For many people, maintaining a consistent exercise routine, good nutrition habits, or a creative practice is a challenge.
Many start strong and then get off track at the first speed bump.
One of the most common challenges clients bring me is the feeling of
I know what I should do, but I can’t make myself do it.
So what’s going on?
This often gets labeled as a motivation “problem,” such as “losing motivation” or “not feeling motivated,” but that is too general to be informative.
2 Types of Motivation
Motivation is your reason for doing something — your WHY.
Motivation falls into two categories: extrinsic and intrinsic.
Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation is based on external factors: you want to do the activity to receive a reward, achieve a specific outcome, or avoid pain or punishment.
When it comes to exercise, maybe you want to fit into a dress, lose weight, gain strength, look ripped, or have better long-term health. Perhaps you want to run a race complete some other athletic achievement.
With habits like exercise and nutrition, extrinsic motivators are often long-term rewards or outcomes. Even progress doesn’t show up that quickly.
When you don’t see progress or reach your outcome quickly, it’s easy to lose interest in the activity or believe it isn’t going to work.
It’s not that your motivation fades. You still have the reason — you still want the longevity, the six-pack, the weight loss.
Instead, it’s that you lose belief that the activity can deliver the outcome. You lose confidence that what you’re doing will lead to the desired result.
That’s a loss of hope or belief, not a loss of motivation.
Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation stems from internal satisfaction and personal enjoyment. You do the activity for the inherent satisfaction or joy of the activity.
When you have intrinsic motivation, you love the process, independent of the reward.
You may be pursuing mastery, or find deeper purpose in your actions, such as developing competence.
If you find exercise boring, it’s going to be hard to sustain an exercise routine.
But if you love exercise and like to challenge yourself with new activities daily, you’ll sustain a routine.
You Need a Mix of Motivators
When it comes to sustaining long-term habits, extrinsic motivation can help you set your sights on a path. But learning to love the process is essential to staying on the path.
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