Formula for Motivation & Causes of Procrastination

There are two ways people are generally motivated!  1) the “Carrot.” That is the “thing” out there in the future that you want.  Maybe it’s a new car, a dream vacation, a house etc.  When you create a picture of what you really want and, when you look or think about that picture of your desire, it gives you good feelings.  You tell yourself and others what you want, and you begin to move in the right direction to achieve it. Motivated people typically focus on the end result.  They think about what it is that they want and what it would feel like to have it. They tell themselves, “this is easy because…” and then they give supporting evidence to enhance and create a stronger belief (reasons) why they can achieve what they want.  The next type of motivation is 2) “the Stick.” This means you are motivated “away from” pain rather than motivated “towards” the “Carrot” seeking pleasure.  For example, let’s say you want more money but find yourself not motivated to go and pick up the phone. That means that you might need to focus on what you won’t get if you don’t pick up the phone.  You will want to give yourself lots of reasons why not picking up the phone will cause you severe pain.  Generally if you are motivated away from pain, you want to set yourself up for success.  Typically when the bank account gets low this type of person will then work hard to get the bank account back to an acceptable level, but then their motivation will wear off again.  The solution is to challenge yourself to be more “stick” or “towards” motivated in the area in which you struggle; you will want to familiarize yourself with what it would be like to have your goal thus allowing you to focus on the outcome.

Feelings effect your thoughts and vice versa, and what you think about and feel most of the time shows up in your behaviors.  For example, it might be fair to say that if someone does not eat healthy, they are more likely to feel bad about it and/or think about how hard it is.  They are then in a defeated state.  The behavior is then the result of their thoughts and feelings.

If you can see what you want and get good feelings about your goals and then talk about it with enthusiasm then you will be motivated.

WHAT CAUSES PROCRASTINATION?

On the other hand, someone who procrastinates focuses on all the steps such as how much time something will take, what it will feel like at the gym to workout, and what other people say about how hard the steps are.  The internal and external language is “This is difficult and that means…” and they list all the reasons why they shouldn’t go to the gym, pick up the phone, or put money in a savings account.  Typically if they procrastinate, they are usually remembering what someone said about a certain situation. That makes them feel defeated and then of course their language supports the negative feelings that they have.
The best way to stay motivated is to see your goal (outcome) in front of you. Create a vision board to keep your goals in front of you. By making your house a “vision board” you will always be focusing on what you WANT vs. what you don’t want.  See the picture and notice what you look like, what others are saying about you, how you feel, and notice if you can smell or taste anything.  Create your destiny by focusing upon your goal and never let go of that picture until you see that goal as a reality.

If someone does not achieve their goal or does not feel their needs were met they often will feel discouraged.  If a person continually falls short of their goal, there usually is something holding them back, secondary gain or positive byproduct of the problem.