How To Properly Use Motivation

How To Properly Use Motivation

A quick rant about my thoughts on motivation and how to properly use it.

I believe it was Elliott Hulse who first put me onto this idea.  He talks about people who are lacking motivation…  and how to get more.  More, more, more.  We are always needing more motivation.  The world is full of motivation nowadays.  YouTube is essentially an infinite source of motivation.  An individual could never watch every video even in a thousand lifetimes.  Thousands of new videos are uploaded every second - but what good is it?  You have access to all of this!!!   …and still you can’t seem to get/stay motivated long enough to accomplish your goals? 

I don’t believe it is a problem of motivation. 

​You can get motivated.  I can get motivated.  We can all get motivated… the problem comes with what to do with that motivation… and when to do it.  There is a timeframe from which one needs to act once motivation strikes.  Don’t let it fade.  But how can we accomplish our new ideas that we are motivated to do before that initial motivation fades?  Honestly, we usually can’t… especially if it is a goal that’s worth going after….  because it will take a long time.  All you can do is try to get re-motivated time and time again, right?  RIGHT??….  or… have we been looking at motivation wrong the entire time?  Is motivation just a tool?  Of course it is…  but so is a hammer... and a hammer is useless at sawing wood.  Just like motivation is useless at accomplishing goals.  You need to use a tool for what it is meant for.  I think we are only now truly starting to understand what to do with the tool of motivation.  You shouldn’t try to prolong it so that it lasts throughout the entire process of the goal. 

"So what should we do with motivation?"

The proper way to use motivation might simply be to be inspired to come up with the ideas.  Use it to be excited and come up with plans and dreams and know what you really want out of life.  Now….. what you do in these moments of motivation and inspiration is not act upon them.  Well… not in the large sense…  But I believe what you must do with these moments is write down or plan your goals.  Details.  Plans.  Everything you can.  Brainstorm.  Don’t stop.  Then once the motivation inevitably fades….  and you feel “normal” again…  you have a plan.  Your motivation has done its job.  What you need from this point isn’t MORE motivation…  What you need from here is to grind.  You need to put in the work.  You need to do anything and everything you can do to achieve that goal that struck you in your moment of motivation.  Every moment isn’t going to be exciting… in fact, most of them won’t be.  But a successful person is going to be committed to the process.  Going to do what needs to be done even when they aren’t feeling motivated or inspired.  This zombie-like following and grinding through the steps is going to be what brings your goal from your moment of motivation to fruition.  You can get there.  You can use your motivation to get where you want…  but maybe we have just been using it wrong this entire time.  

Step 1:  Motivation.  
Step 2:  Plan.  
Step 3:  GRIND.

If you continually need more and more motivation to act upon your plan... if you are waiting for inspiration to strike before you make every single move toward your goal, well… you’ll never reach it.  Never.  Don’t lie to yourself.  You will never reach it.  Lacking “motivation” will become your scapegoat, and this scapegoat is going to be the undoing of all that you want in life.  All of your goals and aspirations.  You don’t need 24/7 motivation.  You need discipline.

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Take a few minutes to watch this video and use it to help yourself commit to the goals you set when you were motivated. 

What are some of the goals you are working toward? 

​Let me know below!

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Author

Julian Lloyd - An entrepreneur, fitness addict, and marketing specialist with over a decade of experience in sales and marketing.