do you get the motivation to keep working consistently towards a goal?

Remind yourself that you do not find this motivation, you create it.

Motivation is something you so rarely stumble upon that you simply cannot rely on it.

It’s your reaction to a very specific impulse, at a very specific time, that leads you down a very specific set of thoughts that then cause you to feel motivated.

Waiting for that to randomly happen throughout the day, or even worse, expecting it at the right times, is simply going to lead to a lot of disappointment.

But, do not fret, there is a way to generate Motivation!

And you know this, you’ve seen people generate Motivation before and have even done it yourself.

I want you to tell me who the most motivated people in a Grocery Store are.

It’s the children that are running around screaming and embarrassing their parents!

Think about it for a second.

Who, at those stores, is the most motivated to do or feel anything at all? Is it the employees? The employers? The people shopping? No!

Children are always motivated to create Joy. Even if they throw a tantrum at times, it only lasts for a couple minutes at best before they are distracted by the next best thing.

They seek joy ferociously and ignore the world around them.

For them, motivation is a by-product of their goal.

The reason we, as adults, do not feel motivated is because we seek motivation.

They do not rely on it or need it and just do it.

If any of you have seen the Shia Labeouf “Just Do It” skit, watch it again. If not, find it and watch it.

We rely on it, make it a prerequisite for action, and by doing so we do not realize that we rarely needed to feel motivated to do anything anyway.

This release of pressure allows whatever little speck of motivation that comes through to explode!

In the meantime, you will still do whatever it is you wanted/needed to do.

Just like children that just accept that they are at the grocery store and that stop worrying about ways they cannot have fun and create new openings for joy, you too can create new openings for motivation if you just start.

The problem is that most of us, when we do not feel motivated, hide and numb ourselves until we do.

This is however counterproductive as when we hide in passivity motivation has no chance to surface.

We numb ourselves to emotions and brush over all those tiny specks of motivation.

Instead, I want you to run with whatever comes to your mind first.

Here’s a little exercise to show you exactly how this works:

1. Take a 30-minute time slot for yourself where you will not be disturbed. Set a timer to start.

2. Stand up and turn away from your computer as soon as the timer starts.

3. Ask yourself “What do I want to do right now?”

4. Go with the FIRST THING that comes to your mind, no matter how ridiculous or unachievable it is.

5. For the next 5 Minutes follow that desire.

Example: “Right now I want to fly to Jamaica.” Alright, look up flights there, how much they cost, what place you could be staying at, where you would go, what you would do, etc.
5 Minutes later. “Right now I want to go for a jog.” Alright, put on your jogging gear and start! Yes, you will stop somewhere along the path and will have to come up with something else to do.
5 Minutes into the jog. “Right now I want to do some breathing exercises. Etc.

6. When the 5 Minutes are up drop everything you are doing, stand back up, turn around and ask yourself “What do I want to do right now?”

7. Repeat this process 6 Times.

Originally published at http://quora.com.