Motivation (Part 6)

Do it later. At times, it’s effective to save a task for later. For example, writing a résumé can wait until you’ve taken the time to analyze your job skills and map out your career goals. This not a lack of motivation – it’s planning.

When you do choose to do a task later, turn this decision into a promise. Estimate how long the task will take and schedule a specific date and time for it on your calendar.

Heed the message. Sometimes lack of motivation carries a message that’s worth heeding. An example is the student who majors in accounting but seizes every chance to be with children. His chronic reluctance to read accounting textbooks might not be a problem. Instead, it might reveal his desire to major in elementary education. His original career might have come from the belief that “real men don’t teach kindergarten.” In such cases, an apparent lack of motivation signals a deeper wisdom trying to get through.

Motivation (Part 5)

Adopt a model. One strategy for succeeding at any task is to hang around the masters. Find someone you consider successful and spend time with her. Observe this person and use her as a model for your own behaviour. You can “try on” this person’s actions and attitudes. Look for tools that feel right for you. This person can become a mentor for you.  

Compare the payoffs to the costs. Behaviours such as cramming for exams or neglecting exercise have payoffs. Cramming might give us more time that’s free of commitments. Neglecting exercise can give us more time to sleep.

One way to let go of such unwanted behaviours is first to celebrate them – even embrace them. We can openly acknowledge the payoffs.

Celebration can be especially powerful when we follow it up with the next step – determining the costs. For example, skipping a reading assignment can give you time to go to the movies. However, you might be unprepared for class and have twice as much to read the following week.

Maybe there is another way to get the payoff (going to the movies) without paying the cost (skipping the reading assignment). With some thoughtful weekly planning, you might choose to give up a few hours of television and end up with enough time to read the assignment and go to the movies.

Comparing the costs and benefits of any behaviour can fuel our motivation. We can choose new behaviours because they align with what we want most.