Let’s put on our thinking hats and take an inventory of our sidelined ideas. A good question might be, “How many projects have I forgone in the last 6 months to a year?”
Can you remember your New Year’s Resolutions? How are they going for you?
Do you have books you never read or toys you bought but never used? What happened to all those plans you had when standing in line for the cashier holding your new widget or thingamabob? You intended to use your new toy to accomplish something extraordinary. Where is your inspiration now?
Do you ever wonder how you can start working on a vision/dream with so much energy and inspiration, only to be left motionless and uninspired after completing the first 2% of the goal? What happened to all of this motivation you had in the beginning?
In my profession, I hear many clients asking me about motivation. “I want to feel motivated,” “I want to have more motivation,” “Can you teach me how to motivate myself?” etc. Commonly, people have an inaccurate understanding of what motivation is all about. People are waiting for all the feel-good neurochemicals. They want to feel inspired, eager with anticipation, and the novelty of doing the NEW thing. Once that inspiration fades and the novelty has lost its sparkle, people are left to work without the bliss of starting something fresh. They are left with the work and no incentive to perform. This is because they started the work with Enthusiasm and not with Motivation.
What’s the difference? I am glad you asked. Today, we will properly define five keywords to help you with your productivity. Enthusiasm, Motivation, Purpose, Identity, and Values.
Enthusiasm, not motivation, is what most people mistakenly implement when engaging in the new shiny bliss of starting a task or project. Enthusiasm is influenced by novelty, inspiration, and lots of EXTERNAL factors at work. Enthusiasm wanes over time. Motivation, however, is driven by INNER influences.
Motivation endures long after the novelty has worn off. Motivation continues when inspiration fades. Look at your top performers in sports. They show up for practice no matter what. They get into a fight with their spouse, but they still show up for practice. They have to talk to the principal at their kids’ school because of truancy issues; they still show up for practice. They have a death in the family; they STILL show up for practice. Long after the enthusiasm is gone, the great professional competitors still show up to do the work and continue to perform at peak levels. What makes motivation so different from enthusiasm?
Motivation is driven by Purpose. Purpose is your set of reasons that satisfy your need to live authentically according to your Identity. Your identity is created based on the Values you hold at the center of your existence.
- Values: “I value generosity, hard work, and love.”
- Identity: “I am a giving person. I give my time and my creative talent.”
- Purpose of the Project: “I am hand-making this gift for my mom because I love her and I show my love through hard work and giving a gift that I am proud of.”
- Motivation: “I am driven to complete this handmade birthday card to show how much I love my mom.”
- Enthusiasm: “This project will be so much fun. My mom will be so happy when she receives this handmade birthday card. I can’t wait to see her reaction and to hear her say ‘thank you.’”
Do you see how motivation is driven by your identity in the present? Whereas, your enthusiasm is driven by assuming future possibilities that are not guaranteed?
Oftentimes, we run into challenges that can only be accomplished by motivation, not enthusiasm. It is possible to be very motivated while being the polar opposite of enthusiastic. One extreme example of motivation without enthusiasm occurred in June 6 1944, D-Day, World War 2. One hundred and sixty thousand highly motivated Allied soldiers invaded a 50-mile stretch of beach in France. All of them were motivated, and all of them had a great purpose. They felt a deep conviction in their souls to fight for what is right. This is motivation, not enthusiasm. I am not sure if many soldiers were enthusiastic that day about the possibility of never seeing their families again. Never coming home. I doubt those soldiers would feel enthusiastic about their challenges or the losses they would witness.
A duty and a purpose bound these men. This purpose was built on an identity. “I LOVE MY COUNTRY. I AM A SOLDIER. I WILL FIGHT UNTIL THE LAST BEAT OF MY HEART”. This is Value, Identity, and Purpose. These are what create motivation. These men stormed the beaches of Normandy without being coerced into this kind of action with a dose of good and happy feelings created from assumptions of novelty, interest, or reward. They fought without knowing whether they would succeed or be remembered for their efforts. Enthusiasm needs these external influences (novelty, attractiveness, accomplishment, and reward). Enthusiasm is short-lived. Motivation gives you the will to fight daily without a promise of victory.
Most of us will endure far more mundane examples of working with motivation but without enthusiasm. We will all face challenges where enthusiasm is a luxury that is not available when we need it. Nothing will be novel about cleaning up after your baby gets sick in the car for the 9th time in two weeks. Where is the motivation? It is tied to a great purpose that is anchored to an identity. “I AM a loving and supportive parent.” That is an identity that creates a great purpose to motivate you, whether you feel inspired to clean up the mess in the car or not.
Using enthusiasm that is closely tied to an outcome ensures that the enthusiasm will only reappear at the end when the goal is in sight. Deriving meaning from an outcome ensures that enthusiasm will only be a fair-weather fan. This enthusiasm only arrives AFTER you win the Super Bowl…not before. This enthusiasm will not be at your side throughout the season. Enthusiasm will not wake you up at 5 am to workout at the gym, nor will it drive you to review game footage at 10:30 pm. But motivation will.
Proper motivation that endures the struggles of boredom, resistance, and doubt is forged in the identity that you carry with you. Identity creates purpose, and purpose drives our motivation. This kind of purpose needs to permeate all of our deepest passions to remind us of why we continue to work so hard.
“I AM a great student”. Any behavior that seeks to damage this identity will bring stress and doubt. You can either change the behavior or change the identity. Change the behavior? “I will start going to the professor’s office hours because I AM a great student.” This identity gives me the purpose of being on time for the professor’s office. Or you can change the identity to something that allows for poor behaviors? “I am an average student” is an identity that justifies habits of escapism and time wasting. Anytime the identity does not match the behaviors, there will be stress.
If you want to learn if you have been correctly applying motivation to your projects or if you are wasting your time waiting for enthusiasm to move you into action; just schedule a free get-acquainted session with me or any of our great coaches at The Center for Living Well with ADHD.
Nate Hooper, CALC
ADHD Coach and Life Coach, Executive Skills Coach