How to Succeed Without Needing Motivation
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” - Jim Rohn
That quote explained to me why sometimes people are impressed with my discipline to consistently go to the gym 4-5 times a week for 16 years after starting weight lifting on a multi-exercise machine my dad bought us when I was 14 years old. Without needing a personal trainer or gym buddy which people mainly use for accountability.
For me, the thought of not going to the gym is just not there. I don’t give myself reasons not to go. Most of the time I’m also not excited to go to the gym. But I also don’t mind. I’m pretty much emotionless. There is no motivation required. It’s a deep-rooted habit. I just go.
I’m not saying this to brag about going to the gym consistently, this is just my observation and exploring how we can learn from it. Because we all know that working out in the gym is very beneficial for the body and mind, but the list of excuses people make to not go to the gym is gigantic as we hear them all the time.
Why do some habits get established, and some habits fade away over time?
In this article, I will dive deeper into how you can increase the likelihood that a habit will stick and what worked for me.
Problem
Most people have goals in life. When the goal is new, you’re excited and motivated to work on achieving the goal. But sooner or later, there come days that you will be tired, you would like to sleep in, or like to lounge on the couch. Motivation is low and decides not to do the activity because you negotiated yourself out of doing it.
The problem with relying on motivation is that motivation is unreliable. Motivation is a feeling, not an action, and can disappear when we need it most. It can also create unrealistic expectations and it can even lead to burnout.
Research
Motivation is a great tool for getting started, but it’s not the best way to be consistent. Habits are much more reliable.
In contrast to motivation, habits are actions, not feelings, and create consistency and predictability, which can lead to long-term change. That’s why, relying on habits is a more effective tool for achieving success than relying on motivation alone.
First, we need to understand what habits are and how to establish them.
What happens in your brain once an activity becomes a habit?
After doing research, I found that when an activity becomes a habit, it is stored in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia. The basal ganglia is responsible for storing habitual behaviours and automating them so they require less conscious effort.
When you form a habit, the neural activity in the basal ganglia becomes more synchronized, making the behaviour more automatic.
The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making and conscious control, becomes less active as the habit becomes more ingrained.
Over time, the brain develops a strong neural pathway for the habit, making it easier and more automatic to perform without requiring a lot of conscious effort.
How can we establish a habit?
James Clear, the author of the book "Atomic Habits", recommends the following steps to establish a habit:
- Start small: To build a new habit, it's important to begin with a very small, manageable behaviour that can be repeated daily. This helps to build momentum and avoid becoming overwhelmed.
- Make it obvious: Make the habit part of your daily routine and put reminders in place to help make it more noticeable.
- Make it attractive: Link the habit to something you enjoy doing. This will make it easier to stick to and will increase the chances of success.
- Make it easy: Minimize the friction involved in starting the habit. Remove any obstacles that may make it difficult to get started.
- Make it satisfying: Reward yourself after completing the habit, this will help create a positive association with the habit.
- Stick with it: Habits take time to form, so be patient and persistent. Keep doing the habit, even when it feels difficult.
Following these steps makes it possible to form a new habit and make it a part of your daily routine.
Design
Start with figuring out what you want. Set a goal. Break down what you can do every day to increase the likelihood you reach that goal in the desired time frame. The activity that you can do every day, needs to become your habit.
If your goal is to run a marathon, you need to establish a daily running habit. Accumulate information on how to establish this habit. How long is a marathon? What are good running shoes? What average pace I should aim for? What nutrition do I need? Who are what can help me track my progress so I know I’m doing the right thing?
Speed, Quality, Price
Use the priority triangle to figure out what’s most important: speed, quality or price. The idea is that you can only prioritize 2. The 2 you choose will negatively impact the 3rd.
If you are still 11 months away from running the marathon, you have time. In that case, you probably can get away with not having to hire a costly personal running coach if you have the discipline to stick to a running routine.
To make sure you are still guided by an expert, you can download the Nike Run Club app. It’s free.
The formula for this option: quality + lower price = less fast
Build
It’s time to run. Get those running shoes, download that app to track your progress and run.
According to the research, the more often you do an activity, the less you think about starting or doing the activity. In the beginning, you require a lot of discipline. There will be many days you don’t feel like doing the thing. You have to push through this phase!
What helps me push through this phase:
- Change your identity. Meaning, label yourself as an athlete instead of down-talking yourself. I said it in the past myself; “I suck at running.” This is horrible fuel for your brain.
- Take responsibility for ALL your actions. If you did not run when you’re supposed to run, it’s not your spouse’s fault, not the weather’s fault, it’s not the neighbour’s fault. It’s YOUR fault, and you know it😉.
- Stick to a routine. Program your brain: at 6 pm I run. The run might be uncomfortable at times, but remind yourself that it is just temporary. After the run, I can enjoy a nice nutritious dinner to recover and relax for the rest of the night.
Once you’re through this hard phase, the activity becomes surprisingly easy. No second thoughts why not to do it, you just do the thing.
Review results
After a week of working on establishing a new habit, review how it’s going. Is it going well? Or are you overwhelmed?
The 2 most common mistakes in establishing a habit are:
- We start too big. Make sure you start small. Instead of starting with running for 1 hour each day. Start with running for 10 minutes every second day and built from there.
- You struggle to find the time. That is because you try to add to your day, instead of replacing it with something else. I hate to bring the bad news to you, but you might have to watch less TV and scroll less social media to establish a new good habit.
I recommend first reviewing weekly, and adjusting if you have to. After a couple of months, you can review monthly.
Maintenance
Create for yourself a habit tracker.
Using a habit tracker can be an effective way to establish and maintain positive habits, as it:
- Provides a visual record of progress
- Increases self-awareness
- Encourages consistency
- Offers accountability
- Helps build momentum
I use Notion to track my habits. You can also use a journal.
To add an extra layer of accountability, I encourage you to share the Notion habit tracker with your friends who are also working on similar goals!
Conclusion
When I was 14 years old, my dad bought us a multi-exercise machine. My buddy and I would use it a couple of times a week. That’s where my fitness journey started.
It became a part of my life. A deep-rooted habit. I feel good about it and I see myself doing it for a long time. Without needing motivation.
Motivation can be a great way to get started. It’s even great to get results fast. However, it's not the best way to stay consistent for longer periods of time. Habits are a more reliable way to reach your goals, as they give a foundation for change and allow you to stay consistent even when motivation is low.
Habits can also help you automate your actions so you can focus your energy on other tasks. That’s why I listen to Audiobooks in the gym and people are very confused😉.