Come to think of it , every single thing we do in our lives is driven by some kind of motivation or the other, we don’t even get out of bed early morning if we are not motivated enough to do so. But sadly our motivation is 90 out of 100 times bounded to external forces. It’s always gain or pain which guides us to do or not to do. Also many are inflicted by what others think of them rather than what they think of themselves.
So how can you be stay motivated? To understand this one must understand what motivation is?
Concept of Motivation: The term motivation is derived from the word ‘motive”. The word ‘motive’ as a noun means an objective, as a verb this word means moving into action. Therefore, motives are forces which induce people to act in a way, so as to ensure the fulfillment of a particular human need at a time.
What is to be self – motivated?
Self-motivated person or a self-motivated learner can learn many things in life. … It is therefore very important to remain self motivated to continue learning things that are supposed to be learnt. Being self-motivated not only helps you aiming at your goals and objectives but also leads you to attain them successfully.
So above are the dictionary meanings of the two words motivation and self-motivation.
As you understand from the meaning that motivation is something that pulls you towards your goal for the need or desire to achieve or get something at that particular time for example you want to work hard so you can make more money so you can give your family the comforts they need, in this case money is motivating factor and its external.
Whereas self-motivation is to cultivate the need and desire to do something which might not be so significant or important at that given time for e.g. You want to run a marathon for the first time, you just want to do it cause it feels right to you, though others might think you are crazy for pushing your limits and wasting your time on this goal which is not going to make you rich, famous or successful.
So self-motivation is internal. And this is what is lacking in most of us. This is the reason we start something new but fail to keep up with it.
How do we cultivate Self- Motivation?
- I am constantly challenging and pushing my limits, the latest being my 1000 burpees at a go. I have already written about it in my previous blog. What motivated me to go for it was just to test myself of how far I can go, without any prior training for it, also because this was my goal since couple of months and I wanted to do it for myself. Its ME Vs ME always.
- My brevet of 200 kms (cycling event) which I did without any real practice or experience. Had just bought a new bike so I went. JOf course after that I did couple of 175 and 100 kms. 100 km was solo, again that was challenging.
- Walking barefoot for 26km in Vrindaban doing Gowardhan Parikrama under hot sun and dirty roads for 6 hours continuously.
- Climbing 12000 ft Churdhar peak, and sleeping in zero degree Celsius temperature on that peak, knowing well that cold temperature and I don’t go very well. Again this was my first big climb.
- And there have been many small ones on daily basis which I keep doing to see where I am at, I also challenge myself spiritually and mentally.
- Physically I do get crazier, trying out everything from head stands to hand stands to 10 mins plank holds, to 500 pushup pulses at one go…which I did continuously for 15 days during my vacation. to cut short I keep working on whatever I can think of , whether this sounds huge or not or whether I impress anyone or not I really don’t care, I only care if I can impress myself and that’s all that matters.
My only motive to talk out loud about these things is not to prove anything to you but to make you understand that I am at an age where a woman really starts thinking that life is coming to an end for her, kids growing up, the household responsibility, old parents to take care of and on top of it your own aging body dealing with pre-menopausal stage.
Where do you get the drive to even think of doing anything at all? Because in a typical Indian household, it is very difficult and challenging in itself for a woman to have her own say.
But guys the secret to this self-motivation is simple, all you need to do is stop thinking what others will think or say you do what you have to do. You want to get fit, look sexy, wear good clothes or simply want to do a bungee, don’t do it for anybody else just do it for yourself.
Secondly stop listening to people who say you can’t do it or its crazy idea, always remember that history has time and again proved that only those who are crazy enough to follow their dreams however absurd they might have sounded have exceled more than others who never dream at all, so dreaming big is important.
Don’t be afraid of the results, you might fail the first time but it doesn’t matter you get up and try again. When I decided to do my 1000 burpees, I just thought of it, I didn’t even know if I could do it but I just knew that I wanted and I will do it cause my “why’ here was to see how far I can push myself.
So here is what you need to stay self-motivated.
1.Establish Your Why
Just setting goals won’t do, you have to know why you want it. So the best way is to keep 3-5 reasons of why this is so important to you, your goal can be anything from work related to fitness related. But knowing why you need it so desperately will always help you when you are failing to reach it. It will nudge you to get back and do it again. So make sure your WHYs are powerful.
2.Keep a list of your past successes
This is very important, when the going gets tough, and you see a road block ahead of you. Your list of past successes can give you the ray of hope and the much needed motivation to gear yourself back into action. So always keep this handy.
3.Persevere!
This one is a no brainer. The start of a new project often feels exciting. It’s hard to complain about lacking motivation when you’re about to start a new job, learn a skill or even run your first marathon.. That said, it’s natural to encounter failure or boring moments in the middle of a long project. Without working hard constantly you can never achieve success.
In Mastery, George Leonard wrote,
“You have to be willing to spend most of your time on a plateau to be keep practicing even when you seem to be getting nowhere.”
So if you’re feeling unmotivated or frustrated by a lack of apparent progress, don’t abandon your goal. Ask yourself if this is simply a plateau, and then push on until you achieve another milestone. Persevere!
While doing my 1000 burpee there were moments I felt like I was going to fall, but I kept on visualizing my finish line and kept going at it till I achieved it.
Dream Big and keep working on it till you get it!
Best
Soma
Your Fitness Coach.
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