How to Become Motivated to Get What You Want
Do you know anyone who says “I really need to lose weight”, after opening up a bag of chips and adamantly proceeding to consume the entire bag? Or what about someone who says they really need to finish an assignment, or do the laundry, or apply for a new job, and continues scrolling through TV channels?
The list could go on forever. The point is, we all know people like this, and most likely, you and I are some of those people.
But why do we continue to do these things when we know we shouldn’t? Why do we do them when we know we’re going to be filled with nauseating guilt and regret as soon as we’re finished?
This, my friends, is mainly caused by one thing: lack of motivation.
Now, we obviously know to some extent that what we are doing is not only unproductive, but also harmful to ourselves. Otherwise, we wouldn’t state that we should stop.
But why isn’t knowing what we should be doing enough to make us do it?
Because: knowledge doesn’t mean anything if you are not applying it.
What does this mean? This means that unless you are taking said knowledge and applying it to your situation, it will not be any more use to you than not knowing at all.
Let’s look at it this way:
If you need a job, but you don’t know that you need a job, you’re not going to find a job.
If you need a job and you know you need a job, but don’t look for a job, you’re not going to get a job.
In the same way…
If you need to get more sleep, but you don’t know that you need more sleep, you are not going to try to sleep more.
If you need to get more sleep and you know need more sleep, but you aren’t changing any of your habits to make it easier to get more sleep, you are not going to get any more sleep.
On the other hand…
If you need a job and you know you need a job, and you apply for jobs every day until you find one, you will eventually find a job.
If you need to get more sleep and you know you need more sleep, and you start cutting down your caffeine intake and going to bed earlier, you will eventually get more sleep.
But what’s the difference between knowing but doing nothing, and knowing and doing something?
Motivation.
What is motivation?
Motivation is what makes you want to eat healthy badly enough to put down the bag of chips and grab an apple.
Motivation is what reminds you of how crucial it is that you work on your assignment now and it is what makes your body turn off the television and get working on it.
How do you find your motivation?
Motivation branches off of reason. In order to gain enough motivation to do something, you have to have a good enough reason to do it.
Now, finding a reason shouldn't be that hard. If you really want something, you should be able to clearly identify a reason why you want it.
If you are unable to come up with a good enough reason right off the bat, try coming up with several reasons and writing them down.
For example, a list of reasons for wanting to eat healthier may look something like this:
- I will have more energy
- I will be able to maintain a healthy weight
- I will be treating my body with the love it deserves
- I will be able to focus better
- I will feel less sluggish at work
There may be one specific reason that is a bigger motivator than the others, but having more than one reason can be very helpful if you are having trouble maintaining motivation by just a single reason.
What you have to do next is take these reasons and blow them up. Blow them up and tower them above any conflicting thoughts you have that could cripple your motivation and distract you from your purpose.
The key to staying motivated is being so dead-set, having such a laser-sharp focus on what you want, that any conflicting purpose that tries to snatch away some your attention is immediately tuned out into a fuzzy blur in the background.
Motivation doesn't come easy. You have to take your thoughts captive and arrange them in order of importance so that something of little importance does not dominate your thoughts, thus guiding your actions.
The mind can be a hard thing to control.
But you can control it.
It just takes a lot of time, a lot of hard work, and a lot of burning passion, or reason- to keep working on it.
To sum it all up, gaining motivation requires:
1. Knowing your purpose.
2. Prioritizing these purposes in your mind.
3. Pursuing these purposes until you get what you want.
