Motivation is fleeting. As I wrote about in my last post, it comes in waves. As a result, we can’t solely rely on it to keep us moving toward our goals. However, it doesn’t hurt to use our motivation when it’s there. So today we’re going to discuss how to harness your motivation.
Types of Motivation
First, let’s look at a couple of different types of motivation. There are lots of different ways of categorizing and examine our motivation. As I studied motivational theory in my graduate studies, I’m sure I’ll write about it again but for today, I want to talk about two basic concepts: 'away' motivation and 'toward' motivation.
Away Motivation
Toward Motivation
Toward motivation on the other hand is when we are motivated to change something because we want to get to a place or state that we think we might like better. We want to move ‘toward’ it. For some who are striving for weight loss, it might be achieving ‘one-derland’ where the weight on the scale starts with a one instead of a two indicating you weigh one hundred and something as opposed to two hundred.
It might be that you want to have more energy to keep up with your kids, you want to fit into a pair of jeans you like, you want to be able to do a bodyweight pull-up, you want to feel more confident and comfortable in your skin, you want to sleep better, or you want to be free of your diabetes medications.
Toward motivations make us think "Oh, I want that!”
Pros and Cons of Away and Toward Motivations
This is where 'toward' motivation comes in handy. 'Toward motivations' don’t tend to be as powerful in generating immediate action. Yeah, fitting into those jeans might be nice, getting off the diabetes meds would be good and sure more energy would be a bonus but often these aspirations aren’t quite enough to get us started.
However, once we do start, 'toward' motivations tend to keep us going for the long haul. Once we’re on the road toward our goal, reminding ourselves of our 'toward' motivations can often be enough to lead us away from the temptations of Netflix when we were planning to go for a walk, or the Kit Kat when we planned an apple.
How to Harness our Motivations
Maybe you’ve decided that the digestive issues you’ve been suffering from are now unbearable and you’re finally going to implement the dietary strategies your naturopath or dietician advised. Your 'away' motivation has been identified. But where will that get you?
Think about how you will feel when your digestion is better. Will you sleep better at night? Will you have the freedom of travelling without wondering where the next bathroom is? Will you have the confidence to go on a date without the fear of passing gas before the night is over? Will you have more energy because you’re actually absorbing the food that you’re putting in your body? Moving away from the discomfort you’re feeling might get you started but identifying what you are moving toward will help you to keep going.
If you’re struggling with moving away from what you don’t like and toward what you want, that is exactly what health coaching is all about. We guide you on that journey, helping you identify those motivations, keeping you on track and helping you to knock down any obstacles that might be in your way.
Consider booking a free 30-minute call to find out if health coaching might be right for you.
