When you hit a wall and experience burnout, you wrestle with how to find your motivation and willpower. In a recent survey published by The American Psychological Association, they found that people’s lack of willpower is the leading roadblock for their inability to make healthy lifestyle changes. By breaking down the psychology and research about motivation and willpower, you can better utilize both.
Let’s start by defining what we mean by motivation and willpower. Willpower is defined as the energy to start and is closely related to self-control. Motivation is the reason one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.
Both terms are intensely personal and specific to each person. We are all motivated in different ways, but there are three important things everyone can do to AMP up their motivation:
Autonomy – Your motivation to get started and get moving is much higher when you have control, choice, and agency about what you want to do.
Mastery – When you chose a topic, career, or behavior, there is a drive towards mastery. Mastery is getting to a place of not only great performance, but also fulfilling your greatest potential.
Purpose – Purpose is discovering your “why.” Understanding the why will fuel your motivation. When you connect with your purpose you can AMP up your motivation to get started. Your CliftonStrengths are a great tool to recognizing and realizing your purpose.
This infographic provides a clear vision of how to find motivation & willpower in your life.
Ask yourself, “What is a success story in your own life where you chose to do something, power through, and finish it? What patterns did you use?” Think of the strengths you used in that success and the values that helped you through it. This is one way that you will be able to find your own success recipe to establish motivation and willpower.
What area would you like to AMP your motivation and willpower? Please share on the blog post.
If you need help to guide you into your higher purpose and your higher life, contact me HERE.
