Why Motivation Alone Isn’t Enough
So, you’ve gone to bed feeling ready for the morning. You’re going to wake up early and complete a workout before work.
It’s now 6am and your alarm goes off.
You feel drained, tired, exhausted. Your bed is extremely comfortable and you want to put the alarm on snooze and go back to bed.
But why is this the case? You were so ready to start fresh the night before?
Why has this motivation not carried over from the night before?
This is something that many of our students have experienced at James Hopkins Coaching.
Although motivation is a great tool, it’s not sustainable.
Nobody feels motivated all of the time. In fact, motivation is a rare feeling for many individuals.
When times get tough, motivation can disappear altogether, leaving you feeling defeated.
You tried again and you’ve failed. So what is going wrong? Why can’t you change your lifestyle?
What is the real secret to changing your life for the better?
The reality is, there is no secret.
Changing your lifestyle is a long process and one that cannot be completed overnight.
At James Hopkins Coaching, we focus on creating small changes in your life that help you to reach your goals and objectives.
The reason motivation isn’t enough is that people try to use it to make big changes in a short period of time.
They want to go from never being in the gym to going 5 days a week.
They want to go from never reading books to reading for an hour every day.
Although they may succeed once or twice, in the long term the majority of people fail.
This is because the human body is not designed for sudden change.
We are creatures of habit and routine and therefore the ‘secret’ we teach at James Hopkins Coaching is building small changes into your routines.
For example, if you want to start exercising, begin by going for a 5 minute run.
Do this for a week and the week after, increase this to 10 minutes.
Even if you’re not motivated to complete the task, it’s relatively easy and as a result, you’ll be less inclined to quit.
These small incremental changes are key to making a difference in your life and will eventually become part of your routine.
Once they do, you’ll complete them whether you’re motivated or not.
This is why although motivation is great, it’s simply not sustainable over the long run.
Individuals looking to make changes must begin with the smallest action.
If you want to begin reading, put a book by your bed so you remember to read before you sleep.
If you want to drink more water, always have a full glass of water on the table.
By doing these small things, your brain will be triggered to take action when motivation is no longer in the picture.
At James Hopkins Coaching, we advise you to use motivation when it’s available, but focus on your routine for creating long term changes.
