You don’t need motivation to achieve your goals
“I can’t get motivated.”
I hear it from my clients all the time. And I get it. My brain loves to offer me this thought.
You think motivation is the golden ticket you need to get into Willy Wonka’s magical candy kingdom of goal achievement.
But here’s the thing: Motivation is overrated.
Motivation is that person who only texts you when they want a booty call. It's inconsistent. Unpredictable. Frustrating.
You feel motivated one second and then POOF it's gone. And you're left feeling like something's gone wrong or something’s wrong with you. You feel shame, anxious and….unmotivated.
So you wait for lightning to strike again. And in the meantime do one of two things:
Force yourself to take action toward your goals for a short while until you eventually give up
Choose to sit on the couch, watching Netflix, hoping motivation will text you a “Hey, U up?”
The emotion that helps you achieve your goals.
I’d like to introduce you to motivation’s cousin, Commitment.
Commitment isn't as "sexy" as motivation. Sometimes commitment wears sweatpants. But commitment always answers the phone. Commitment always shows up.
Here’s an example:
You’re finishing a long day at work. Yes, you’d planned to go to the gym. But you’re tired and the last thing you want to do is go workout. Your spot on the couch calls your name. Motivation has ghosted you. Motivation is hanging out with some hoochie somewhere behind your back.
But then you think about WHY you’d planned to work out. You’re training for a race. You’re doing a fitness challenge. You want to look good in a swimsuit or dance around your living room naked. You want to climb stairs without getting winded. You want to have the energy to play with your kids. Boom. Commitment is ringing your phone. Commitment is #relationshipgoals.
If you feel committed to your goals, you don’t need motivation to achieve them.
Tap into commitment
Commitment is an emotion that comes from your thoughts. And you can feel it by asking yourself a few simple questions:
Why do you want to achieve your goals?
Why is it important?
Why will you achieve it, no matter what?
Honestly, I don’t care what your reasons are. They don’t need to be deep and meaningful. They might be “superficial.” The important thing is that you feel an emotional shift when you think about them. You feel committed.
Your reasons need to be more compelling than the immediate gratification of sitting on the couch, not doing the thing.
Don't wait for motivation to text you back when you have commitment ready to run off into the sunset with you.
If you’re ready to finally get things done but you haven’t been able to do it on your own, then we should talk.
Hi! I’m Erica
Wife to Brendan. Mom to twins + one. Dog mom. Slow runner. Coffee drinker. GIF enthusiast.
I’m a licensed mental health therapist and life coach and career coach. I help you accomplish in 6 months that thing you’ve been thinking about doing for years.
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