How to get motivated and put it into action and how to stay motivated using the Goldilocks Principle.
Motivation is usually a tricky concept. Sometimes it is easy to get motivated, and you find yourself excited. But there are times when you do not understand and find it impossible to figure out what motivates you.
Sometimes I find myself in the same situation as well, and you are not alone. In this article, we will know how to find motivation? How to take action? and What is the Goldilocks Principle? (for those hearing the concept for the first time, you going to love this)
So what is Motivation?
In an article written by James Clear, I came across a beautiful line written by The author Steven Pressfield in his book ‘’ The War of art.” Paraphrasing it, “The pain you go through of not doing something is greater than the pain of actually doing it.”
In other words, the pain of achieving things in life through some change is acceptable than to suffer the pain of not doing anything at all. Some of us go through this phase every day when we need to make some changes, and we even know the solution to it. But we find ourselves either running away from them because it sounds impossible and painful or, we are just lazy and love procrastinating.
Picture a situation,
You are gaining weight, and your pants no longer fit you. Your mind is trying to convince you to hit the gym and lose some weight. But your mind is also telling you that you need to Netflix and Chill on the latest series that everyone is watching. It also reminds you of the pain you have to go through to lose those kilos. It is like in a Cartoon with the devil and the angel on the shoulder of a character, and it messes up your brain completely.
I would define motivation as an inner voice that is developed by a habit of a person that is responsible for the outcomes of choice made for the long run.
Many of us think we need the motivation to start something new or take up a project. But in fact, motivation kicks in when you start doing it regularly. It is the early stage of behavior we need to focus on rather than adjusting to the phases and living through them, hoping for a change. When you commit to something that can change your life, you find the motivation to complete tasks. When a person sees results, he automatically becomes motivated to achieve them.
What actions should you take to stay Motivated?
- Schedule your task
Have you ever wanted something to do, but you always complained that you do not have the time or wish I had more time to do it. Although we do have the time, we never figured out when to do it, and till we do not schedule the time to complete it, that is when we panic.
I would love to share one of my experiences while working for The Oberoi Hotels and Resorts in Mumbai, India. It is a luxury chain of hotels by (East India Hotels)EIH Ltd. I was lucky to work at the fine dining restaurant called Vetro, which served contemporary Italian cuisine. The restaurant held 1200 different wine labels, old and new world wines, and few super Tuscans.
Every day in the briefing, the captain and the manager would ask questions about different wines and encourage us to learn them. I often complain about the pronunciation of labels being difficult, or I did not have the time to study as the maximum amount of time went into traveling. I was looked down upon in the team as I always had an excuse to cover up. There were times when the manager would ask me to stay back and study the wine menu, and by the time I got back home, I was more tired than before.
Then I scheduled my learning at the end of my shift and asked my supervisor if I could do the beverage store pick-up and learn the menu at the same time. Three times a week, I had the opportunity to spend more time reviewing the wine labels by Country, Year/ Vintage, Grape types, and producers. I did the same with liquors and liqueurs. All while stacking the bottles in the cart and again while stacking them on their shelves. The repetition of this habit motivated me and made it so much easier to face any questions during the briefing. Eventually, I became very comfortable and started hosting wine tastings for guests, which resulted in gaining back my respect.
“If you waste resources trying to decide when or where to work, you’ll impede your capacity to do the work.”
Setting a schedule seems simple and easy, but the challenge is to follow it. Stop waiting for motivational signs to start anything, but follow the routine and be committed to it. It draws a line between being a professional and an amateur.
Professionals stick to their schedule and follow them. Amateurs wait until they feel inspired or motivated.
- James Clear-
- Follow it as Ritual
Consistency is the key to build up a habit. When you follow a routine, make sure you stick to it and make it a ritual so you won’t miss it. Although there would be times, you may not get the time due to a change of time at work or some emergencies. Remember, nothing comes free in this world. To achieve something — you have to lose something. Prioritize what’s more important for your body and work towards it.
It is a simple act, but doing it the same way every day makes it consistent and easy to do. It decreases the risk that you’re going to miss it or do it differently and is one less thing to worry about. The strength of a ritual, or what I like to call a pre-game routine, is that it offers an unconscious way to trigger your actions. It makes it easier to start your habits, which means it’s easier to follow through regularly. The essence of any successful ritual is that it eliminates the need to decide: what should I do first? When am I going to do this? How am I going to do this? Most people never get around because they can’t decide how to get started. You want to begin a simple and automatic behavior so that you have the power to finish it when it becomes difficult and demanding.
- Seek Feedback
Being open to any feedback is essential, whether constructive or negative because it’s important for your motivation. Constructive feedback makes you want to keep up with outstanding results and inspire you to work even harder. Negative feedback can lead to stress. The secret to this is how you handle your stress and depression. Please take it as your best advisers to get ahead of you. Take positive negative feedback and let it give you the push you want to boost your results and meet your reviewer’s expectations.
Stay Motivated using the Goldilocks Principle.
This principle was derived from Goldilocks’ story, the three Bear (published in 1837) was originally written by Robert Southey (1774–1843). For those who do not know the story, here is a short video of the story.
Now imagine you have a cook-off. If you are a professional chef and you try to be in a serious competition against an opponent who is not of a similar field and barely knows what poaching means, you find to get bored quickly. The task seems too easy. On the other hand, you are in a serious cook-off against a chef like Gordan Ramsay or Marco Pierre White, you would find yourself demotivated. The task seems too difficult.
Compare these experiences having a cook-off against someone who is your equal. As it progresses, you either win or lose. You have a chance of winning the competition, but only if you try. Your concentration narrows, obstacles fade away, and you find yourself thoroughly involved in the mission at hand. The barrier you face is “just manageable.” Victory is not assured, but it is possible. Like this, science has found that tasks are most likely to keep us motivated in the long run.
We love challenges, but only if they are well within the optimal intensity zone. Tasks that are far beyond your current abilities are dull. Tasks that are significantly beyond your existing skills are discouraging. But tasks that are probably on the verge of success and failure are incredibly inspiring to our human brains. We want nothing more than developing a talent just beyond our present horizon.
The Goldilocks Rule states that individuals develop optimum motivation when performing tasks right at the edge of their current skill. Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right.
So, if you find yourself getting unmotivated to work on a job, it is because you have wandered into an area of boredom or driven into a place of great difficulty. It would help if you found a way to pull your tasks back to the limits of your ability, where you feel challenged but competent.
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