3 Hidden Reasons that Influence the Way You Motivate Yourself

This article is taken from the author, "Ericson Ay Mires", and he tells us about some of the hidden reasons that affect how he motivates himself.

Imagine that someone is driving you, and in order to motivate you and provide you with support, they whisper some words of encouragement to you that they think will make you more active and productive, such as:

• "you can do that".
• "Well done".
• "Keep on with your work."

These are typical phrases to think about and use when it comes to motivating yourself, but you have to wonder, do any of these "positive" statements work?

personal experience

I've been in the field of self-improvement for over 14 years, and I've tried all of them. To be honest, positivity didn't help me much. Apart from the temporary feeling it gave me that I was doing something useful, I rarely kept my motivation up for more than a few minutes.

After that, that feeling faded and I got back to the starting point and, if I was lucky, I would gain enough momentum to accomplish my mission, but oftentimes the positivity fades and it is willpower and discipline that pushes me forward; But everyone knows the difficulty of relying on these two traits.

Does it make sense to continue with such a "motivational" strategy? It's a common and desirable tactic, and you have to keep using it to succeed, right? But I don't think so. No matter how popular something is, or how much you "want" an idea to work, if a motivational tactic does not advance any of your goals, there is only one thing to do with it, which is to abandon it.

I know this goes against what most people say on the internet but if it doesn't work for you feel free to try, the following motivational ideas are a bit off the beaten track and not many people will like or agree with them but because you've made it this far, I think it's perfect for you.

3 Hidden Reasons that Influence the Way You Motivate Yourself

1. The world is unfair and doesn't care about your success

There is no doubt that this is a difficult fact to accept or believe; So list some things you would like to change in your life, and I'll start first:

• I wish I had a better and stronger physique.
• I wish I had more money.
• I wish I was more attractive.

It would have been easy for me to think of these three things, but the sheer fact that I "don't have" these things now, and that obtaining them requires work, time, and patience, it is clear that the universe (which has not given me the wealth or talent to acquire these things without hard work and luck) probably does not care a lot about me.

The universe probably treats you (and everyone else in existence) the same way; Although some people are fortunate enough to be born rich, or have good looks, or good ability, I would bet that even these people feel like they are lacking about at least one thing in life, and that it is hard for them to get it too, money can't buy everything Appearance does not attract everyone, and talent does not guarantee success.

2. Necessity rules the world (not love, happiness, or even greed)

People are willing to do something in life only if they have to do it; So if a person's life is at stake, or if their livelihood is at stake (meaning their income, social life, or lifestyle) only then will they "find" the motivation to act.

Anyone can act out of love; because they are afraid to lose those who express love to them in life, and anyone can work to achieve happiness, because they are afraid of being unhappy in the first place, and anyone can work to satisfy financial greed; Because they are afraid of not having the money in the first place (or even of being disparaged by others for lack of money).

Now before you object to the above, you may want to read the following point of view as well.

3. People are rarely motivated to act in accordance with their goals

Think of common recurring situations in life:

• Someone chooses to watch Netflix, instead of going to the gym.
• The person chooses fast food, rather than healthy snacks.
• Someone who stays up late watching YouTube, instead of getting a good night's sleep.

These things happen all the time, but keep in mind that if choosing to watch Netflix over going to the gym cost you $100 each time, do you think you would choose it? Or if eating junk food makes you gain weight, will you continue to eat junk food instead of healthy food?

Of course not, but the problem is that none of these things happen when you make bad decisions, there are no immediate repercussions for these actions, and worse, the human tendency is to do the easiest and most satisfying thing given the chance; So we are "already" leaning towards the worst possible option in the first place.

Now, after reviewing all of these ideas, isn't it strange that most people insist on using positivity (and other common motivational methods) even though it doesn't work? After all, saying “I can do this” doesn't mean much after a long, hard day at work and your mood is in the dark, no amount of positivity will ever change that.

A much more powerful way is to find small, acceptable ways to "punish" yourself for choosing bad tasks over good ones. Imagine losing money every time you watch Netflix.

Wouldn't that hurt you enough to put you off the practice?

let your partner or family member do it; You can even have them record a video of you slacking off, and upload it to social media with a quote that "damages" your reputation, even if it's not done in a serious way, because who wants to be seen as a lazy person? Just thinking about it has more power than if people really care about it.

But still, these "small" punishments have a big impact, and since people hate having money taken from them and don't want to be judged for dishonest behavior (such as being seen as lazy, or other undesirable traits), they will work well in motivating and productivity if you start out that way.

in conclusion

This has always been my experience with this method, and better yet, I am more productive, motivated, and able to achieve my goals because of it, and I have a feeling it will do the same for you, too.