Motivation is a Myth

Yes I said it, MOTIVATION is a unicorn, myth, absolute bullsh@t… So please do not call me a “Motivational Speaker,” because I’m not one.

Motivation is the reason for people's actions, desires, and needs. Motivation is also one's direction to behaviour, or what causes a person to want to repeat a behaviour. A motive is what prompts the person to act in a certain way, or at least develop an inclination for specific behaviour.

Motivation – Wikipedia:

“Motivation is the reason for people's actions, desires, and needs.” No, it is not! If you are going to wait to feel motivated to do something in your life, it will never get done. If you’re waiting for some public speaker to motivate you, then I promise you it is going to be a short-lived emotion. Well, let's put it this way, while you are sitting around waiting to feel motivated to take action, motivation is sitting next to you waiting for you to get your butt off the couch. We are never going to feel motivated to implement change because it means we need to change a habit, and we do love our little habits!

We don't feel like eating healthily, exercising, doing that sales report or cleaning the garage, but why don't we do them? We know we must, but why not? Well, it is all your brain's fault, not the whole 1.4 Kg of grey and white slush, but a special part called the basal ganglia. It is responsible for making and storing our habits. When you get a great idea like: let's go wash the car (great ideas happen in the prefrontal cortex; okay, not all ideas are great – especially not mine), you have only a short period of time to move to action before your basal ganglia talks you out of it.

Basal ganglia, the great persuader: “No, sit. That show is starting soon. It's going to rain tomorrow. I’ll take it to the car wash later.” Yeah, that is what happens, hey. We fall back into the habit our basal ganglia presents to us and there we meander forth sitting and playing on Facebook for hours. No amount of motivation is going to get you to do stuff that you must, but don't feel like doing. Here is why we do it.

Motivation is a Myth. Remember when we learned to drive, there were so many things we had to remember and do at the same time, it was mind boggling! Well, that was your prefrontal cortex at work, your action brain. Now we get home and can't even remember if we stopped at that traffic light on our way home. We over-think most of our life-changing decisions everyday, which leads to bad choices and stagnation (my new Keynote: ‘We are the Choices we Make’). But do not fear, there is hope!

Metacognition: To be aware and understand your own thought processes. That first idea ‘let's wash the car’ is the thought process you are aware of but you’ve only got a few seconds before your basal ganglia steps in. So what I want you to do is to take action within 5 seconds of that first thought, stand up and move, raise your hand and say your say, leave in the middle of Facebook and go do it! That is taking action and taking control, not waiting for motivation. There are many forums of metacognition, but my friend Mel Robbins explains it best in her book 5-Second Rule.

I INSPIRE to ACTION so you can implement CHANGE.

5-4-3-2-1.... NOW is the time to take control of your life!

I’m a global innovator, adversity expert and multi award-winning entrepreneur, my concepts on business and disruptive forces of life have changed the views of many people around the world. I’m a professional conference speaker whose content is fresh and authentic. For more information and social media links you can find me at: www.martinbrown.co.za