Is Motivation Real?
A common question people ask me, and a question I often ask myself, “why is it so hard to make simple changes that would improve my life?” If you’re not feeling healthy or productive, the solutions are objectively simple: Change your diet and eat healthier foods on a more consistent schedule; get more sleep and stop staying up until 2am watching Netflix on week nights; drink water; go to the gym and work out in your free time as opposed to scrolling incessantly through social media apps. So why aren’t people incorporating basic healthy practices into their routines?
We know that human behavior is largely a result of some sort of motivation, whether that be external, internal, or most often a combination of both. So are we not practicing healthy habits because we’re not motivated to do so? In sports, everyone wants to win. If you polled 100 athletes, all 100 would prefer to win a championship over a losing season. All 100 would rather be strong than weak, fast as opposed to slow, prepared as opposed to unprepared. The question isn’t whether or not you “want” to win, if you want to be healthy, or if you want to accomplish your goals, the question is: are you “willing” to do what it takes to get there?
Successful people in any arena of life are those who are willing to do what it takes to accomplish their goals. Someone who wants to get healthy may research and maybe even start diet and exercise programs. Someone who is willing to be healthy will change their schedule and be committed to a new process. Their motivation drives their behavior, and the change in behavior leads to accomplishing their goals.
I recently visited IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida and had the opportunity to sit in on a football workshop given by Ryan Ingalls, a Mental Performance Coach at the Academy. The team is currently in the middle of the off-season, which creates natural issues with motivation. The expectation is to wake up early every day, lift, condition, work on the physical, tactical, and mental aspects of their performance – all without the immediate opportunity to play a game at the end of each week. Every player in the room wants to be a good player, but who is willing to put in the work in the winter to accomplish their goals in the fall? Is it the players who are the most motivated? Ryan had a take on motivation that I hadn’t heard before, that to an extent, motivation is overrated.
From an evolutionary standpoint, we are hardwired to avoid situations that put us in any danger, to put us at risk, or to take chances. Our cognitive processes lead us to pursuing necessities to survive – eating, sleeping, and reproducing. Anything outside of that, such as waking up early to go to the gym, learning new information, taking an unpopular stance socially, etc. is uncomfortable because it goes against our primal desire to remain safe. In short, human beings aren’t supposed to be athletes. Therefore, you’re not always going to “want” to do the work that it takes to succeed in sports.
Because of this, the message Ryan had for the team was that life is going to be hard and challenging a lot of the time, so let’s call it what it is. You’re tired. You’re stressed. You don’t feel motivated all the time because it would be unnatural to feel that way. Successful athletes aren’t necessarily the most motivated, they’re ones who respond to feeling unmotivated the right way. When you’re tired, do you quit, or buckle down and pay attention to detail? When you’re losing in the first quarter, does it push you to work harder, or do you lose your faith? Your mind knows your insecurities and fears, and will use them against you to try to protect you – to prevent you from accomplishing something special. Be aware of your negative cognitive habits, and come up with a plan to battle through the lack of motivation.
While Ryan certainly wasn’t saying it’s not important to be motivated, it helps athletes to know that motivation is inherently unnatural, and that there are systems, routines, and non-negotiable processes to handle a lack of motivation that allows you to be productive. As I’ve discussed in previous posts and in My Mental Playbook, having an internal desire to succeed and a genuine love for the game, surrounding yourself with people who have similar aspirations, and focusing on the process and not the end results are all ways to maintain motivation. But when you don’t feel motivated, know that it’s natural, you’re not alone, that life isn’t easy, and that the pursuit of goals is not a linear process.
