Motivation over Willpower

We often default to relying on our willpower to get things done, whether that’s for exercise, yoga, or eating better. And no doubt, our willpower eventually runs out. We miss a day doing yoga. A day turns into, a week, and suddenly we’ve forgotten about it. We start with good intentions, but all we’re relying on is willpower. It’s like relying on our memory to remember a number someone told us. Sure, it will work out sometimes, but it’s a risky business.

If willpower is not the answer, what is? How can we reliably do the things our best self wants & believes we should do?

Motivation.

Motivation is the flipside of willpower, it’s when our body inherently wants to do it. We would have to use willpower to stop ourselves! It’s putting our body mind & body into alignment, winding the spring, and letting it go. I’m going to talk about three ways to create & sustain motivation around the thing you want to do.

Create & Sustain the Necessity

I’ve talked in other posts about necessity. It really is a super power if we can learn to put it to use. Brendon Buchard, a high-performance coach one asked a gold medal sprinter “who would you put your money on to win a sprint?”, the answer: The one who says: “I’m doing this for my mum”.

Wow, take that in. Although the training, talent and focus are all part of it, the thing it comes down to is the need to do this, the emotional power of doing this for someone else. Either to prove yourself, to encourage others, to go beyond just you. What makes you go that extra effort? What drives you to push beyond your natural limits?

Knowing what it is that makes you go beyond yourself, it’s time to make this part of your routine. Checking into this thought regularly. Think about who it is your doing this for. Creating a mental go to, to raise your motivation when you need it. If you can’t find anything or person or thought that makes you want to not give up, it’s time to find it. It might be your being too complacent in your current situation. We have to deepen our gratitude, appreciation and desire for life. And in doing so, create a want to raise our expectations for ourselves to serve others.

Exercise: Choose 5 people close to you, whether they’re family members or friends. Beside each person’s name, write your emotional need to go beyond yourself for them. Is it to be a role model? Is it to support them? Is it to prove yourself?

In action: I’m on the couch and have the thought “I probably should do some yoga.”, but really don’t feel like it. You don’t feel like moving & would much rather stay here scrolling social media. Here remind yourself of the necessity to do this. Run the thought you’ve created that generates your necessity. Is it so I can play with your kids more often? Is it to release stress so I can be more present with your spouse? Bring it back to the reason you want to go higher. To create the best life for your family, to be a role model for your brother. Move from: not wanting to do it — to wanting to do it — to needing to do it.

To sustain the necessity, regularly come back to the deeper reason why you’re doing this. Create a thought you can come back to that can become your necessity trigger.

Remove the decision making

Decision making can derail us at any time. If we’re already mentally fatigued or on edge about doing this thing, having to make decisions is going to put a stop to any hope of doing it. This can be decisions about getting set up to do yoga, to the decisions you take whilst doing it. So create a system that removes these decisions. This can be where you do it, what equipment you use, what clothes you wear, what yoga poses to do, should I follow a video or do it myself?

All these things are potential potholes we can fall into on our way to doing some yoga. So when you’ve got mental clarity, create a system that removes all these decisions. Create a space where you’ll always do your yoga. Have clothes you know will always be available to you (or better, do them in the clothes you’ve got on). The most important one: have a routine you don’t have to think about.

This where MyYoga Timer App can help. It’s designed to remove the decision making out of your yoga practice. You just click the routine you want to do and follow the cues. No skipping ads & having to find different videos to follow along to. The minimal app gives you a clear route, between you & your yoga.

Get ‘pumped’

One of the hardest times we face is when we feel like we just don’t have the energy to get up, let alone do yoga. We can try to exert a goliath amount of willpower to get ourselves up, most of the time probably not. The alternative here is to ‘get pumped’. Other words for it might be: get geared up, get psyched up, get fired up. What this means is get your body excited for it.

Try bobbing your body up and down just where you are, whether it’s in your bed or chair. While doing this, think about getting up and doing it. Next, get up and bob on your toes the way you see athletes do before events. The action of back & forward or up & down helps get you in sync with your body.

Breath in a pattern like runners do, alternating with fast deep breaths & slow deep breaths. Use your voice. Feel the force of your voice, whether creating a low drone, a chant, or a series of “yes’s” or “let’s go”. It’s all about generating energy from within you. These three things: moving, breathing & using your voice align your mind with your body, allowing them to work in sync with each other.

Conclusion

We often rely on willpower to consistently do things like exercise & healthy eating. This is a medieval alternative to generating & sustaining motivation for ourselves. There are reliable ways to generate motivation around the thing we want to do: raise the necessity, remove the decision making & ‘get pumped’. Next time you don’t feel like doing your yoga session, think about how you can raise your motivation, not your willpower.