Motivation advice for this year

Motivation is a big topic at this time of year. Maybe you had a super productive January, and you’ve really hit the ground running. Maybe you started strong and lost momentum. Perhaps you’re still waiting for your New Year's motivation to materialise.

For the first time this year, I acknowledged to myself that I don’t feel good about a year that starts on January 1st. The first two weeks of my year were a chaotic tumble of deadlines and trying to get back up to speed after a Christmas break. Combined with a bit of illness, Mercury retrograde, and generally feeling sluggish because I was out of the routines that support me (and still living off roast potatoes and trifle).

It was only halfway through January that I stopped and actually did my intentions for the year. And it was also at that point that I spoke to a friend who said “Oh, I always start my new year in mid-Jan - it’s the Gregorian calendar, works much better than 1st Jan.” Lightbulb moment.

But why do I mention this when I’m supposed to be writing about motivation?

Because motivation is not some 'one-size-fits-all, here’s the solution that will work for you because it’s worked for everyone' approach. It’s highly individual. It’s not something you can paste over a lack of self-knowledge. Yes, there are hacks, tools and habits that could potentially help anyone. But before I go on to outline some of those, I feel like it’s really important for your starting point to be:

a) Do I know enough about how I work to understand how to motivate myself?

and

b) Am I connecting the dots between how I work and the motivation tools and techniques that I’m trying?

If the answer is no, then the first thing you need to do is gain more knowledge of where your current approach to motivation has come from - otherwise everything else is going to be a big effort that will probably only result in short-term gains.

What is motivation anyway?

Motivation is often described as “the why”, i.e. the reason we do something. But I think it’s more accurate to describe it as an internal process, because it’s not just an intellectual thought or a goal. It’s the motivation that stimulates us into action - it’s a trigger.

One of the reasons to ‘do the work’ on understanding yourself a little better before you start plugging into the motivational techniques is to get a clear sense of where your why is coming from. Because it’s all too easy to go charging off down a path, get halfway down it and realise it was being driven by something unhelpful – whether that’s a need to erase a past hurt, escape something, avoid something or not feel something. Get clear on your key drivers now, and you’ll find it much easier to make long-term motivation a thing.

What do you know about dopamine?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in processes including motivation, reward and learning.

Dopamine activity can be associated with anticipating rewards, and this is one of the reasons rewards can play a role in motivation. For example, if you associate going to the gym with feeling good, packing your gym bag may become associated with the expectation of that positive experience.

It’s also one reason it can be easier to stick at things we genuinely enjoy. So, one way to support discipline, consistency and all those other resilience buzzwords is to find something you value or enjoy about what you're doing.

What about these small wins then?

If you are looking to be more motivated, then this can be a powerful way to support it: celebrate your small wins. Research into motivation and reward suggests that recognising progress can help reinforce goal-directed behaviour. So, by noting where you've succeeded in the small things, you may find it easier to maintain motivation towards the bigger things.

This is one of those things that human beings dismiss often. Like self-compassion or taking things slowly, celebrating small things seems much less powerful and dynamic than going for it or smashing it. But when you put the dominant social narratives and Instagram memes aside, the reality of how we tick is something very different. And when you learn to work with the reality of being human, you can change everything.

Other motivational tools

As I said at the start, we are all different, and we are all going to need a different motivational toolkit. So, here are a few other tips and ideas to experiment with and try.

Stop procrastinating

Procrastination can become a habit and, for some of us, a form of self-sabotage. Because it can become habitual, you can experiment with implementing another repetitive response.

For example, try using the five-second rule where you give yourself five seconds from having the thought “I must do...” to starting to do the thing. Acting quickly may give you less time to overthink and can help you practise getting into the habit of action.

Stop forcing yourself

Have you ever struggled and forced and pushed and tried to do something or get somewhere and been unsuccessful - then the moment you stop, it happens effortlessly? Sometimes when you take that foot off the “I should” pedal, you’ll find a natural internal motivation ("I want to") that is much more effortless and effective.

Take care of the basics

It doesn’t matter how many motivational mantras you have - or ‘proven’ tools - they can be much harder to put into practice if you’re sleep-deprived, not eating nutritious food, fogged by high consumption of sugar, alcohol, or drugs, you don’t feel emotionally safe, or you’re not leaving the house or not getting enough activity in your day.

Set your daily non-negotiables

What do you need to do every day to sustain momentum? Review these on a monthly basis and switch them up to support whatever direction you’re going in.

Establish some accountability

If you feel you have issues with consistency, perseverance, discipline, etc., then find a way to make yourself accountable for your progress so you can start to improve on this.

Coaching can be an effective way to do this - you may have actions to do between sessions that are designed to drive you forward. If you struggle to do them between sessions, then you and your coach can explore why - and that can create interesting insight into what’s really happening for you around motivation.

A coach can help you stay on track, focused and committed to your goals - and once you learn that it’s a process you can take forward into your life in a sustainable way.

Motivation is one of those things that can feel so out of reach when you’re struggling with it. But understanding what motivates you and experimenting with approaches that work for you can help make it feel more accessible.