Rethinking Motivation

Written By Colēgia

Motivation is something that can often be fleeting or temporary. Thankfully there are ways to help with this. One such method is to review what we traditionally view as motivation and work from there. Today we want to talk about this mindset shift and see how it can help.

Talk to Others And See What They do

One of the most common hurdles when it comes to motivation is when we try to emulate others’ patterns of motivation. On paper, this is a good idea because it can give us insight into what we need to review with how we are acting. This issue with this is that it focuses too much on the external whereas motivation is something that is inherently intrinsic in nature. A better way to do this is to ask someone one on one to see what specifically motivates them. This is good because it can open up an honest dialogue between both sides so they can share what makes them tick. For some people, it's a matter of simply doing an activity. This is one perspective that can work for some people as it can help us focus on action.

“One of the most common hurdles when it comes to motivation is when we try to emulate others’ patterns of motivation.”

Acknowledge Anxiety

A common thing that can inhibit motivation is our anxieties related to our actions. Being able to acknowledge and push past these is an essential part of rethinking motivation. An example of this is us wanting to go to the gym. We may have feelings of insecurity which can prevent us from doing the thing we want to do. This can be harmful as it can be the deciding factor when it comes to this. Acknowledging your anxiety and still doing the thing you want to do is a much better alternative since it recognizes your feelings on both sides. Keeping the thought of going to the gym is the key part when it comes to motivation since one perspective we can apply is viewing motivation as having a thought for an extended period of time. This is good because it allows us to focus on one thing at a time and use that as fuel for following through with it. It can also help us break past any doubts we have related to it and focus on doing.

“A common thing that can inhibit motivation is our anxieties related to our actions.”

Using Meditation to Help

Meditation is a great way of helping us think about motivation. Rather than thinking about mindfulness for this, a good alternative to motivation is single-point meditation. This revolves around the idea of concentrating your attention on a single object and using it as a means to focus on a thought or concept. This is helpful because unlike something such as mindfulness, where we allow our mind to wander, this can help us stay centered on a thought that we want to actively work through. Some good objects to use for this can be something such as a river or a candle where there is just enough movement to put your attention on but not overwhelmingly so. Meditation and motivation go hand in hand and finding what works for you can help you find the mental willpower to do them.

Colēgia

Colēgia

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