Hannah Sweetman Nutrition

Here are some tips from a nutritionist based in Windsor United Kingdom to help you find your motivation.

What is motivation?

A want to do something. At some point, the pain of not doing something becomes greater than the pain of doing it. Every decision we make comes at a cost. When motivated it’s easier to bear the inconvenience of the action than the pain of staying the same. We cross a mental barrier. It's at this stage we are truly ready to make changes to our lifestyle.

Where does motivation come from?

Watching motivational videos or talks. Wrong! How many times have you said to yourself “when this happens, I will be more motivated to do…? Or perhaps you have set yourself New Year’s Eve resolutions to try and find motivation. 

Motivation comes after starting a new behaviour, not before. Getting started, with small changes will increase motivation that provides momentum. You don’t need much motivation to start behaviour if you start small. All the resistance is felt at the beginning of starting something new. After you start progress occurs more habitually.

How do I get motivated?

Automate the early stages of your behaviour e.g., have a scheduled time and a system for making it happen. An example of how to automate your behaviour is to give behaviours a time and a place to live within your daily schedule e.g., at X time I will do X behaviour. This will allow your decision making to occur on autopilot increasing the likelihood that you will follow through regardless of your motivational levels.

What if I don’t feel like it?

Start by setting yourself achievable daily/weekly targets. Give yourself options with these targets for if and when things don’t go to plan, or you don't feel like it. An example could be a weekly target to attend the gym two times however your car breaks down meaning you go for a walk instead. Having contingency plans will reduce the chances that you will skip the behaviour altogether when things don’t go to plan. It makes starting your habits easier and therefore following through consistently more likely.

How to stay motivated and find flow.

We all love to be challenged within the optimal zones of difficulty. We need targets to be not too far below our capabilities but not too far above them either. We experience peak motivational levels when working on tasks that sit right on the edge of our current ability levels. Not too hard not too easy just right. This is the key to long term motivation.

If you find yourself unmotivated to work on or towards a particular target it is often because it has fallen into an area of boredom or a level of difficulty. At this stage reassess your targets to meet the current level of your abilities where you feel challenged but capable.

Key areas for long-term motivation.

A target significantly below your capabilities is boring but a target significantly above your capabilities is discouraging. Targets that are right on the border of success and failure are motivating. This is referred to as the optimal blend of happiness and peak performance also known as flow. A flow state has been described as ‘being in the zone when you are so focused on a task at hand that the rest of the world just fades away. This could also be referred to as peak motivation. 

Measuring your progress is an important part of reaching a flow state. By measuring how you are progressing you can get immediate feedback. This allows you to make changes if or when needed. Having an optimal level of challenge and receiving immediate feedback about the process are two of the most critical components of long-term motivation.

What if motivation fades?

Your mind will always look to take the easy road or the road that has greater short-term pleasure. You need to decide if you value the change you are trying to create within your life. If you value, the change you are creating, and you have set the level of difficulty at an appropriate point then the moments of discomfort will teach you resilience and strengthen you along your journey.

Life lessons from motivation:

“Life is a constant balance between giving in to the ease of distraction or overcoming the pain of discipline. 
It’s not an exaggeration to say our lives and our identities are defined in this delicate balance.
What is life, if not the sum of a hundred thousand daily battles and tiny decisions to either gut it out or to give up?”

James Clear (author of Atomic Habits book) quote.