March Motivation

I feel like the month March is one of the most, if not the most, important months of the year, as this month always makes me feel like it’s time for growth and time to rise. I feel like March is a game-changer, the beginning of something big. It’s like January and February were rehearsals and March is the month which opens the curtains to let the show begin.

This month holds a certain motivation which is magnetized to this time of the year. Motivation comes from the word “motive,” which indicates a person’s needs, desires, wants or urges. Motivation is kind of the fuel you need to move forward into the direction of becoming. It’s the reason behind your behavior while you’re becoming this new version of yourself.

I’ve learned that the most successful people in life have a combination of two ways to be motivated. They are away-motivated, away from what they don’t want, and forward-motivated, towards what they want. Let me explain.

Away-motivation simply stands for the feeling of not wanting to be a certain version of yourself anymore, which motivates you to grow. So, for example, if you want to lose some weight, you’re away-motivation could be that you no longer want to feel unhealthy. You no longer want to feel this extra weight on your body or no longer want to feel unhappy in your skin. Having a clear idea of your away-motivation is very important, as feeling deep down motivated to know why you no longer want to stay in your current situation can give an enormous boost to work towards what you want to achieve.

The problem is when you only know very clearly why you don’t want to be in this current situation but don’t have a clear vision or idea of the situation or version of you that you want to become… This means that the moment you have become this new version and are no longer your old version, your subconscious mind will think it has achieved its goal and it will stop working for you (motivating you). This is often the moment you fall back into your old patterns, habits and behavior, because when you have achieved, for example, the goal of losing 10 pounds, your body will think the job is done and will stop motivating you. Therefore, the chances are bigger that in no time you gain weight again and will fall back into your old habits.

When you’re forward-motivated, you have a clear vision of the version of yourself you want to become. You can see, feel and visualize exactly the version of you that you want to achieve, and this image is motivating you enough to get up and do the work consistently until you’re there. Forward-motivation also has another benefit, as it will not just motivate you to get there but it will also motivate you to stay there (and not fall back into your old version), as your subconscious mind will do anything to keep this vision of yourself alive.

 However, when you’re only ever forward-motivated in a situation, it means you only do things you are motivated to do / to become. And unfortunately, a lot of the time, we need to do things in life we don’t necessarily desire to do in the moment, but which are needed to get where we want to go. 

This is why it’s better to have the combination of being away-motivated (knowing all the reasons you don’t want to stay where you are) along with your forward-motivation (having a clear vision of the version you want to be)…  This way, you will have the biggest chance to succeed in achieving and also keeping your goals.

So, if we go back to the example: if you want to lose 10 pounds, it will be very important to know all the reasons you don’t want to stay this version of yourself, but it’s even more important to see yourself as this healthy and happy new version of yourself, to imagine how good it would make you feel when you’re there: how will you wake up, look in the mirror, be at work, or feel when you go out? Truly work on visualizing this new identity of yourself and imagine all the feelings in all situations of life which would come along with this growth.

Therefore, I would love for you to start this month with a personal check-in.

• Is there anything you want to change?
• What is your away-motivation for this situation?
• What is your forward-motivation for this situation?

 Answer these questions and write out your away-motivation. Then, visualize the ideal situation of your forward-motivation and explain how this new situation will make you feel and how the desire to experience this change will motivate you.

When there are moments of weakness on your journey of growth, review these words and continue to keep the momentum up. If needed, share your desires with somebody so they can hold you accountable and remind you of your own motives.

It’s the best time to become the main character of your own show. So, get ready, as the curtains are about to open!