Action Hero

Have you ever noticed the way that people talk about motivation? It’s this elusive thing that we speak of with yearning, like the way I yearn to be effortlessly thin or for the return of Pushing Daisies, aka it’s-never-gonna-happen-get-over-it-already. We get stuck in the cycle of being down on ourselves and thinking that motivation is something for other people, rich people, bubbly people. Which of course is a lot easier that getting up and actually doing something. And I think the reason motivation feels so elusive is in the way that we seek it. Neil DeGrasse Tyson, famous physicist and all-around cool guy has this to say on the matter, 

The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation.

For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And along the way, lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.

The second part of the quote has nothing to do with anything I’m talking about but I liked it so I left it in. Back to motivation. Have you ever noticed that when you’re on top of things and doing great it’s easier to keep on being a rock star? And when you’re in a slump you can’t remember how you ever managed to be so gloriously motivated? We get into cycles. In a bad cycle, frustration causes us to give up and therefore we get even more disappointed and frustrated. In a good cycle, motivation leads to action which makes us feel successful and more motivated. So how do you make the jump? The key is in recognizing that our happy little cycle doesn’t start with being motivated. Gasp! The actual beginning of that positive feedback loop is in the action. Action leeds to feeling successful which makes us more motivated to keep going. Boom. 

So pick one small achievable goal for the week. Don’t overwhelm yourself and try to save the world in a day. Choose one thing you know you can do, that you have 100% control over. Make sure it’s a good fit for your life, and don’t underestimate the value of preparation goals. If your goal is to cook a healthy meal, you’ve got to get the kitchen cleaned up first. And you can feel proud of completing just that one step. Always give yourself permission to celebrate small successes! That’s how we fuel our self-esteem and psych ourselves up to keep going. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve been to the grocery store, leaving without ice cream will always be a success worth celebrating.

Maybe your goal is tracking just one meal of the day (your most challenging mealtime), or doing 20 minutes of activity, or focusing on vegetables, or being kind to yourself, or meal planning, or portions, or whatever as long as it requires some attention but you know you can do it. 

Motivation comes from action, not the other way around. Get up and do something, anything! You can’t control what you did but you can control what you’re doing right now. 

Still feeling underwhelmed? We have these two parts of our brain: the logical side and the emotional side. The logical side has always known, and will always know that we want to be healthy. But it’s the emotional side that really loooves brownies. Studies have shown that when it comes to making most of our decisions, the emotional side trumps all. So long term motivation has to come from our emotional attachment to health. Take some time to write about your goals and your emotional attachment to them. What will be different about your life if you meet your goals? What will happen if you don’t? What excites you about living a long, healthy life? What will you do with the extra time? Be as specific with your answers as possible. 

You have accomplished things in your life that were difficult! You should be proud! What makes this any different? You have super hero qualities that helped you then and can help you now. You can do it one tiny action at a time. Alright, I’m off to do some dishes!