How to get motivated - create a need to succeed!

When thinking about being motivated to do something, most people think about what they want. Now of course it’s great to want the focus of your motivation, however, often wanting alone is not enough. Why? Simply because we are often used to not necessarily getting things that we want, even things that we might really want, like a bigger house or finding ‘the one’. Because many people might daydream about getting these kinds of things and think ‘if only’, there is something within that that makes them seem unobtainable or far from our grasp.

If we compare this, however to things we actually decide we need, it is a different story. Once there is a real need for something we tend to become very resourceful and determined in order to obtain it. A genuine need creates an automatic sense of motivation and our goal moves from being a pipe dream to something we are planning and actively working toward achieving.
If we look at this idea in terms of say, learning a language, we can see how it works. Countless times I have heard colleagues and friends say that they would ‘like’ to learn another language. Some have then taken the next step and begun classes, because they decided that they really do want to learn it. However, often even though they wanted it enough to put things into action, very few of them got beyond a handful of holiday phrases and the ability to ask their way to the train station. Probably not the dream of unfaltering fluent español they had in mind!
When I think of my clients there are two that immediately spring to mind who made far more progress though. One had signed up to do a university year abroad - and then found that all of the lectures would be in Spanish. The other was starting a wine making initiative in France. For both of these individuals to succeed, they needed to learn the language well enough to be understood and to understand. Both are now fluent speakers of their respective language.

As I type we are currently in the throws of the fist part of a second wave of Covid-19. Many areas are already seeing increased restrictions. As such people are, once again, beginning to take up new hobbies or interests. So how can you get motivated to begin and keep going until you succeed? You simply create a genuine need! Then decide how far you need to get and by when, make the decision - and begin!
It can feel that the future is further away than ever these days - but its coming, just as it always does! So if your aim is to be motivated enough to learn a new language you might volunteer yourself to work in a foreign orphanage for a month next summer. If you are learning an instrument, you could promise to play at an upcoming wedding once things are back in full swing. Or if you are beginning to run, you might sign up for a five or 10k in a few months time - even better, get sponsored for it and that little bit of extra pressure will spur you on!
With anything we want to feel truly motivated about, find a need to do it and your inner motivation engine will be fired into action. You’ll also get a bigger sense of satisfaction when you eventually achieve your goal - and who knows it could open up a whole world of opportunity you hadn’t even thought of!