There are 3 Types of Motivation, not just one.

Motivation isn't just one thing, it's 3 things! Heck there may even be more, but I've found three so far. I've also found that they're not equal - some are better than others. Therefore I'm going to explain three forms of motivation and rank them for you in effectiveness. If you want to nerd out on this stuff, I made a big long video for you here. If you just want the main points, here they are below.

#3 Emotional Motivation

We're talking about cheerleaders, Tony Robbins, and whatever music you listen to to get yourself pumped up at the gym. We're talking about energy. Amping you up, getting you psyched. Going to a motivational seminar full of yelling and clapping.

Don't get me wrong, this type of motivation is fine. It's better than nothing. But it wears off almost as soon as you leave the room or turn off the music. It's a crutch of sorts - needing to borrow other people's energy to for your purposes. Not the best long-term plan.

#2 Dopaminergic Motivation

You get this when you try something new - when you push out of your comfort zone, and things go well as a result. You get a massive dopamine flux in the body. Feels like motivation, and feels like an improved assessment of your ability. "I can do anything!" It's absolutely beautiful, but we get tempted to think that we've figured something out, when we honestly haven't. It wears off after a week or so. It wasn't that particular thing that we did that caused the motivation - it was the journey outside of our comfort zone.

If you keep going out of your comfort zone then this is partially sustainable. But it's tricky.

#1 Systemic Motivation

As a practicing productivity coach of +8 years, I can't find any better motivation than this. This is king. It's effective because it doesn't matter what your mood or energy is like. You do whatever you have to do. Just take any activity that you struggle to get yourself to do - going to bed on time, meditating, cold punging, whatever - and create a situation where you have to do it. This requires some upfront considerations.

For example if you have hard time getting out of bed early, that's one thing. But if you need to get out of bed early in order to get to work, or catch your flight, or do something super fun with your friends... you'll do it. You'll just make sure that you do it. No question about it - you'll be out of bed because you need to be.

This is called "systemic" motivation because there's no need for emotion, or guilt-tripping, or tricking yourself into something, or bullying yourself. There's no fear of shame, embarrassment, or disappointment. It's just up to you to catch your flight or else you're out $1,200.

Think of something you're trying to get yourself to do and ask: why do I have to do this. Don't settle for 'no' as an answer, think deeply. Give it some time and find a real answer, then you'll be implementing systemic motivation.

That's all.

Does it make sense? Does it help?

Brent