However, only about a quarter of the time do I feel motivated
to run before I begin. Even less so in the winter. It’s cold outside,
and I’m quite comfortable inside. Most of the time, I’d rather stay put
than put on my running clothes and push my body. But I do it anyway.
At the beginning of every single run, no matter how I’m feeling, my
body is resistant. It feels like I’m running through quicksand, and
everything hurts. Within thirty seconds, I want to stop. In fact, before
I became a more consistent runner, I would stop.
I thought that resistance was a sign I just wasn’t a good candidate
for running. Fortunately, a friend told me that everyone feels
resistance at the beginning of a run. You just have to push through it
until your body warms up. I finally tried it, and she was right. After
about a mile, sometimes less, I get in the running groove. My joints
loosen up, my breathing is less labored, and I pick up my pace.
I’ve learned to be patient and wait for it. Even when I don’t have
the power of motivation inspiring me, I still know to keep going just a
bit farther and the pain will let up. As my body and my mind are
screaming, “Stop! Stop running right now!” — my higher self reminds me
that I can do it. I’ve done it before, and I know I’ll feel better in
just a few minutes.
I also know how I feel after a run – how a run gives me energy, helps
my creativity, and makes me feel physically and mentally better in
general. I also use this information when my body and mind are screaming
at me.
So why am I sharing this with you?
I’m sharing it because I want you to know that there’s far more to accomplishment and learning than just motivation.
In fact, motivation has very little to do with creating new habits, acquiring skills, or reaching your goals.
Motivation is certainly the cherry on the cake when it happens to show up — but we can never predict when it will appear. We must be able to get things done even when motivation is a no-show.
What is self-motivation?
I believe self-motivation isn’t some elusive feeling of power and
excitement. Instead, self-motivation involves knowledge and momentum.
You must have thorough knowledge about the behavior or skill you want to
undertake.
When I first began running, I didn’t do any research or ask any
questions. I just slapped on a pair of old running shoes and started
running. No wonder I kept failing at it. I wasn’t fitted properly for
shoes. I didn’t know how to prevent injury. I didn’t know proper
technique. And of course, I didn’t know about the resistance I’d
encounter.
Momentum comes in by simply taking the first action. Once you take
the first step, the subsequent steps aren’t nearly as daunting.
With knowledge and momentum, you have just about everything you need to
accomplish a goal.
But there’s one other skill set you need in order to be successful.
You need to understand the specific skills involved in creating new
habits.
The power of habits
Yes, there are some very specific skills involved in forming new
habits, and without knowing these skills, you will likely fail at
achieving your goal. Even with knowledge and momentum, you still need
sustainability. You need a way to stick to the program after momentum
fails you and motivation disappears.
Eventually, just like my body resists running, your mind will get
tired of a new behavior, and you’ll drop it. So how do you keep momentum
going and push through the challenging times when you want to give up?
You have to retrain your brain. You have to build new neural pathways to
reinforce this new behavior until your mind accepts it as automatic.
And scientists have found a very specific way to do that.
Ann Graybiel is a neuroscientist at the McGovern Institute for Brain
Research at MIT, as well as an Institute Professor and a faculty member
in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. She’s an expert on
the basal ganglia and how it functions to support new habits.
According to MIT’s McGovern Institute website,
“Graybiel believes that the core function of the basal ganglia is the
type of learning that leads to the formation of habits.” Her team “uses
electrical recordings, behavioral tests, and gene-based approaches to
study these issues. They recently demonstrated dramatic changes in
neural activity in the striatum as animals learned new habits.”
As we practice habits,
the brain literally changes, and the main component of fostering this
change is early, consistent repetition. It is through repetition that we
create new neural pathways, making our behaviors more and more
automatic. But as you know, when repetition gets boring or difficult,
staying the course is nearly impossible. You need some strategies to
help you perform your habit every single day until it becomes easier.
Here are 4 science-based secrets to be self-motived and stay the course:
1. Start small
You might be able to run for thirty minutes right out of the gate or
write several pages of your novel in one sitting at the beginning. But
within a few days or weeks, you’ll feel overwhelmed as your enthusiasm
wanes and resistance sets in. So begin with just five minutes for the
first week or so of a new activity.
This may seem like a ridiculously short amount of time, but the goal
is to establish a pattern of repetition and create a “no excuses”
system. Anyone can do something for five minutes a day. You can slowly
increase your time in subsequent weeks.
2. Trigger your habit
You’ll need a reminder to perform your habit, and the reminder needs
to be the same every single day. So choose a trigger that’s a previously
established habit you do daily, like brushing your teeth or putting on
your shoes.
Then perform your habit
immediately following the trigger. When you attach a new habit to a
trigger, it affords a mental cue that it’s time to work on this new
activity.
3. Reward yourself
As soon as you finish your new habit, immediately reward yourself
with something you already crave or enjoy. It could be checking your
email, having a cup of coffee, or even putting a gold star on your
calendar.
The reward is most effective when it’s something you look forward to
but you know you can’t have until you perform your new habit.
4. Create accountability
Be sure others know you’re committed to your daily new behavior.
Create self-motivation by going public. Think about how much better you
do at anything when you know someone else is paying attention.
Announce your goal publicly on social media, or share it with friends
and family. As soon as you perform your habit and reward yourself,
report to your accountability group about your success or failure.
Once you learn these skills of habit creation,
you can apply the skills to bigger goals and more challenging
accomplishments. Any big undertaking is comprised of dozens of small
habits.
When you start small, creating manageable actions that you repeat
daily, you’ll find in time the actions become automatic, making it
easier to begin the next piece of your goal. You won’t necessarily need
motivation to begin. You just need to practice and have patience as you
wait for your brain to take over.
When you feel bored, challenged, or discouraged, use your new
knowledge and remind yourself that in time, the work will be far easier
and you will become more skilled — just as I remind myself at the
beginning of every run.
Use the science of habit creation to serve as your self-motivation tool, and you’ll be amazed at all you can achieve.
Source: http://liveboldandbloom.com/07/habits/self-motivated
