“What do I do first?”
“Is now the best time to start something new?”
“What if I’m not able to keep it up?”
“What should my goal be?”
“Wait, am I doing the right thing? The right way?”
“How do I find motivation!?”
We hear these questions all the time and they’ve got me wondering. Why do we let doubt and questions and our need to have it all figured out stand in the way of the incremental, forward momentum we need to make progress toward our goals? Is our tendency to wait until conditions are perfect really an excuse to keep us from risking failure or disappointment? And, perhaps most importantly, what is the secret to taking the first step and then staying “motivated” to take the second and the third and the fourth?
The answer, according to the most recent brain science, is both nuanced and simple.
Scientists have varying theories on where that illusive motivation comes from. Some believe motivation comes from tying the action to a bigger purpose—your “why.” Others argue that motivation—or a lack thereof—can be explained through biology and our individual levels of the so-called “achievement hormone” dopamine. Still others attribute motivation to feelings of choice: we are motivated when we believe that we have the choice to do or not to do.
I suspect that all of these theories hold kernels of the answer—like I said, this is pretty nuanced, individual stuff. But I think for many of us, the answer is a bit simpler.
I think some of us are reluctant to take the first step until we are convinced that we’ve got it all figured out because we believe that having all of the answers and the perfect plan will protect us from the risk of failure. It won’t.
I think others are under the mistaken belief that if we want something badly enough, we will feel like taking the actions necessary to accomplish it. We delude ourselves into believing that if we want to improve our fitness, we will feel like exercising. If we want to lose weight, we will suddenly prefer apples to donuts. If we want to write a book, we’ll feel inspired to string together 600 brilliant words each and every day.
Brain science teaches us that we’ve got it backwards. We think we need to feel motivated to get moving when in fact, we need to get moving to feel motivated. Momentum breeds motivation, not the other way around.
So here’s the secret. Choose goals that have meaning to you and be sure you choose carefully. Figure out what actions you need to do to accomplish those goals.
And then, and here’s the magic, simply lace up and go whether you feel like it or not.
Yoda had it right: “Do or do not. There is no try.” We have to remind ourselves that we can’t figure it all out in a vacuum and we don’t need all of the answers to get started. We have to accept that sometimes we’ll make mistakes, sometimes we’ll get side-lined and sometimes we may even fail. Despite those inevitabilities, we have to take the first step.
Stop waiting for everything to be perfect and for the stars to align. Stop waiting until you have all of the answers. Stop waiting until the time is just right. And tomorrow, when you don’t feel like it, just lace up and go. And then do it again the next day.
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