Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 499 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Staying Motivated Long Term
Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 499 of our trek, and today is Motivation Monday. Every Monday we hike the trails of life that will encourage and motivate us to live rich and satisfying lives this week. Today let us explore the trail called Staying Motivated Long Term.
We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We were finally able to get a replacement engine in for our lawn vacuum, but as of the time of creating this podcast, the weather does not look good for using it this weekend. Since all of the leaves have finally fallen from the trees, it is only a matter of time. By the looks of it, I have about two days of leaf harvest left before we are finished for this season. That does include blowing leaves off of the roofs and cleaning the gutters that need it. This is no big rush, as the leaves will remain until I get to them, but I am motivated to complete the project before Christmas, so that it will be finalized.
Thinking about motivation as we break camp and head out on our trek for today, let us invest time exploring the concept of…
Staying Motivated Long Term
During the past two Monday’s we have explored what motivation is, and that to be motivated sometimes it requires that we take action first. That may get us started, but the real question that we need to have an answer for is, “How do we stay motivated long term?”
1. Stay Motivated by Using the Goldilocks Rule
Imagine that you are playing tennis. If you try to play a serious match against a four-year-old, you will quickly become bored. The match is too easy. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you try to play a serious match against a professional tennis player like Roger Federer or Serena Williams, you will find yourself demotivated for a different reason. The match is too difficult.
Compare these experiences to playing tennis against someone who is your equal. As the game progresses, you win a few points, and you lose a few points. You have a chance of winning the match, but only if you really try. Your focus narrows, distractions fade away, and you find yourself fully invested in the task at hand. The challenge you are facing is “just manageable.” Victory is not guaranteed, but it is possible. Tasks like these, science has found, are the most likely to keep us motivated in the long term.
Human beings love challenges, but only if they are within the optimal zone of difficulty. Tasks that are significantly below your current abilities are boring. Tasks that are significantly beyond your current abilities are discouraging. Tasks that are right on the border of success and failure are incredibly motivating to your brain. In this zone, you want nothing more than to master a skill just beyond your current horizon.
This is referred to as The Goldilocks Rule. The Goldilocks Rule states that humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities – not too hard, not too easy, but just right.
Working on tasks that adhere to the Goldilocks Rule is one of the keys to maintaining long-term motivation. If you find yourself feeling unmotivated to work on a task, it is often because it has drifted into an area of boredom or been shoved into an area of great difficulty. You need to find a way to pull your tasks back to the border of your abilities where you feel challenged, but capable.
2. How to Reach Peak Motivation
This wonderful blend of happiness and peak performance is sometimes referred to as flow. Flow is what athletes and performers experience when they are “in the zone.” Flow is the mental state you experience when you are so focused on the task at hand that the rest of the world fades away.
In many ways, we could describe flow as your state of peak motivation. You would be hard-pressed to find a state where you are more driven to continue the task you are working on.
One factor that researchers have found is linked to flow states is whether or not you are following The Goldilocks Rule we mentioned earlier. If you are working on challenges of optimal difficulty, then you will not only be motivated but also experience a boost in happiness. As psychologist Gilbert Brim put it, “One of the important sources of human happiness is working on tasks at a suitable level of difficulty, neither too hard nor too easy.”
To reach this state of peak performance, however, you not only need to work on challenges at the right degree of difficulty, but also measure your immediate progress. As psychologist Jonathan Haidt explains, one of the keys to reaching a flow state is that “You get immediate feedback about how you are doing at each step.”
Thus, we can say that measurement is a key factor in motivation. To put it more precisely, facing an optimal challenge and receiving immediate feedback about the progress you are making toward that challenge are two of the most critical components of peak motivation.
3. What to Do When Motivation Fades
Inevitably, your motivation to perform a task will dip at some point. What happens when motivation fades? I don’t claim to have all the answers, but here’s what I try to remind myself of when I feel like giving up.
- Your Mind Is a Suggestion Engine
Consider every thought you have as a suggestion, not an order. When you have tasks to accomplish, you need to program your mind to suggest that you will feel very good about accomplishing the task once it is done. Your mind needs to suggest that you will respect yourself more when you stick to the schedule. It needs to suggest that you have the ability to finish this task, even when you don’t feel like it.
Remember, none of these suggestions are orders. They are merely options. You have the power to choose which options to follow.
- Discomfort Is Temporary
Relative to the time in your normal day or week, nearly any habit you perform is over quickly. Your workout will be finished in an hour or two. Your report will be typed to completion by tomorrow morning.
Life is easier now than it has ever been. 300 years ago, if you didn’t kill your own food and build your own house, you would die. Today, we whine about forgetting our iPhone charger. Maintain perspective. Your life is good, and your discomfort is temporary. Step into this moment of discomfort, and let it strengthen you.
· You Will Never Regret Good Work Once It is Done
Theodore Roosevelt famously said, “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” So often it seems that we want to work easily at work worth doing. We want our work to be helpful and respected, but we do not want to struggle through our work. We want our stomachs to be flat and our arms to be strong, but we do not want to grind through another workout. We want the final result, but not the failed attempts that precede it. We want the gold, but not the grind.
Anyone can want a gold medal. Few people want to train like an Olympian. Yet, despite our resistance to it, I have never found myself feeling worse after the hard work was done. There have been days when it was hard to start, but it was always worth finishing. Sometimes, the simple act of showing up and having the courage to do the work, even in an average manner, is a victory worth celebrating.
- This Is Life
Life is a constant balance between giving into the ease of distraction or overcoming the pain of discipline. It is not an exaggeration to say that our lives and our identities are defined in this delicate balance. What is life, if not the sum of a hundred thousand daily battles and tiny decisions to either gut it out or give it up?
This moment when you don’t feel like doing the work? This is not a moment to be thrown away. This is not a dress rehearsal. This moment is your life as much as any other moment. Invest it in a way that will make you proud.
As a Christ follower, there is also a higher calling to maintain motivation and complete those tasks that are required of us as Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.”
As we finish our trek for today, let me ask you, “What practices and habits do you have in your life so that you can maintain your motivation long term?” Let me know if you need any assistance in this area.
Tomorrow’s short trek is part of our Wisdom Unplugged series, and we will also be celebrating 500 Days on our Wisdom-Trek. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise throughout the entire week.
Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Also, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy. If you would like to listen to any of the past daily treks, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com.
Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.
As we take this trek of life together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!