Most of us recognize those exquisite moments of felt motivation aligning with good intention: I truly want to do this… and I feel like doing it! That ideal template for action applies across the domains of our lives–physical, cognitive and psychosocial. For example, I feel like a gym workout this morning (physical); I feel like reading the Tobacconist (cognitive); or I feel like joining a Meetup current events discussion group (psychosocial).
When motivation and intention synch-up like that, an action step will typically follow, leading to that workout, a dive into a novel, or group discussion. But what happens when intention is not supported by feeling motivated? Most of us know the experience of “good intentions”, wherein we really wish to do it but just don’t feel like it. In such instances, workouts are skipped, books go unread, and group connections are eschewed. New Year’s resolutions are often a case in point.
What to do? In our world, popular sentiment supports the imperative of motivation across the board. If we do not feel like it, something is amiss. So we must discover our motivation. Then, perhaps, whatever or wherever it is will come– with thought, distraction, a catnap or a night on the town. And if methods of discovery fail us, we ought to wait and wait till motivation comes to move us.
Sometimes that is a long wait. Sometimes motivation never comes!
What is going on here? Let’s begin by noting this exception- sometimes no motivation is a deep down indication that our intentions are off the mark. Maybe we should not force a workout when injured; read a book to please someone else or join a group when needed solitude beckons. Only mindful attention can help us discern these circumstances and let go of errant intention.
Given that exception, let’s return to the problem of good intention without motivation…and that thumb-twiddling wait. Here, we must reject the premise that to do the good thing, we must wait for felt motivation to arise and stand down (or sit down) if it doesn’t show up. Instead, we could do the good thing whether we are motivated or not. We take the action step even when we do not feel like it! This is not our old standard of felt motivation as a necessity. Instead, it is motivation by intention. Some argue for this fake it (motivation) until you make it (motivation) approach. Similarly, an old therapist once remarked that we must take action, until we want to take action, and then we don’t have to take action anymore.
That might just get us to the gym whether we want to go or not!
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