Finding the Motivation to Keep Ascending
Motivation is touted as the fuel that drives success, but how do you fuel motivation? Motivation is tricky. It surges and ebbs, and can be a frustrating mindset to keep consistent. According to research, we set goals with intention and 82% of the time it fizzles within a month. BUT what about the 9% that succeed?
How do high achievers do it? And how can they expand their percentage of success, not only thriving in professional goals, but also achieving success in personal as well as professional goals?
The first milestone is adopting a growth mindset even when it terrifies you. My personal focus goal this spring is to blast through my plateau on the ski slopes. I aim to tackle black diamond slopes with a smile and an eagerness that doesn’t get me killed. Motivation requires a few components to keep the fires burning. I love the book Limitless for Jim Kwik’s simplification of these components.
Purpose
Energy
Small Simple Steps
Flow
Let’s take a deeper dive into each of these components:
Purpose “Reasons reap results.” Jim Kwik
Claim your purpose. Decide and clarify a goal you are determined to conquer. This week I have put this to the test. I have decided I will be a consistent, not occasional, black diamond skier.
As happens when getting out of your comfort zone, I pushed into new territories and found myself on a double black diamond bowl without intending to. The biggest surprise was that I had very little fear. Not too long ago that would have terrified me. This time, I had utilized some neuroscience findings on priming as a growth mindset tool and wasn’t intimidated (I will share how I did in another article soon). I can’t claim it was pretty to watch, but I dropped into that bowl and found my route without getting stranded in a state of fear.
Energy
“I am somewhat exhausted;
I wonder how a battery feels when it pours electricity into a non-conductor?”
― Arthur Conan Doyle , The Adventure of the Dying Detective
Having spent years on the knife-edge of exhaustion, I shifted my lifestyle to prioritize my energy levels in several ways. Sleep, exercise, and nourishment specifically designed to boost brain performance have become my power plants.
Sleep is one of the most crucial sources of energy. The cost of insomnia is estimated at $411 billion dollars in the US alone ($1967/employee annually). It also shortens your lifespan by 13%. Sleep is the most fundamental powertool I had neglected for decades. No more! I have delivered Masterclasses on this crucial topic to smart companies that recognize the ROI of well-rested employees.
Exercise is another energy and focus source. Even easy to moderate exercise will turbo-boost your energy and focus for up to two hours. Using the research on exercise, I have dialed in a short routine that takes less than 10 minutes, supplemented by two to three longer workouts per week. It was easy to fit in once I understood how much time and energy it gave me in return.
I also pay attention to the nourishment requirement for energy. Brain boosting sources of breath, hydration, and nutrition. Follow me for more details and feel free to join my email list for tips down the road (or slopes).
My professional goal this spring is to open up a comprehensive brain breakthrough basics course that explores the FITBRAIN framework. This puts all these components together in a highly achievable system for those who want to utilize their minds more effectively. I will share more on specifically how I have increased my mental bandwidth, increased my energy and enjoyment in life, and lost 25 pounds without trying.
This sounds great and is common sense, right? But the hardest part is making the framework system stick. Neurological habit formation anyone? I have created the PLANS framework around that as well as an easy to use habit hacker. Click here to get a free copy. Reach out if you are interested in being in the beta group for the first Brain Breakthrough Basics course that will also review the habit formation framework.
FLOW
Stage 1: The struggle
As with any challenge, it is a struggle to move forward without taking on so much that you quit. Thank you gamers for teaching us that lesson about our brain! Chunking the overall goal into manageable milestones that can be combined along the way is entirely possible and can become second nature with practice and a successful method of approach.
Stage 2: Relaxation.
Mind over matter is a practice you can adopt when feeling overwhelmed or anxiety threatens to derail motivation. Breathing techniques, progressive muscle relaxation, constructive daydreaming, etc. are great tools I have in my tool box. I learned these to keep my cool while under intense pressure and they have worked even when on the witness stand in court proceedings. Soldiers and police officers are also trained in these techniques to establish and keep their cool when in tense situations.
Stage 3: Flow
Knowing the power of mirror neurons to mimic behavior, I watch skiers coming down the slopes and learn from them. A few friends and family allow me to follow them down the slopes as well. Following their line and technique is a great inspiration and source of skills. I get into a rhythm and feel the sensation of flow. I have gotten more proficient at fostering this state and the productivity it generates is like mental rocket fuel, while working on a focus goal of any kind.
Conclusion
There is no question that goals require motivation to achieve. How consistently you achieve them in your professional and personal life can expand with guidance and a system that works well for you.
Yes motivation feels elusive and can be frustrating to keep consistent. Understanding where it comes from and how to foster it successfully is achievable. Purpose, energy, simple small steps, and flow are the foundation for generating that motivation. Having a customizable system that scaffolds your ascent from occasionally being in the 8% of goal achievers to being a practiced 8% achiever provides the method.