The lack of motivation when it comes to achieving their goals is one of the most frequent obstacles complained of by those who come for consultation. They argue that it is impossible for them to carry out certain tasks because they do not feel like it or because they do not feel capable of doing so.

Lack of motivation as an excuse

Normally, these people have previously tried to perform mental exercises such as thinking positively or visualizing what they would like to achieve, obtaining very poor results or simply getting nothing, with the consequent frustration after seeing that their expectations have not been met.

Just because we think of something, no matter how much we insist, it’s not going to happen. The formula most likely to give us the results we expect is the one whose indispensable variable is action .

Believing that in order to do something or achieve certain goals we must be motivated is based on a mistaken and limiting belief. If we think this way, we are delegating our possible achievements to very volatile factors.

The importance of habits

I may wake up one day with great motivation and the next day not show up or be expected. This, like having the desire to do something, depends on many factors, some of which are our own and others not ours . I may feel a little headache or my boss may be angry and this may discourage me for the rest of the day and I may decide not to go to the gym, or study, or go for a walk…

On the other hand, if we observe how our mind works, we will realize that the more times we repeat an activity, the better we will be able to do it. If we practice a little daily with a musical instrument, it is likely that after a few months we will be able to find a melody and in a few years we will be able to play several songs. If we write a little bit every day, it is more likely that we will progressively get better texts, that we will get more and more enthusiastic. If we go to the gym a few times a week for a few months we may feel better and have stronger muscles.

In all these examples what happens is that by taking small steps, we have built habits that will later help us to achieve more ambitious goals . So if we think that to go to the gym we must first have good muscles, that will seem an absurd premise?

The key is in the word mentioned above: habits . It’s about creating routines in our life that become pillars, stable foundations, that help us, most likely, to achieve what we would like to achieve.

We must start from the smallest thing so that later, almost as a natural consequence, this progress will become bigger achievements. We cannot run a marathon having simply trained for a week in our lives. We must start from small, attainable goals and behave as if they were part of our repertoire . A small advance every day creates bigger advances and, as a consequence, the much desired motivation arises in our minds. Without looking for it, without mental exercises, showing us that we are capable of doing it.

Conclusion

We must strive without forcing ourselves. Forcing ourselves means making a little effort every day, without getting exhausted, without getting frustrated. Forcing ourselves would mean doing more than we can. It would be wanting to achieve the goal without the process, which would lead us to generate false hopes that would bring us back to square one, taking our motivation away for good. And here lies the paradox. If we insist on the spontaneous emergence of what we are trying to achieve, it will be less likely to come to us . However, when we focus on the process, on changing small things, the unblocking occurs.

The change in our behavior leads to a change in our perception, in our way of feeling.