Motion Before Motivation Doesn’t Work all the time
Well that’s pretty gutsy of me huh – to say “Motion Before Motivation doesn’t work all the time?” After all, if you’re a regular reader of my articles you know “Motion Before Motivation” is the title of one of my books. So why would I bring this up??
Here’s why…
If you’ve read the book, you know one of the true principles of success. And if you ask a dozen successful people – people you respect for creating and living lives of fulfillment they’ll back me up on this… Getting started FIRST, even when you don’t feel motivated makes all the difference in the world.
I’ve connected with readers from all over who have shared their stories of putting things in motion and then feeling the fire of motivation to keep going ignite inside them. I have no doubt that taking action first really works. I have no doubt that little actions can lead to bigger success. Yes, it works! But, it doesn’t work all the time and I experienced its failure the other day. Here’s what happened…
In years past when I operated my “brick and mortar” businesses I, along with my partner, some “hired guns” and a couple employees usually did most of our own renovation work. Occasionally, our place needed a paint job. On a few occasions we decided changing the layout would help us grow. Other times we opened new facilities or moved. Each time we did the brunt of the “labor.” Why? Mainly to save money. And partly because, not including me, there were people on our team who really weren’t bad a swinging hammers and doing this type of work. There’s no doubt if you’re “handy” or someone close to you is handy you can save a few bucks.
Over the years I stopped embracing “handy work.” Two reasons really… One, I really was not good at it. Yes, I was able to follow along and take simple directions and work as part of a team, but I really wasn’t useful for anything else. And two, because I realized it’s more productive to work your true talents then try to be good at everything. Some things are better left to professionals. Back in 2005, I made a proclamation I would never again engage myself in work I wasn’t suited for.
Never say never of course! Since then I have done some painting. Once, with the guidance of my late Father-in-Law, my wife and I did a basic remodel of our kitchen when we lived in Philadelphia.
Nowadays whenever I engage in this type of work I usually end up taking direction from Jamie, my wife, who, by the way, enjoys “household projects” much more than me! In-spite of my total incompetence, with the help of some good friends and an occasional good neighbor. things actually get done (no thanks to me!). So what’s this have to do with “Motion Before Motivation” not working all the time??
Here’s what…
The last project involved moving some rocks from along the drive-way to around the new above ground swimming pool. This involved a little raking, a little shoveling and a little hauling. Was I motivated to work on this project? A little, simply because I knew it was important to Jamie and I didn’t want to be a total jerk. And yea— it did make sense to fill in the area around the pool. Logically the project was sound. So I got in motion. I started digging and raking the rocks into a pile to be moved. I was in motion which usually leads to “motivation.” Yea, usually! But not in the case. About thirty-five minutes into it I was not motivated any more. The initial “excitement” of accomplishing this task was wearing off. The truth was the motion was not leading to motivation, it was leading to fatigue, day-dreaming and plotting to figure out what I can do instead.
So here’s the conclusion and the secrets to making “Motion Before Motivation” work for you…
1- The goals you are working on need to be goals you’ve identified and want to achieve for your own reasons. It’s OK to have goals in common with your team/family, but those goals need to excite every one, especially you.
2- The tasks associated with accomplishing the goals need to utilize talents and skills you possess. Face it, when we are good at something confidence increases. In-fact, one of the roots of confidence is competence. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all about fun either! There are times when you might be working toward your goals and utilizing your talents when you’re not having “fun.” As Larry Winget says, “It’s called work for a reason.” But, if you’re working toward goals that are yours the “grunt” work is a necessary part of it.
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