Have you waited to feel motivated in order to do something?

Have you wanted to go to the gym but stopped yourself because “you didn’t feel like it”?

Or the pottery class that you’ve always wanted to take but just haven’t gotten around to it?

Or wanted to talk to someone about something and the right moment never came by?

Have you felt a lack of motivation stopping you from moving ahead?

I have felt that many times in my life. Before we jump into how to make motivation your friend by hook or by crook, let’s take a step back.

What is motivation?

It is the ability to cross over that mental roadblock in your mind. It is that little hump in our mental roads that we are daunted by at times. It is also a bucket that needs to constantly be filled.

We all feel the effects of the absence of motivation. When we are not motivated, we don’t take action. Lack of motivation doesn’t get us to the gym. Lack of motivation doesn’t let us do what we want to do. Its what keeps us glued to the couch. Its what stops us from going after our dreams. Its a fuel that needs to constantly burn in us.

It is easier said than done to keep this source of fuel burning within us constantly.

Some people are lucky that they are able to feel motivated on their own. Others feel it in bouts when reading motivational material, watching relevant movies, consuming podcasts and other channels of inspirational and motivational goodies. Still others are unable to get that fire started in them even with all the passive sources of motivation available.

If you have read, listened, watched and done everything possible and still feel unmotivated, here are a few different tactics that may help get you motivated to take action. In all probability, once you take action, you will feel motivated. The hump in our minds most often contributes to starting trouble. Once the motivation engine is started, it splutters but is capable of moving forward.

It may be time to brandish the stick. Stop trying to feel motivated by the dangling carrot. For a change work towards moving away from pain rather than moving towards pleasure. Instead of working towards fitting in that size 4 dress, maybe you work towards moving away from the size 8 dress.

The three unusual tactics to feel motivated are:

1. Pavlok: is an electronic device that claims to change bad habits. It does so by giving you a mini electric jolt or zap to get you out of our bad habits. They claim to be able to zap you out of procrastinating, wasting time, biting nails, having negative thoughts, sleeping in, sticking to a diet and many others. I have personally not tried it nor do I know anyone who owns this device. Agreed that it cannot possibly be your go to device to get you motivated. If it truly does what it claims to, getting zapped a few times may make you think twice about procrastinating on taking action towards your goals.
2. Stickk: is a goal setting platform. It works on the premise of commitment contracts. You create a goal and publicly share it on the platform. You commit to achieving it by a certain time and put something at stake – money. For example, you could set a goal that I will lose X lbs by a certain date. And if you do not reach your goal, you will donate X amount of money to a charity or political group that you do not like. The thought of spending money on someone or something you do not like does help people to stick to their goals.
3. Public Announcement: Share your goals with everyone around you. If you have a platform like a website share it on that. If not, email your friends and family and colleagues if applicable. As silly as it sounds, this is powerful. By doing so, you empower others to ask you about it. It is an informal accountability partner setup that works! The thought of having to meet someone who could question you about your goal, will get you motivated to take action.

What other motivation techniques have you tried that have worked for you?