Blog: Why action and habits scores above motivation
On how to break the habit of waiting for motivation to move you into action when the real flow is the other way round. Action makes for motivation!
There is an old Irish proverb, ‘You will never plow a field if you only turn over it in your mind’. It speaks volumes of why we have to consider motivation as not an outside force but as a ‘motive’ to ‘action’.
Motivation as it is understood commonly is something that should come from outside to force us into doing things and guide us towards success. This is a fallacy that keeps the best of stuck in a rut of inaction. Motivation is very often overrated while action and habit formation are the true keys to success. Ironically, they are often considered boring and difficult. Action and habit formation are factors within your capacity to make happen. Motivation cannot be willed and made to happen, while action and habit formation is in our hands to control. Let us scrutinize the idea to find out for ourselves the truth at a granular level and get out of the stagnant phase of ‘waiting for motivation’.
Starting small, finishing big– Often it is the magnitude of our goal that overwhelms us into inaction. When you have a target of losing 10 kgs in a year, it is just less than a kg a year which is your immediate target. So, start small and dividends build up as you work your way up. Keeping realistic short-term goals would make you move. A 10 min run is better than nothing at all. Three clients are better than nothing at all. And doing something is better than nothing at all.
Give yourself time limits and work with deadlines– Over thinking is one of the anathemas that hinder action. We end up thinking of a million ‘what if’ scenarios from the perspective of failure and never really get to do anything for fear of failing or falling short. The only way is to keep a non-negotiable deadline for yourself at the start of setting up goals. It must be the starting point where you leave all your doubts and propel yourself into action taking the most viable appearing route to success. There is no perfect time to do or start anything. It’s just about going with the least inconvenient time.
Focus and visualize more on how badly you want, what you want – Focusing on challenges alone and forgetting the results we hope to achieve can lead to inaction. If it is that 10 kgs of your weight that you are targeting to lose, focus on the clothes you can wear or outdoor activities you can engage in with the burden of weight reduced. If you focus for two days on the piece of cake you missed having for your daughter’s birthday, your mind is sure to go on a downward spiral and ultimately give up.
Knowing our ‘why’ for what we want – Our goals should be coming from a space of positivity. A job that you take up or a deal you are working hard on closing has to be something that takes you to a happy place. That space of happiness of achievement and self-fulfillment is your ‘why’. When you understand and refocus every day on that, the difficulties and challenges would appear trivial in comparison
Forming rituals and chaining habits together – One of the tricks that experts vouch by to form habits, are to form rituals which the mind comes to associate with doing some action. It is about forming a consistent schedule. Celebrated author Haruki Murakami wakes up at 4 AM, writes for five hours, and then goes for a run. So, one ritual of getting up at 4 am makes him make considerable progress in two aspects of life – his writing and his physical activity goals of the day. The consistent pattern and routine are what makes him or you achieve the goals. Another ritual could be something as simple as a good night message to a friend at a particular time, say 10 pm! This would be a marker in your mind for the closure of the day and a cue to set the phone aside and sleep. Chaining is where you tag one good habit to another which is what Murakami is doing.
Be around people who are a positive influence to help you achieve – The importance of right company and associations can never be over emphasized. You really need people around you who want you to succeed and egg you on to act and be progressively decisive. When you have a pact with your husband and a friend of yours to wake up at 5 am to go for that run, along comes your wish not to disappoint them or stand them up. The same goes for them. The power of teamwork and positive companionship in achieving goals is huge. You really do not want to be with people who tell you to go easy on yourself when it comes to daily habits. Your mind’s natural inclination is to seek validation and support and it is naturally inclined to be lazy. So, it will be easier if you had someone pushing you to act optimally than encourage inaction
Have measurable stages and phases for progress – Having milestones even if they are small which are quantified gives the necessary impetus to act. It also removes the need to think or plan excessively and investing too much time. With defined stages coming up for action, the need to constantly muster will or chalk-out plans disappears. Decision making and habit formations moves to auto-pilot mode. It would be helpful to avoid undefined quantities like ‘I will increase the time I spend reading’ or ‘I will reduce my screen time’. Instead, ‘I will make time to read 1.5 hours a day’ and ‘I will not access my mobile from 10 pm in the night to 5 am next day’ are clear, direct and easier to process goals.
Finding the action with the right degree of difficulty which is not too easy nor too tough – It is one of the most preliminary but difficult tasks to define that sweet spot as a goal which is not ‘too hard’ or ‘too easy’. If it is too hard it becomes an instant put off and ends up being pushed away and if it’s too easy it is ineffective and doesn’t let you progress. If that ‘just right’ point is found, the start becomes easier nor would it be demotivating.
Remembering that difficulty to act is temporary and time bound – It is only difficult to start. Going on once you start is not so hard. It takes two or three weeks of pushing against the force of demotivation wilfully for a habit to form. From then on, the journey becomes easier. The fear to start is bigger than the fear to continue. A swimming class or a new business is intimidating before you get into the pool and before you call your first prospective client. The energy of action dispels the inertia and fear of outcome.
You will never regret action, but you will regret inaction – ‘The only impossible journey is the journey you never begin’. Having done something towards achieving your goal would never be a regret. Whereas, if you keep putting off and not do something you planned towards achieving a goal you are bound to be washed away in regret. Missed opportunity and lost time are two of the biggest human regrets and at its core they stem from our realization that it was our choice to not act on something.
You could be looking for some help in preparing yourself or your team to be goal and action oriented and looking at ‘getting motivated through action’. Or you could be looking at equipping yourselves to lead a smarter life with any kind of soft skill coaching. In any case, do write to us at harish@harishrao.world to know how we can help you with it. We would love to work with you on this or any other business coaching needs you may have!
