Commitment Creates Confidence
And how commitment relates to the motivational triad.
Commitment begins with a decision. It's deciding ahead of time you're going to stick with something, no matter what. Even when it's hard. Especially when it's hard.
What happens when we try to do something new is we run headfirst into the motivational triad. The motivational triad is:
- Seek Pleasure
- Avoid Pain
- Expend as little energy as possible
New habits are typically:
- Not pleasurable
- Often Painful
- Require a lot of mental and physical energy
It's why commitment is key. If you are committed, no matter what, to creating your new habit you will learn what it's like to perform the new habit while feeling unwilling, tired, frustrated, low-energy, uninspired, dread, to name a few. The key is learning to continue to perform your habit while also feeling negative emotion. The more you do this, the more confidence you'll gain. Not only from the repeated action you're taking but also from learning the skill of taking action despite negative emotion. That skill will get you to your goals faster than anything. That skill is commitment.
Think about it. What do most of us do when things get hard? Or what do we do when we think the action we're taking "isn't working?" We stop. Which is of course the slowest route to our goals. Learning to push through and stay committed despite feeling negative emotion is the skill that separates people who successfully achieve their goals and people who do not reach their goals.
And, here's the best part. The more you stick with it, the easier the task becomes. You stop running counter to the motivational triad. In fact, your new habit becomes:
- Pleasurable
- Not painful
- Easy
And, once this happens, it's been moved from your pre-frontal cortex to your mid-brain (basal ganglia) where your new habit becomes habitual. Easy. In fact, it becomes harder NOT to perform your new habit. Like magic. BUT. You can't get there without commitment and without first feeling like crap for a while.
If you're looking for help with reaching your goals, book a free consultation! It's 45 minutes of talking about where you are now, and the life you want to create in your future. It's the best decision you could make.
Comments (1)
Goal Restraint – Gretta Scholten
July 15, 2020 at 2:26 pm
[…] the big, vague idea and immediately say: Nope. Too hard. Looks way complicated. Pass. Remember the motivational triad? Our brains want to seek pleasure, avoid pain and expend as little energy as possible. Our brains […]