Motivation!
All of us are infatuated with motivation. It’s the gas pedal behind human behavior. Motivation drives competition and sends that signal to the receptors of our brain that tell us it’s time to move. Absence of motivation leaves so many of us feeling depressed because motivation is the tool we rely on that fuels the desire to keep striving, finding purpose and a life worth living.
INTRINSIC VS EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION
We all have different incentives for engaging in a particular behavior. Motivation can be extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside forces such as other people and certain rewards. Intrinsic motivation comes from within, it’s the WANT and DESIRE to better oneself in a certain area. Intrinsic motivation is the kind of motivation we should ultimately strive for. We all know that our true strength comes from within, in the deepest and untouched areas of our minds is that superhero fast asleep waiting for you to shine his or her signal. Intrinsic motivation pushes us more forcefully and in a positive manner. This doesn’t mean that extrinsic motivation is a bad thing, it should be an encouraged action but not the primary behavior. We ultimately want to do things that better US and OUR SPIRIT. However if you aspire to look like a certain individual and that keeps you moving everyday more power to you. But sooner or later that driving force will not last in the long run.
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Abraham Maslow is an American psychologist back in 1943 formulated an outline for understanding motivation is the “hierarchy of needs”. Maslow states that humans are deep rooted to better themselves and strive towards their full potential. This is done by progressively discovering and satisfying several levels of fundamental needs such as food, safety, love, belonging, and self esteem. The theory was elongated to a need of self transcendence. This means that people reach the pinnacle of growth and find a higher meaning in life by doing things beyond the self. This means doing things you thought you could never do. This can be seen in various disciplines from getting your doctoral degree or running a marathon for the first time.
HOW DO I STAY MOTIVATED TO EXERCISE?
Life gets hectic, things happen from the loss of a relative, overwhelming amounts of work, exams, relationships, the list can go on and on. Factors beyond our control get in the way, soon we find ourselves missing a couple days to weeks from exercise and most of us don’t know how to handle it. Tips that can make things easier is accepting that:
• YOU WONT ALWAYS BE MOTIVATED. The sooner we accept this fact the easier it will be to harness that warrior within and rise to the task. If you really want to better yourself you must remember that we have conditioned ourselves to naturally seek comfort and to perform the next easiest task. It is our responsibility to challenge our conditioned behavior and seek the harder task.
•FOCUS ON LONG TERM BENEFITS. The feeling after you’re done especially when tired or unmotivated will feel powerful. Your brain will feel refreshed, your body and mental health will be thanking you in the long run.
• FIND EXERCISES YOU ENJOY. Making exercise enjoyable is essential for staying in shape throughout your life. Participate in sports that make you socialize, find a running group, go on regular walks and listen to a podcast. Broadening your options is important to making it enjoyable and you might develop a passion for a particular activity which ultimately leads to having more intrinsic motivation.