Motivation is an interesting thing, which occurs in varying levels for most people. But, why is that? It’s because the carrot is not enticing enough for you to be truly motivated.
Yesterday I was having a conversation with my boss. He’s an avid runner who runs six miles a day and does most of his thinking when he runs. For me, as you know, it’s surfing. What was interesting is that he wasn’t always a runner. I figured anybody who runs six miles everyday must ran cross country track in high school, but that wasn’t the case.
When he was younger, he broke his leg playing flag football. As a result he had to spend time in physical therapy. Most of the people who came to physical therapy were athletes and had a serious motivation to really push it and recover. My boss told me that getting through physical therapy in order to walk to his car in the parking lot wasn’t the right level of motivation. The carrot was just not enticing enough. So, he decided to run a marathon, which in turn increased his motivation level. Several years later he’s still a runner.
What’s the point to this story? It’s quite simple. If you’re not finding a level motivation to do something, it’s simply because the carrot is not enticing enough. Let’s look at an example that most of us can relate to, our blogs. I remember when I started blogging I had a conversation with Alex at Unleash Reality and said “Yeah, I’ll be happy when I have a job and make a few hundred bucks a month off my blog.” He said “a few hundred, more like a few thousand.” Looking back I didn’t realize the importance of what he said. But, a few thousand dollars is way more enticing than a few hundred. As a result of I’ve really pushed myself far beyond where I thought I would be.
So, what is it about a few thousand dollars that makes you work harder to achieve the goal? Personal development guru, Tony Robbins often says part of the reason that people don’t achieve goals is because the goals are not exciting enough. The idea of having extra cash to pay my utilities from a blog is really not that exciting. Sure, it’s nice, but at the end of the day I can pay my utilities with my paycheck. The idea of financial independence and no longer being dependent on a job for income is actually much more exciting.
Many of you know about my interviews with up and coming bloggers series. The incentive for ultimate freedom has been a driving force behind the launch that I’ve been working on. As of yesterday, BlogcastFM is no longer an afterthought, but a reality. While I would love you for you to go to the site, what would be really important is that you determine what motivates you enough to follow through on your dreams? Make the carrot enticing enough.
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{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Why is it always the carrot and the stick?
I’m not a donkey….
Can I have the Mars Bar and the Riding Crop instead?
Oh, wait.
They’re both rewards… damn.
Good article, it’s given me some nasty ideas for later!
Stuart´s last blog ..Nice Day For A Full Spectrum Wedding Photo…
@Stuart, I’ll try to find a better analogy than carrot and stick for my next article
.,
Great motivational piece. Finding or should I say determining what makes you wanna go that extra mile is the foundation for building success
Roschelle´s last blog ..So What Do You Want to Be Called? Hurry Up and Make Up Your Mind!!!
@Rochelle: Absolutely. You have to really know what’s going be the thing that’s going to get you to push your limits.
One quick disclaimer. For those of you on the other side of the world already commenting on this blog, BlogcastFM (the site I mentioned in this post) will be ready in about 1.5 hrs.
Really looking forward to the launch Srinivas.
Looking forward to the launch!
Ken Kurosawa´s last blog ..Overcoming the Want of Praise
@Ken: I think it’s up and running. Technically the word is not going to be out till tomorrow, but get your hands on a copy of our blogger Gems ebook.
Srini,
I’m currently reading Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink. I’m only halfway through the book, but it has already been worth the price to buy it. Pink distinguishes external motivators — i.e. the carrot and the stick — from internal motivators — i.e. autonomy, mastery, and purpose. It’s a very interesting book.
Mark Cancellieri´s last blog ..In the Long Run, We Are All Dead.
@Mark: I’ve been hearing quite a bit about that book. Thanks for putting it on my radar. I’ll add it to my list of books to read.
I’m still convinced that the best book on what drives us is “The 120 Days Of Sodom”…
It’s a masterpiece of discourse on autonomy and mastery.
It’s also a great work of religious and political satire.
(Go on, admit it, you all think De Sade was a complete pervert who only wrote about sexual depravity… he wasn’t, and his works have been much maligned simply because of the whole S&M thing… argh…)
Stuart´s last blog ..Nice Day For A Full Spectrum Wedding Photo…
I’m a big believer in taking baby steps and using small enough goals to have the motivation to keep going (have something to achieve each day, and have mini-celebration every time you achieve something).
But you are right, if such a small goal would be all of it, I wouldn’t even get started. I have to go with the end (super-exciting goal) in mind at all times, but keep my eye on the next small step.
Antti Kokkonen´s last blog ..Give it Away for Free
@Antti: I think that it’s kind of an interesting point you bring up. The launch of this project was a bigger goal but it was built over several months through the ability to interview many people so it’ kind of incorporate both smaller and bigger goals. I agree that you should have baby steps, but I think they should be part of a larger goal.
Hey dude, congrats on the launch of BlogCastFM. I know you mentioned it in Jordan’s Ustream yesterday (nice to meet you in there). I look forward to watching it grow.
@David: Glad to see you over here. If we’re on your radar, I figured we must be have done a thing or two right. We’ll be in touch with you pretty soon about interviewing you
Definitely agree with this. Your hear this all the time. People aren’t motivated to do stuff…like lose weight. They don’t do anything UNTIL there’s a real motivation, like the potential of death, before they take any action. I guess the carrot would be to not die.
Steve Scott Site´s last blog ..The Key to Success?
It’s sad, but true. The fact that it takes the prospect of death to get motivated is really unfortunate. But the good thing is we can use this very positive ways too.
I didn’t start running until I was 29…next thing you know I’m doing triathlons and half-marathons…but I’m a bit like your boss in that example.
My goal started at 3k/month, then 5k/month, soon will be 10k/month.
I’m always pushing that carrot a bit further out.
Nathan Hangen´s last blog ..Podcast: 5 Year Plan
@Nathan: That’s a great example. The one mistake i think we can make is getting to content. While we have to find a balance I think it’s necessary to keep having enticing carrots. I’m kind of the same way with surfing. LAst summer I thought 3-4 foot waves and I’m happy. Now it’s 5-7ft and as my skills improve I’ll probably want bigger challenges.
Goal without action is dead. We are fast to give up upon failing, slow in persevering to see the success which may be just a few feet away. In order to keep myself motivated, I setup quarterly goals which help me to evaluate on my progress; give me a push whenever I need it. Let it be a reminder, while one step closer to realize our dreams. ^^ Best wishes to all.
@wchingya
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Ching Ya´s last blog ..6 Status Updates Scheduler for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
Wonderful post and congrats on your launch, Srinivas.
I continue to look at the ultimate long-term goal, but find it most important to have in place some check points by which to measure progress. When you hit these check points, it brings a level of success and reassures that continuing along that path will eventually deliver the ultimate goal.
Jimi Jones´s last blog ..How To Use Google’s Wonder Wheel to Find a Niche
@Jimi: Well said. Check points are key because if we feel like we are not making progress we are likely to give up on the greater goal.
One thing that I feel I have learned in business is that when it comes down to the golden carrot the carrot is never the money, it’s always something else. You can take the worst employee and put them in a $30 million a year position, before you know it they will still be the worst employee.
Extreme John´s last blog ..A Day in the Life of.. Episode 1 [video]
Great Post Srini,
It took me a long time to realize that my goals weren’t exciting enough for me to reach them. For me my goals were becoming a published novelist and making top revenue at my headhunting firm. Both of these goals were motivated by personal pride, not my passion.
Kenji Crosland´s last blog ..Guest Post Giveaway
great reminder about motivation.
For me motivation comes from pushing the boundaries, I have done marathongs, ultra marathons etc but I also push my boundaries by reading.
yeah you got it right, reading. I’m a dumb ass and really have to work hard to write and read properly.
As for goals, I live everyday to push the last, anything else is a bonus
TheInfoPreneur´s last blog ..Cease Fire, Cease Fire – Leave Your Ego At The Door For This One
First of all, congratulations on getting BlogcastFM up and running, it’s a great resource, something I’ll be coming back to. Motivation is a relatively complicated subject in my mind and something I am writing about a lot lately myself. While I agree with your central argument here, I think this only applies when you are setting goals you think have a payoff for you that you can see. But in a lot of self development it’s what you don’t see (or don’t know about) that can provide a real payoff. Don’t get me wrong, your argument holds but there is value in working towards something even if the carrot is as apparent.
Again, congratulations on BlogcastFM, nice work there.//Marc
Marc Winitz´s last blog ..Mind Pushups – Understanding Focus
Only when I can’t even fathom having to face the alternative to reaching a particular goal can I be sure that I am aiming my efforts in the right direction. And as soon as a person achieves one goal that they once thought was virtually unreachable, they need to make sure the bar keeps rising in order to maintain that motivation.
Great article Srinivas, it’s made me re-evaluate where I am at the moment!
Earl´s last blog ..Guest Post at Quest4Balance.com!