| MOTIVATION IS OVER-RATED! |
Let me explain the title. Over the past 15 years or so I have had many opportunities to give a lecture on the subject of motivation. I had such an opportunity at Nancy Andrew’s Pro Series weekend in January. Due to the amount of positive feedback that I receive about this lecture, I felt compelled to share it with the masses.
I will usually start the seminar off with a statement like “I don’t want my clients (personal training) to be motivated.” At this point in time I usually pause to gauge the climate in the room. I see every facial expression from blank stares to utter confusion to “this guy is out of his mind” type of smirks. Now, of course, I need to shed some light on my absurd statement.
You see, to me, the answer is in the definition. What does “motivation” mean to you? To me, motivation is a short term boost in energy or focus that allows us to complete the task at hand. For example, if you are struggling on your last set of bench press and your training partner screams in your ear “C’mon Man! Do another one!” That might give you the motivation to complete another repetition. Although this type of “motivation” is required to occasionally break though some barriers, what does that one rep really get you? Did that one rep cause you to gain the 15 pounds you need to be competitive with the big boys? Did that one rep cause you to become so lean that Dave Goodin just doesn’t feel right being called the “Shredder”? Did that one rep cause you to go from also-ran novice to four-time World Champ Nancy Andrews overnight? I didn’t think so.
The other aspect about motivation that troubles me is the word itself. The word has lost its power. It has been used so frequently in today’s society that it no longer carries any weight. You have probably heard a dozen people in the last week say “I’m just not motivated” or “I just can’t seem to find the motivation”. There is no guilt associated with that statement anymore. People don’t feel bad after saying something like that.
Let’s change the word to see if we can add more power. I like the word “commitment”. Now try making the same type of statements. “I just can’t make a commitment (to my spouse, my job, my health, myself, etc).” How does that make you feel? Feeling a little guilty maybe? Not something you want to shout from the rooftops? Good! We just gained instant power.
Motivation is something that comes around when things are going your way. Motivation is fun. Motivation is cheerleaders and fireworks and the “Rocky” theme playing in the background. I love both of my jobs (as a police officer and a personal trainer), but, I am not motivated to go to work every day. Yet, I still go. There are people that I know who cry everyday on their way to work because they hate their job so much. Yet, they never miss a day. Are they motivated? Heck, no!
What they are is “committed”. They have commitments to their kids, wife, co-workers, mortgage company, etc, etc. They are at a point where they feel like they “need” to go to work. They don’t believe they have a choice. The other commitments they have are so strong that they are compelled to go to a job that they cannot stand. Commitment is when you do something even if circumstances are not working in your favor. You do it whether you want to or not. You may not be motivated to go to work everyday but you are committed. Commitment will beat motivation every time.
Commitment is far more important to your success as a bodybuilder than motivation will ever be. Dieting is not glamorous. There are no training partners and cheerleaders and fireworks watching over you every time you eat or drink. Your commitment needs to be strong enough for you to forge through hunger and cravings. Your commitment is the tool that will allow you to sacrifice cookouts, holidays and family vacations. Motivation won’t cut it. Motivation is not the right tool for the job. This is where the title of this story comes from.
I would imagine that most of you have been exposed to some type of self improvement propaganda. I will not beat a dead horse by reiterating an entire goal setting exercise for you. There a plenty of resources for you to be able to do that. What I will do is ask you to consider a couple of things before attempting to develop a goal setting game plan.
I want you to be entirely thorough in a self evaluation. Most goal setting exercises focus on what you want and how to develop a game plan to get there. But, how do we know what makes us tick? How do we know that the techniques we chose to help us reach our goals are appropriate for us?
We need to know how we operate. I need you to ask yourself two questions. First, “What type of learner am I?” and second “Do I move towards things or away from things”?
We all learn through three major modalities, the visual, the auditory, and the kinesthetic. Although we learn using all three we have a tendency to favor one over the others. You need to figure out which type of learning you rely on.
Visual people respond best to visual representations like pictures, videos and colors. If you are a visually based person you would want to focus on techniques that are visually stimulating.
I happen to be auditory based. I need to hear sounds, music and voices. When I am lecturing, I am usually focusing on the sound of my voice. Visual interruptions don’t have the same effect as audio interruptions. If there is movement in the room I can usually lecture without a problem. Noises, on the other hand, tend to disrupt my patterns somewhat.
Kinesthetic learners need to feel what they are doing. They need to touch it and feel it.
Let’s take changing the oil in your car as an example. A visual person would probably be able to get it right by seeing a diagram. An auditory person would operate better if someone explained it to him. And, a kinesthetic person would need to get his hands right in there and start working before he truly understood.
As you can see, if you choose the wrong technique to trigger a response you would be doing yourself a disservice. “Rocky” music won’t have the same effect on the visual person as it does on the auditory one.
Start being cognizant about what makes you operate. What do you pay attention to when you are communicating with someone? Is it their voice, their facial expressions, body language? What type of advertising attracts you? You should be able to pick this up in a very short amount of time, possibly only a few minutes. You just need to ask yourself the question.
The second question asks whether you move towards things or away from things. Are you a person who is driven by excellence or are you driven by fear? Neither is better than the other. Fear can be an incredibly powerful tool if it is recognized and used properly. Fear can also cripple.
The best way to explain this theory is by example. A person who moves towards something might want to cut out a picture of the bodybuilder who they admire or want to be like the most. Putting that picture on the fridge would serve as a source of inspiration for that person. By comparison, someone who moves away would want to put up a picture of someone that they would not want to look like. A picture of yourself in the worst shape of your life might serve as a source of inspiration. Be sure to understand this when creating your “toolbox” of inspirational techniques.
These evaluations should be critical in the development of your goal setting game plan. Your next steps should be to define your goals, make a commitment to carry them out and develop a plan of action based on your own individual characteristics and personality traits. Throw in a little over-rated motivation every once in a while and you have yourself a winning formula for success!
Bill Murphy is a WNBF Pro, certified personal trainer and the president of High & Tight Fitness Systems. He can be reached for consultations, guest posing or motivational lectures at bill01@rcn.com. |
| Published on: 2006-10-31 Published by: Bill Murphy |
