Is Motivation the driver of consistency?
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||| Why Knowing Isn't Enough
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FREE Ebook ||| Why Knowing Isn't Enough 〰️
Subtitle: The “Discipline & Motivation” myth
Series: Busting myths
The last few weeks have been a nightmare for me as a writer. I struggled to keep up with my research work and writing. Traditionally, you would assume I’m lazy, unmotivated or lack discipline. But how could that be possible when I’m keeping up with everything else? Was I simply an imposter pretending to be disciplined?
I sat down with my feelings and realized I had too much going on within a short period of time. Preparing for my book release, having a full time job, staying consistent on my health journey, among many other things. I hadn’t noticed the mental toll I was paying. So when it was time to write, I had very minimal mental capacity to execute.
The creative demand of writing was higher than my capacity, hence, execution could not be sustained. If I were relying on motivation or discipline, then by all standards, I’d failed. That’s why these parameters aren’t sufficient in explaining why consistency breaks. Now, if the issue isn’t motivation, what is it then?
If this is hitting a little too close, I’d love to send you my Free book on Turning health knowledge into action:
Behavior breakdown often reflects:
cognitive overload
emotional load
environmental friction
physiological limitations like insulin resistance, stress hormones, chronic inflammation
When these things are in place, capacity is restricted making demand even greater. So an activity that should have been easy to execute becomes extremely difficult. In my case, the demand was writing, but it could also be a workout routine, meal planning, sleep schedule, grocery shopping, etc. So instead of calling yourself a failure because you don’t feel motivated enough to execute, try to identify the root cause of that feeling. Until you do so, you’ll constantly chase motivation when the real issue is your capacity. But how do you achieve this?
You can start by assessing your mental, emotional and physiological load as well as your environment. Then you work with your body to reduce the friction. This is where a lot of habit models recommend that the task must be made easier. While this is true, I recommend that the easier task should be based on your current capacity. The goal is to ensure the demand is less than your available capacity.
Final Insight
Forcing yourself to run on pure discipline will set you up for inconsistency. Your body must have the capacity to sustain the exercise routine or diet plan. Because when your system is inflamed, your brain will physically block execution to protect you. So before you throw out your workout plan, or listen to another sermon from your Gym Bro telling you to grind through the burnout, start managing your capacity. In my upcoming book, I explain why behavior change isn't just a mental test of discipline like we’ve been made to believe, but a question of physiological capacity. Join my mailing list by using the link below to learn how to improve your capacity to execute.
Stay tuned!!
“I can’t wait for the next release”
If you’ve ever felt like you’re the problem, this will help you see what’s actually happening. I ‘d love to send you the full breakdown of the Framework: Understanding the Knowledge to Action Gap