Motivation comes after action
The shortcut to moving on your ambitions is rarely more motivation or willpower. It's about a misinterpretation in the brain.
Motivation is a by-product, not a prerequisite for getting things moving.
THE MECHANISMThe brain is designed to protect you, not to develop you
Your brain is built to keep you safe, not for personal growth or innovation. That's why it often misreads the unknown as danger.
Whether you're about to speak up in front of the board, contact a potential employer or make an uncomfortable decision, the brain turns up the discomfort. It will happily keep you stuck in the familiar. That's the hesitation factor.
The good news is that you can turn down the hesitation factor and the brain noise. Here are five techniques.
TECHNIQUE 1De-catastrophise the threat
Ask yourself: what's the worst that can realistically happen? Your alarm system loves vague fear scenarios. When you put words to the absolute worst case, you activate your rational thinking. And the worst-case scenario is rarely as catastrophic as it felt.
TECHNIQUE 2Make the cost of not acting concrete
Ask yourself: what does it cost me not to do it? Suddenly you notice that the status quo has a price too. The discomfort moves from the action to standing still.
TECHNIQUE 3Make an if-then plan
You lose a little to the hesitation factor every time you have to check how you feel before you act. Make a rule instead: "If it's 9 am, then I make the call."
When the decision has been made in advance, the brain runs more on autopilot, and you meet less resistance. Research calls these implementation intentions, and they significantly increase the likelihood that we actually do what we set out to do (Gollwitzer, 1999).
TECHNIQUE 4Make the first step absurdly small
So small that the brain doesn't register the danger. Need to write a difficult draft? Agree with yourself to just open a blank document and write one sentence.
The hardest part is almost always getting started. Once you're moving, momentum often takes over.
TECHNIQUE 5Don't wait for motivation
We think motivation has to come first. In reality, it often comes afterwards, as a reward for getting started. So start before you feel ready. Motivation will catch up with you.
Want to train it with your team? That's exactly what my workshops and talks are about.