Why You Can’t Rely on Motivation

Most of us have some area in our life we’d like to improve--our diet, fitness, productivity, etc. Yet, many people fail to reach their goals and attribute their failure to a lack of motivation.

While motivation is important, it’s not enough initiate or maintain lasting change.

The Problem with Motivation

Motivation is inherently unreliable. As BJ Fogg, founder of Stanford’s Behavior Design Lab, highlights in his book Tiny Habits,

“Motivation is unreliable [and] is often fickle. Motivation is like a party-animal friend. Great for a night out but not someone you would rely on to pick you up from the airport.”

This insight may come as a relief to those of us who can barely manage to get motivated to get out of bed some days! But if you can’t rely on motivation, what can you depend on to make changes in your life?

Focusing Only on Goals is Limiting

Setting goals often emphasizes the outcome, such as wanting to lose weight, become more productive, or improve fitness.

However, the path to reaching these goals lies in the daily behaviors that contribute to long-term success. These repeated behaviors form habits, and it is the habit system that drives goal achievement.

The Importance of Systems

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, argues that the issue is not with the individual but with the system they follow. Systems, not willpower or motivation, lead to progress.

Clear suggests that having an efficient, well-designed system makes behavior change more achievable and sustainable.

The Power of “Tiny Habits”

Fogg proposes an approach to building systems by focusing on what he calls “tiny habits.” These are small, manageable actions that are easy to perform and help create momentum.

Example:

Let’s say the behavior you want is to get in shape. A tiny habit wouldn’t be going to the gym for an hour every morning. Instead, you would simply get up and put on your workout clothes every morning. Once this action becomes automatic, you can build on it gradually.

Maybe the next week you get up, put on your workout clothes and feed the dog. The following week, you get up, put on your workout clothes, feed the dog and do five pushups.

Keep Habits Small

Fogg advises keeping initial habits small and achievable to ensure a sense of accomplishment. Over time, the brain begins to associate the behavior with positive outcomes, increasing the likelihood of continuing. This is where we get the motivation we are looking for.

Building Up

Once you have your basic system down, you can increase the duration of your desired behavior.

For instance, after consistently doing five pushups each morning you decide to do 10 or 20 pushups. Eventually you’re adding some sit-ups and before you know it, you’ve been exercising for twenty minutes!

Make Your New Habit Automatic

An easy way to make sure you follow through on new a habit is using what Fogg calls “habit stacking”. He says, “one of the best ways to build a new habit is to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top.”

Fogg’s habit stacking formula is:

“After I [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].”j After I brush my teeth in the morning, I will meditate for five minutes. After I meditate for five minutes, I will plan my day. After I plan my day, I will set my phone on Do Not Disturb.

Conclusion

Once you get used to mastering tiny habits, you’ll be surprised how simple it is to make significant changes in your life. And you can stop beating yourself up for not having enough motivation.