need to discover a way to engage in tasks where you feel challenged but competent. We can conclude that measurement is the main motivating force. To put it more clearly, two of the most critical parts of peak motivation are tackling an ideal challenge and getting instant feedback on the progress you are making on that challenge. FRIENDS AND MENTORS Who do you associate with? Who are your closest relationships (both personally and professionally)? These relationships will tell you a lot about your level of motivation and your possible future success. Tony Robbins has long emphasized the importance of surrounding yourself with the people who practice the qualities you are aiming for. He quotes “If we surround ourselves with people who are successful, who are forward-moving, who are positive, who are focused on producing results, who will support us, it will challenge us to be more and do more and share more. If you can surround yourself with people who will never let you settle for less than you can be, you have the greatest gift anyone can hope for.” (Tony Robbins). Think about the people who you have the closest relationships with. Identify the people who you associate with the most and ask yourself the following questions. I want you to actually write down your answers for each one. Do they support you? Do they have the same professional goals as you? Do they subscribe to the same work ethic as you? Do you feel challenged when you are with them? Do they encourage you to achieve and succeed? We constantly have inner dialogue in our own minds. That dialogue may say “this is too difficult” or “my writing it just not that good”. When that happens, rewrite that inner dialogue. Even say it out loud if you have to. Correct these negative thought patterns to become positive affirmations. When you have made progress on a task, tell yourself that you have accomplished something great. With each step of the process, reward yourself mentally for the work you have completed. When you do this over and over, you build a successful identity which just leads to more success. The Secrets of Motivation E-Book https://gum.co/USUyt NEXT EPISODE: Famous People Who Have Used Hypnosis! Change your thinking, change your life! Laugh hard, run fast, be kind. David R. Wright MA, LPC, CHT The Motor City Hypnotist


Posted

in

by

Tags: