Seamus Fox: The Mindset Junkie: Stop Searching for motivation

“I need to get motivated”; “I just can’t get motivated”; “I have zero motivation”. Those are such common phrases or statements said by so many.

“Motivation is a symptom that you are not living by your highest value." So what does that mean? Let me explain; Anytime we need to get motivated it means we are looking for something from the outside to get us moving so that we can take action.

This usually happens when we think we need to do or have something outside of us to make us feel better or to achieve a certain goal. Sometimes this works and can be fine, but from my experience it is usually short-lived and sooner or later that spurt of motivation runs out. January resolutions spring to mind.

I am sure you can think of a time that you were really motivated. You promised yourself that this is it! This is the year that I finally get to where I want to be? Yeah? Sound familiar? Did it happen? And I want you to be true to yourself and answer that.

How many promises and goals have you set that never ever came to fruition? Is it because you aren’t good enough, or you don’t have the skills or the education? No, it is very rarely any of the above.

We all have a hierarchy of values that literally determine our lives and our lives actually demonstrate each day what is highest on our priorities and what we value most. If you stop and look closely at your life you will begin to see the traits and certain behaviours that govern how you live and how you set goals or where in life you actually find meaning.

And here is one of the most important reasons why most motivational tools or tactics are pointless because motivation is a sign that you are aiming to do things or are setting goals in areas that really aren’t high on your priorities or have anything to do with what you truly value.

So I should not even bother setting goals like getting fitter and healthier if my life is demonstrating otherwise. If I don’t exercise regularly but I know deep down that I should? No, you should but if you can link health and fitness to something that is higher on the list of values in your life and see the benefits of those actions in how it supports that higher priority, you will over time find a lot more meaning in it and get the behaviour change, and ultimately the results.

For example; family and kids might be your highest value and priority and fitness lower on the list. Link at least 20-25 benefits to having your family and kids. If you take action on becoming fitter and healthier for them and for you, when you link it over and over again you see it clearly in your mind, you get to become more objective and make better decisions. It will also have a deeper meaning attached to it for you and you can see how it benefits something that is really important to you in your life.

You don’t need motivation when you are doing something that inspires you. When you are doing something that is high on your values that you love to do, you feel inspired and you get inspiration.

Inspired or 'in-spirit' is intrinsically driving you to do be or have and that type of feeling is way more powerful than any fleeting motivational spurt you get. Motivation you feel you have to do. Inspiration you love to do. So before you start each day assess areas in your life and also look around at the things you do that require extrinsic forces (motivation) to get you going and ask is this something that I truly value. Why do I need to do it? Can I change it?

Inspiration is energy from within coming from something you want to do and you are inspired to do each day that makes a difference in not only your life but in the lives of others.

Your Coach,

Seamus Fox.