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Know what motivates you and become unstoppable

Writer's picture: gaelle Chatenetgaelle Chatenet



Motivation is the first step towards action. Whatever we do, from the smallest, daily task to the biggest, life-changing choice, it all comes down to motivation.


And motivation comes from two opposing forces: the pull of what we want to move towards to and the push of what we want to escape. Which one is it for you? Do you feel more motivated by the result of your action or by avoiding what you do not want?


Think about it, when you were in school, did you study towards good grades or away from bad ones? Did you clean your room to make Mom happy or to avoid being scolded? Do you brush to have healthy teeth or to avoid cavities? Do you have a balanced diet to enjoy a healthy body or to avoid illness? While the result is the same, the way to it is diametrically opposite.


Whether you are a “Towards” or “Away from” type will determine what motivates you and what does not. Understanding this about yourself is the first step to creating goals you will want to achieve and changing your life.


When we create a goal, we establish that what we want is different from what we currently have, and we become conscious of the gap between the two. How you perceive this gap will have a big impact on how you feel about the goal itself: does it seem more reachable or less? Does the size of the gap make you want to give up or, on the contrary, does the challenge pull you forward? Can you let your vision of the goal inspire you and start deciding on the steps towards its achievement?


People act for two different reasons: either they are attracted by the joy of their vision, or they are pushed by the intolerance of the pain they are feeling. Sometimes, they need to reach an “enough is enough” point before they can start to make a change.


If you are in an unsatisfying situation and want to know whether or not you are ready for change, ask yourself: How will I end up if I don’t change? If you don’t like the answer, maybe it is time to start planning!


Here is a list of questions you can ask yourself, brain teasers, to get you thinking seriously about what your really want. The first list of questions will appeal more to people who get motivated when working towards a goal, the second to people who get motivated by escaping what they don’t want.


Towards:

-        Is there something that you would like to achieve in your life?

-        When you think about your goal, does it make you happy?

-        What ideas inspire and excite you most?

-        What most catches your interest?

-        If you had one secret passion, what would it be?

-        Where would you like to be on your birthday five years from now? In ten years?

-        What would you have to do to be able to say that you have lived fully and have had a life full of meaning?

-        If a miracle happened tonight, how would you live tomorrow? What would be different?


Away from what you do not want:

-        What parts of your life are not the way you would like them?

-        What are you pretending not to know?

-        What are you still tolerating that is causing you problems?

-        What have you had enough of?

-        What excuses are you still using to avoid following your dreams?

-        What old strategies and behaviors are you still using without getting results?

-        How much longer do you want to continue like this?

-        What will happen if things don’t change?

-        Do you want to be in the same situation 10 years from now? 20 years?


Now that you know what type of person you are and what works best and motivates you the most, think of something you have been meaning to do but that you keep putting off. Start with something small. Cleaning that closet, mowing the lawn, updating your accounting. If you are the towards type, start imagining how good it will feel to get it all done, put yourself there already. The feeling of achievement, of satisfaction… Are you feeling it now? What do you see? What do you hear?


If you are the “Away from” type, think of all the problems you are going to avoid by getting things done. No more feeling of procrastination or failure, no time wasted, no guilt. Start doing this with everything that needs to be done and watch how much easier and more satisfying it becomes to set goals, big and small and how much better you feel.

Motivated yet? Good luck!

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