Motivation vs Action. Which comes first?
Ahh yes, that feeling of wanting to crawl under your bed covers and hide away from the world at the thought of having to tackle that big, repulsive yet ever-present to-do (or let’s face it, a whole long list of to-dos!) you’ve had nagging away at you ever so quietly the past couple of days, weeks or possibly months - we’ve all been there! Big or small, the tasks and goals we set out for ourselves on a daily basis are there for an important reason, to hopefully propel us forward and create a happy life filled with purpose and meaning, a life worth living.
Great goals
We get fired up at the thought of reaching the lofty yet dreamy goals we set for ourselves, whether related to our personal or professional lives. We envision ourselves killing it in our chosen career down the line, running that half marathon we said we’d complete with that friend or becoming a pro in the kitchen! We might even decide to write down what we need to do in order to achieve these things, the action steps required to get there. This mental list that seems to grow exponentially with time and to follow us everywhere, is a funny thing.
I remember my dad would laugh telling a story about his friend who would write a daily to-do list, the first task of the day being, ‘write to-do list’, and he would tick it off, having completed his first task of the day. This simple act of crossing off something on this list would encourage and indeed motivate him to start his actual task list, a funny trick he had to play on his mind to motivate himself to do the things he needed to do. It does beg the question, why do we feel we need motivation in order to act on these pending tasks in front of us?
Waiting for motivation
I don’t know about you, but I am often guilty of waiting till I am feeling super high energy, motivated and positive to start tackling the things I have ahead of me. The truth is, it’s easier when I feel like that, for sure. The problem being that this type of motivation come far less frequently than I’d like! The narrative more often goes, see a task to do done, distract myself with another (less important) task. Granted, this ‘productive procrastination’ is great when I see my room needs tidying or food has to be made, but it brings me nowhere closer to achieving what I actually want to get done. Our inner child wants to rebel and not do what they’re told, and so we distract ourselves with something else.
Therefore, waiting until motivation strikes magically is perhaps not the best way to go. I have found through much trial and error that action is more likely to lead to motivation. The more I can break down and simplify the task at hand, the less friction I feel towards it. It then, in turn, becomes easier to take action, although it still might be something new or challenging. I build momentum and along with it a drive and desire to continue going to achieve the larger goal.
The why of things
From my experience, having a clear why with everything you do also helps. When you sense that repulsion to sit down and start writing that short story, or magnetic pull towards the couch when you should be going for that run, ask yourself, why do I want to do this? Or rather, why does the ‘best version of myself’ want this done? Acting as previously mentioned, coupled with clarity of your why really helps to keep that focus. We are motivated both extrinsically and intrinsically, and we must remind ourselves of these whys. Perhaps you want to upskill in a particular area for the extrinsic motivation of getting a raise or promotion, but at the same time, you are intrinsically motivated by the desire to continue learning and to expand your mind. Both are valuable and both should be taken into account.
With this, it is helpful to understand that we will most likely always feel some form of resistance when the time comes to showing up and doing what has to be done, this is normal and a displays a healthy discomfort that comes from not giving in to your ‘small self’. Gaining this perspective when in a motivation rut is everything. You’ll find yourself being able to shine light on the reasons you are working towards what you are in life and a renewed sense of energy in getting there.
By Sarah Murphy