Why motivation is overrated - and how to accomplish goals without it.

All around us, it seems like everyone is selling the idea that in order to get anything done we need to have motivation. Social media is flooded with motivational quotes, influencers on Youtube, Instagram, and Tiktok telling people that in order to be successful you need to wake up at 5am, meditate, workout, eat healthy, and study or work for 8-10 hours straight. It’s creating a culture of competition and it makes you feel like if you’re not doing these things you are going to fail. The same line of thinking takes place in education, especially as students are trying to improve grades, study for exams, or get into competitive programs. The fact of the matter is staying motivated 100% of the time isn’t only hard to do, it’s outright impossible. Sometimes we wake up and feel like we can move mountains, where other days it’s tough to find the energy to even get ready for school or work.

As an educator, I often come across students who lack the motivation to finish homework, study for a test, or complete an important task. As a human being, I get it. There’s times where I also don’t have the motivation to tackle my ever-expanding to-do list or put in the extra mile to complete a mundane task. Throughout my journey as a student and now an educator, I have come up with many strategies to be productive without even being motivated to do so. I have boiled these lessons down into 4 main tips, which are great for not only students, but anyone who just can’t find motivation on a given day.

Tip #1: Just Start.

There’s a famous children’s book written by Peter H. Reynolds titled ‘The Dot’ in which the main message is “Just make a mark, and see where it takes you”.

This line has stuck with me not only from a teaching perspective, but from a personal-development perspective as well. We often spend so much time procrastinating and thinking about how daunting a task is before we even start. This in turn gives us paralysis and we sit there staring at our page or to-do list for hours without making any progress because of how long it will take and how hard it will be to do.

My lesson here and takeaway from the book is to JUST START! If you’re writing an essay, start writing a few words on the page to build momentum. If it’s your to-do-list, tackle a few of the easiest tasks so that it doesn’t look as big. If you don’t feel like exercising, put on some gym clothes and do 10 jumping jacks. These actions will create momentum for completing the rest of your tasks and make you soon realize that you’ve just finished the hardest part - getting started.

Tip #2: Think about the end result.

Whenever my students are feeling unmotivated, I often tell them to think about the end result of completing a task and why they are doing it in the first place. An example I like to use is that I don’t like making my bed, but I do it every single day because I like the way it looks after it’s done. It’d be much easier for me to leave the bed unmade everyday, but I like things looking clean so I need to do it. Likewise, I dislike doing dishes but I really enjoy having a clean kitchen at the end of the evening. When you think of the reason why you are doing something, it makes doing the little boring or mundane steps to get there much more purposeful and meaningful.

Let’s apply this idea to education. Many students dislike writing because it takes long, it hurts their hand, or they have a tough time coming up with ideas. When I observe this I usually ask them the same question - “why are you doing the task? What’s the end result that can come from completing it?” Their answers vary but many are along the lines of “I’ll be a better writer”, “I’ll get my homework done”, or “I’ll overcome a challenge and feel really good”. Whatever the reason or result is, students need to attach some sort of purpose to what they’re doing and think about the end result. That way, they’ll start to enjoy the process a little more.

Tip #3: Reward yourself for small victories.

Speaking of process, one of the big ideas in having a growth mindset is to celebrate our victories, as little or inconsequential as they may seem. Having goals is great because it gives us something to strive towards and guide us - a north star. But sometimes that north star can seem VERY far away and there are a million steps to take before we meet our goal. To make the process more enjoyable and meaningful, we need to celebrate small victories and successes more. Just because we have not met our end goal does not mean we can’t be happy with all the progress we have made.

When we take time to celebrate small victories, it gives us more motivation to keep going to the next step knowing that we are closer and closer to our goal. For example, if a student has a goal of reading an entire chapter book of 150 pages, it seems very daunting to look at. But when we break it down into smaller chunks, it seems a lot more achievable and manageable to read 10 pages a day. And hey, when you finish those 10 pages, stop and do something you enjoy as a reward. Have a treat, watch an episode of your favourite show, or go play outside. Accomplishing mini goals each day will not only give you a reward at the end of the day, but will also get you one step closer towards your big goal. As Lao Tzu wrote, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. We can’t get to step 100 if we haven’t made it to step 3. We just need to make sure we are recognizing and celebrating our progress along the way.

Tip #4: Be kind to yourself.

This last tip is an important one that everyone - students, parents, teachers - can benefit from. As I said in the introduction, sometimes we just don’t have the energy or motivation to get things done. What happens is that we often force ourselves to do something or complete a task that we really don’t feel like doing. Putting in half effort will usually result in a poor product. We’re much better off knowing when to push ourselves, and when we need a break. I am a huge advocate for taking a break when you need to, going outside for some fresh air, or doing something mindful like reading a book or watching a comfort show on Netflix. We all need to recharge our batteries from time to time in whatever way is best for us. This way, we’ll come back stronger, more motivated, and have more energy than if we forced ourselves to get it done when our bodies and minds were really opposing. So, next time you have a deadline or important task but your body and mind are fighting it - don’t fight back. Give it the rest and relaxation it needs, take a breath, and come back to it with a fresh and excited attitude. And remember to ALWAYS be kind to yourself.