introduction
When asked how he manages to get out of bed before sunrise day after day for almost 30 years, a university janitor who works at the university said, “I don’t negotiate with myself anymore, I just get up.” The simplicity of discipline applied with the power of daily motivation is often the difference between people who dream and those who build successful lives.
Motivation is often experienced as a dramatic explosion of energy and the impetus for greatness (the spark that propels someone forward to greatness). However, success is not generally achieved through intermittent explosive power; rather, success results from a steady, reliable commitment to achieving success. In a world filled with constant distractions and scarce patience, developing daily motivation is an incredible personal asset.
Daily motivation serves to inspire people; however, it also establishes behavioral patterns and provides motivation, reinforcement, and persistence to achieve or progress despite adversity. The fundamental point of this article is to provide three ways daily motivation contributes to an individual’s success: developing disciplined habits; creating mental toughness when faced with obstacles; and sustaining clarity regarding long-term goals.
Daily Motivation Develops Disciplined Habits
Accidentally becoming successful is very rare; most successful people have a set of habits in place that develop from constantly being motivated to develop those habits. Being talented will get you in the door, having the discipline to develop your talent will keep the door open.
Why Are Discipline and Habits More Important Than Just Occasionally Putting Effort Into Something?
Studies show that 95% of all actions performed on a daily basis are done automatically. This means when motivation becomes habitual, productivity of an action is based on structure rather than emotion.
Examples of Daily Habitual Motivation in the Real World:
- Warren Buffett reads/think’s for multiple hours per day, and the knowledge gained builds upon itself over multiple decades.
- Serena Williams was working out routinely long before any tournaments were won by her.
- Many students will study material on a daily basis, rather than cramming right before an exam.
When you do something consistently (small actions) you will see more results than when you do either nothing or just once (huge actions).
Motivation Vs. Desire
A lot of people are waiting for their mood to be good enough for them to take action on what they want; this way of thinking is not reliable, and it is normal for your mood to fluctuate.
Inspiration based vs. Motivational based:
- Inspiration based requires you to be in a mood
- Motivation based requires you to be committed
When a person has goal’s based on motivation discipline is no long viewed as having to do something but is viewed as being who they are.
Difference Between What Many People Believe Vs. Reality
The general thinking among people is that successful people have an extreme amount of willpower; in reality many of these people use creating a routine to reduce how many decisions they need to make which keeps them satisfied with their productivity level.
Rather than asking themselves, am I motivated today, high performers ask themselves how can I create a habit to make my actions more productive?
Motivation Builds Resilience Through Difficulties
Setbacks occur on every meaningful journey. Career stalls, struggles to keep a business alive, or plans made carefully have unmade themselves a thousand times. Whether someone will stop (quitting) or keep going (not quitting) is often due to their level of long-term motivation.
The Science Behind Grittiness
Psychologist Angela Duckworth studies grit and her research shows that perseverance usually overcomes pure talent. People who can sustain their motivation through difficult times are often more successful than people who depend purely on raw talent.
Motivation is emotional endurance. It’s the quiet force that allows progress to continue when outcomes are not immediately visible.
Examples of Resilience Fueled by Motivation
Thomas Edison is said to have tried thousands of materials before he finally developed an electric light bulb.
J.K. Rowling received many rejections before Harry Potter was approved for publication.
Many entrepreneurs will pivot their business model several times before they produce a successful model.
The common denominator for all these cases is that they did not experience success because they did not encounter failures; they succeeded because they did not quit.
Confidence Versus Temporary Motivation
If you experience one setback, you can lose your confidence. Motivation is based on having a purpose and not on whatever circumstance (i.e. environment) you find yourself in at any particular moment.
Here is the star point of reference around the two terms:
Confidence says “I think I can.”
Motivation says “I will keep trying after things get hard.”
In many instances, this small distinction is the determining factor in whether you achieve long-term success.
Moving Beyond the “Positive Thinking” Dilemma
Optimism is based on positive thinking.
Daily Motivation Supports Focus Towards Long Term Goals
Today it is harder to maintain focus and direction, particularly with the prevalence of instant gratification. Daily motivation can provide the compass that helps you stay focused and on course toward reaching your long-term goals, despite the numerous distractions that you may encounter along the way.
The Importance of having Direction
Without the right focus, your efforts will be aimlessly scattered throughout each day. Motivated people align their daily actions with their long-term goals in order to create a sense of intentionality in how they live.
The following are traits found among successful high-achieving professionals:
They invest in continual education, as opposed to relying on what they learned 6 months ago.
They save and invest for their future before they buy impulsively.
They take time to think strategically instead of running around reacting to the demands of others.
Every decision they make is made with a commitment to their larger vision.
Motivation vs. External Pressure
Some people rely heavily on deadlines, supervision, or environmental pressures to perform. Although these outside motivators can produce short bursts of productivity, they do not consistently yield high levels of performance.
Daily motivation is generated internally and continues to drive you to take action, regardless of whether or not anyone is watching.
The following list reflects the types of intrinsic motivators that you might have for taking sustained action:
Personal growth
Finding purpose in your work
Achieving mastery
Contributing to others
This intrinsic source of motivation is what makes your success to be durable vs. just temporary.
The Distinction of being Goal-Obsessed
Interestingly enough, motivation is NOT about obsessing over long-term results. Rather, motivation has a large focus on your progress as you head toward reaching your long-term outcomes.
Instead of starting with an outcome-oriented approach to getting things done, try using a progress-oriented approach to getting things done.
calculation
Daily motivation isn’t the loud, shiny, or dramatic thing we think of when we envision the idea of motivation; daily motivation is often much quieter and much more personal; it’s the ability to follow through on an action despite having excuses available to you.
Motivation is a critical part of developing a successful life and building disciplined habits that develop resiliency in hard times, and help keep focused on the end result. Motivation builds momentum and compounds over time from the combination of these three things.
Ideas for Creating Daily Motivation
Every day, start with a clear “first” thing to accomplish.
Create routines that make it less likely that you’ll be affected by your day-to-day emotions.
Make sure that you celebrate your small victories consistently to reinforce them.
When your motivation starts to wane, revisit what your Long-Term Goals are.
If we look ahead to the future, we see that the ability to sustain one’s motivation will be a more valuable commodity than any other single thing. Although the impact of automation may change the face of many industries, the human ability to sustain effort (Persistence), direct effort (purpose), and create opportunities on their own (Diligence) is irreplaceable.
Success is rarely achieved by one big event. Success is achieved in everyday, small events — getting up early, working hard, and refusing to give up (when no one is looking).
Start now
Choose one small action that is of significance to you, and commit to doing that same thing tomorrow. As you continue this process of daily motivation, it will not only affect your actions but will also change who you are.