Motivation! How to make it last...

Motivation! We've all heard of it. We've all had it and we've probably all lost it at some point along our journey!

Motivation is a key ingredient when it comes to goal setting, sticking to our daily habits and routines as well as reaching our goals! Finding the right kind of motivation that we can link to the goals we have set, go a long way in being able to sustain the things we need to overcome to reach our targets.

Motivation can come from many different sources; they can be extrinsic or external factors or intrinsic which are factors that are internal and come from within us. We will take a look at both and help you find the right kind of motivation that will help you smash your goals and set some new ones too! Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation comes from sources outside ourselves and might come from examples such as other people, events or rewards for reaching our goals like financial gain, prizes or fame. This form of motivation is a reward or incentive based behaviour and is controlled purely by the external factor driving it. When taken away though, generally this type of motivation usually fades and we end up back at square one.

If you find yourself constantly going in and out of good habits linked to your goals or require something like a challenge or a reward to reach your goals you might not have the right motivation, and once that goal is reached, the reward is gained or taken away then so to will your motivation, taking you right back to where you started and not being able to maintain sustainable habits. If this sounds like you then you might want to read on...

Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation comes from an inner drive within an individual for success, improvement or satisfaction. It is strongly linked to an individuals true values and their reason "WHY". Examples of intrinsic motivation include training or practicing for pure enjoyment, to master a skill or for self betterment, exercising or working because it truly makes you feel good and you enjoy doing it or staying back in the gym or at work because you believe in what you are doing. This kind of motivation is everlasting and sustainable, it is generally unwavering and will help guide your course in sticking to good daily routines and habits linked to your goals, even when there's a mountain of obstacles ahead of you. To help you find this kind of motivation it is necessary that you find your reason "WHY". For some a reason why might be simply because they 100% enjoy doing what they do and it makes them feel good. For others it might be because they want to be the healthiest and happiest version of themselves as they age for their family. For some it may even be, that sticking to the daily habits linked to their goals is required for their survival or to maintain their lifestyle.

It's important to remember that everyone's "WHY" is different and must be personal to them. There's no point using someone else's "WHY" as it must be true to your values and goals in order to achieve the intrinsic motivation.

Next time you find yourself going in and out of good and bad habits, instead of using the same lame excuse of "lacking motivation" remind yourself of your goals and the reason WHY you want to achieve them!