Ever hear the phrase “Easier said than done”? Of course you have, who hasn’t? It’s an undeniable truth, and one of the most annoying truth’s at that. We all tend to know better, but how many of us actually have the discipline to do what we preach? It’s hard to do the right thing; it’s hard to go through with the goals we set for each other…. It’s just hard to follow ones own advice.
For example, I set a goal for myself to begin writing again, to think of new things to write about, to share new experiences, stories, research, etc… and so far, nada! I’m still blocked, still can’t think of anything new to write about. I also set a goal to re-activate my healthy lifestyle (eat right, exercise more, bla bla bla)- I’ve done it once I can do it again… right? Well, this time around I’ve found that it’s hard to stay on track – on a lot of things.
I don’t know why I just keep changing directions, keep hitting walls, and can’t seem to get over the hurdle. My problem? Easy, lack of the right motivation.
For most people, motivation is an external factor (new clothes, money, a trip, etc…). They use these “prizes” as their main motivating factors to do what they need to do in order to get them complete their task. We’ve been trained to react this way since we were kids – if you go to the doctor you get a lollipop at the end of the visit, if you go visit your grandparents you’re guaranteed a plate full of cookies, and the list goes on and on. I’m not saying that this type of rewarding motivation is bad, it’s just more of a short term solution.
Take for example dieting, you’ve been practically starving yourself for an entire week; what do you do (or are supposed to do) at the end of the week – reward yourself for your hard work, and the first thing you do is splurge on a piece of cheesecake, or you go on a shopping spree. This is where most of us go wrong, the reward is in the result itself, it’s within you – and that’s exactly where our motivation should be coming from in the first place.
Intrinsic motivation is the factor I seem to be lacking, and it is the one thing I truly need. Who is going to reward me for writing? Who is going to reward me for eating an apple rather than a brownie? I’m going to reward myself - but to be honest I can do that without even achieving my goals. So, extrinsic motivation isn’t going to help me in the long wrong. My internal desire to do better, and to actually do what I want to do will give me the discipline to go through with it.
It’s interesting how I already know the solution, but have yet to really discover my actual problem – why can’t I get over my writer’s block? I obviously want to write otherwise I wouldn’t have entered this text, but the real problem is rather I haven’t found anything yet worth sharing I guess. Like I said, easier said, than done. Let’s see what my internal motivator has to say…
For example, I set a goal for myself to begin writing again, to think of new things to write about, to share new experiences, stories, research, etc… and so far, nada! I’m still blocked, still can’t think of anything new to write about. I also set a goal to re-activate my healthy lifestyle (eat right, exercise more, bla bla bla)- I’ve done it once I can do it again… right? Well, this time around I’ve found that it’s hard to stay on track – on a lot of things.
I don’t know why I just keep changing directions, keep hitting walls, and can’t seem to get over the hurdle. My problem? Easy, lack of the right motivation.
For most people, motivation is an external factor (new clothes, money, a trip, etc…). They use these “prizes” as their main motivating factors to do what they need to do in order to get them complete their task. We’ve been trained to react this way since we were kids – if you go to the doctor you get a lollipop at the end of the visit, if you go visit your grandparents you’re guaranteed a plate full of cookies, and the list goes on and on. I’m not saying that this type of rewarding motivation is bad, it’s just more of a short term solution.
Take for example dieting, you’ve been practically starving yourself for an entire week; what do you do (or are supposed to do) at the end of the week – reward yourself for your hard work, and the first thing you do is splurge on a piece of cheesecake, or you go on a shopping spree. This is where most of us go wrong, the reward is in the result itself, it’s within you – and that’s exactly where our motivation should be coming from in the first place.
Intrinsic motivation is the factor I seem to be lacking, and it is the one thing I truly need. Who is going to reward me for writing? Who is going to reward me for eating an apple rather than a brownie? I’m going to reward myself - but to be honest I can do that without even achieving my goals. So, extrinsic motivation isn’t going to help me in the long wrong. My internal desire to do better, and to actually do what I want to do will give me the discipline to go through with it.
It’s interesting how I already know the solution, but have yet to really discover my actual problem – why can’t I get over my writer’s block? I obviously want to write otherwise I wouldn’t have entered this text, but the real problem is rather I haven’t found anything yet worth sharing I guess. Like I said, easier said, than done. Let’s see what my internal motivator has to say…
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