Another motivation rant...

Motivation is not a "feeling". It is the underpinning force that drives everything we do.

Sorry. It’s just a huge pet peeve. For one, words matter. When we tell people that they don’t need something that is absolutely essential in any change behavior, we create a feeling of confusion among those wishing to change.

“What’s wrong with me? I don’t feel like doing something but these people tell me I should just do it anyways. Why can’t I think like that?”

The answer is that those people are so internally motivated that they do things they might not feel like doing because of their internal motivation, not in spite of it.

The other reason this drives me crazy is because coaches will talk about a topic on which they’ve clearly not even read the Wikipedia on. It disregards an entire branch of behavioral psychology that many have spent over half a century studying. *of course, after two years of seeing their hot takes on virology, history, personal responsibility and economics make these seem brilliant.

So if you don’t feel like doing something but wonder why you don’t just “do it anyways”, it’s because you’re normal. You do have motivation it’s just not been internalized to a point that its automatic. Things like finding values that drive your actions, pairing a desired outcome with an established habit and creating non-negotiables in your schedule can help. You might not ever live training, but if you learn to value it and make it easier to do than skip, it can become habit.

Oh yeah, and maybe find something fun. That’s always helpful 😉