Monday, July 17, 2017

Techniques for Staying Motivated

Maintaining motivation is a difficult task when performing tasks or striving for goals that are difficult in nature. We all have set goals for ourselves in the past which we either failed to accomplish or chose to not pursue once it became clear the road to success was too hard. In order to fight back against such roadblocks a person has to recognize that they will face adversity in almost any meaningful task or goal they set for themselves. A person who plans on being successful can use certain techniques to help them keep strong when things appear too difficult.
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An example, if going to the gym is something one loathes then after a workout it would be keen to watch a favorite show (not eat junk food, that's counterproductive) or do something that they truly enjoy. The simple act of doing something one enjoys following a workout (assuming this is something they do not particularly enjoy) helps condition the person to continue working out and push through the difficulty of the task, for there is a reward not far ahead.

Dani Ariely, a psychologist, suffered serious burns in his youth. During part of his recovery there were complications and he was required to medicate himself. He used this simple idea of rewarding himself after this painful medication with remarkable success. This video should be able to motivate almost anyone to face down their difficulties: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbEa1P4sqd8

In life there will always be hard tasks and difficult work to be done, especially if one sets a high standard for them self. Being self-aware and knowing that there will inevitably be times when giving up seems like the best option using simple "tools" to prepare for such scenarios will go a long way in helping you achieve the things you want in life.

4 comments:

  1. Keeping motivated is hard but not impossible.

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  2. I like your point about watching a good tv show after the gym, instead of eating junk food. Changing your reward is a good idea so it isn't as detrimental. The video on Dani Ariely also seems interesting, I'll check it out.

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  3. Motivation is difficult to maintain but what isn't? I feel like life is in itself hard and very intellectually difficult, so the more we strive to accomplish the impossible, the more inspirational we will feel. I agreed with you as well as Samra Jarral - great job!

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  4. Motivation is something I constantly struggle with. It is the big black monkey on my back. Most nights I go to sleep thinking of what needs to be done and I end up dream about getting it done, but as soon as I wake up...? *POOF* All that brain energy I spent on amping myself up to do something is completely gone. I don't get motivated until the last possible minute. I do find it interesting how you mentioned rewarding yourself after a daunting task can potentially condition you to do it more. I think I may try that to see if that makes a difference for me. Good post!

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