How to motivate yourself to do the things you DON'T want to do! w/ Debra Searle MBE
I rowed an ocean solo for 111 days… but STILL struggle with motivation sometimes! Here’s the 3-step strategy I rely on to get myself to do the things I DON’T feel like doing:
1. Predict procrastination. Think about a task you need to fulfil this week that you’re not wild about completing and is likely to cause you to procrastinate. Maybe it’s calling a client or sending a difficult email or finishing a proposal. For me this morning, it was getting out early on my paddle board before work. I know that when I exercise first thing I perform better, feel more optimistic, and have greater confidence. But it requires motivation, and it was in short supply this morning!
2. Spot and remove the friction. What moment/issue/feeling/equipment becomes a hurdle that stops you from taking action? I knew not having my board already inflated would be a major point of friction at 6am! So, I pumped it up yesterday evening and put all my kit in my car, ready to go. I removed the friction.
3. Take the smallest possible step. The idea (credit to James Clear) is simple but powerful: make starting so easy that you can’t say no. Instead of “I have to write this big report today,” shrink the task down to the tiniest starting point: Open the document and type just one sentence. That tiny step breaks the inertia. Once you’ve started, it’s much easier to keep going. For me, as you can see in this video, it was simply driving drive down to the water’s edge.
Here's what most people misunderstand about motivation: they think it requires willpower to force yourself to take action. There’s no way willpower could have carried me through 111 days alone at sea, facing sharks, hurricane force winds and crushing loneliness whilst rowing solo across the Atlantic.
I discovered that motivation is often the result of action, not the cause of it!
So, the question then becomes, what do I need to do to help myself to take that first, small step?
The three steps above are my go-to strategy. They cut procrastination and accelerate results – whether on the water, at work or in life.
How to maintain motivation and momentum towards your goals is a subject we cover in great depth in my online courses. Learn more using the 'Courses' link below.
N.B. To enquire about booking Debra as a speaker, contact Laura Topping via Debra's website.
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