Make A Plan For Motivation
We all have things we want in life, without knowing exactly how to get them. So we don’t even get started. People say “Make a plan! Then take baby steps! And you’ll get there.” Well that’s great, except if we don’t actually know how to get where we want to go. So in that case, we don’t make a plan… and often don’t get started.
But scientists have discovered something exciting! It turns out that plans are useful even if they don’t tell us exactly what to do. Plans aren’t just a roadmap from point A to point B; it turns out that they do way more.
Plans give confidence, motivation, and results even if we sometimes get the steps wrong. Simply focus on whichever step is foremost and you’ll find yourself making progress. Which makes plans useful in far more places than you’d think. To be confident, motivated, and resultified, use plans — even imperfect plans.
Plans are more than a roadmap to accomplish something. You can use them to build your confidence and get unstuck when you don’t know what to do. Use them anywhere you’re stuck, even places we don’t normally think of planning.
Plans are how you get unstuck.
Simply having a plan is enough to make us feel confident and get us moving. Our brains are scared of the unknown, so as with anything we fear, our brain does the whole “flight, ”fight,“ or ”freeze" thing. Making a plan gives our brains something to know. So we feel safe, just by having a plan, and are better able to get what we want. That calms down our brain, so we can think clearly and actually figure out how to reach our goal for real.
So make a plan! A plan will help us get un-stuck from our introverted, hermetic ways. And it doesn’t really need to be a detailed plan.
How to Stay Motivated
Motivation is a powerful, yet tricky beast. Sometimes it is really easy to get motivated, and you find yourself wrapped up in a whirlwind of excitement. Other times, it is nearly impossible to figure out how to motivate yourself and you're trapped in a death spiral of procrastination.
So what is motivation, exactly? The core of motivation is that at some point, the pain of not doing something becomes greater than the pain of doing it.
In other words, at some point, it is easier to change than to stay the same. It is easier to take action and feel insecure at the gym than to sit still and experience self-loathing on the couch. It is easier to feel awkward while making the sales call than to feel disappointed about your dwindling bank account.
This is the essence of motivation. Every choice has a price, but when we are motivated, it is easier to bear the inconvenience of action than the pain of remaining the same. Somehow we cross a mental threshold—usually after weeks of procrastination and in the face of an impending deadline—and it becomes more painful to not do the work than to actually do it.
Motivation is often the result of action, not the cause of it. Getting started, even in very small ways, is a form of active inspiration that naturally produces momentum. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Once a task has begun, it is easier to continue moving it forward.
You don't need much motivation once you've started a behavior. Nearly all of the friction in a task is at the beginning. After you start, progress occurs more naturally. In other words, it is often easier to finish a task than it was to start it in the first place.
Setting a schedule for yourself seems simple, but it puts your decision-making on autopilot by giving your goals a time and a place to live. It makes it more likely that you will follow through regardless of your motivation levels. And there are plenty of research studies on willpower and motivation to back up that statement.
Stop waiting for motivation or inspiration to strike you and set a schedule for your habits. This is the difference between professionals and amateurs. Professionals set a schedule and stick to it. Amateurs wait until they feel inspired or motivated.
The power of a ritual, or what one might call a pre-game routine, is that it provides a mindless way to initiate your behavior. It makes starting your habits easier and that means following through on a consistent basis is easier.
The key to any good ritual is that it removes the need to make a decision: What should I do first? When should I do this? How should I do this? Most people never get moving because they can’t decide how to get started. You'll want when starting a behavior to be easy and automatic so you have the strength to finish it when it becomes difficult and challenging.