The Four Stages of Motivation
Andrew McCombe
Motivation
is possibly the biggest determining factor when it comes to achieving your
goals. That is why it is so important to be clear on the underlying values and
feelings that your goals will give you before you embark on achieving them. If
they are very clear and you feel 100% committed to their achievement then
nothing will get in the way of your success. But there may be times when you
feel a little flat and it is at these times that you will need the support of
both internal and external motivation to keep going.
Motivation
can be:
External: Rewards, prizes and
recognition.
Internal:
Challenge
and accomplishment.
Motivation
is very important, especially when you maybe about to embark on something that
has the potential to change your life, such as a training program at the gym, a
new career, or having a family etc. When learning any new skill, or adopting
any new behaviour, there are four stages that you will need motivation for,
they are:
1)
The Discomfort Stage
2)
The Results Stage
3)
The Pleasure Stage
4)
The Maintenance Stage
I will
use exercise as an example to demonstrate each of these stages of motivation.
The
Discomfort Stage
When you
first start doing exercise, it seems like hard work. Your body tires quickly,
you feel short of breath easily, your muscles are often sore the next day and
of course it will be difficult to find the time to workout.
The good
news is that this stage doesn’t last forever. In most cases, between four and
six weeks are required before the next stage is reached. The length of time
depends on your initial fitness level, your program and your ability to train
regularly.
During
this stage, motivation often needs to come from outside; a personal trainer, a
life coach or a structured program can be particularly helpful.
The
Results Stage
During
this stage, the time and effort that you have put into your exercise program
begins to pay off; much of the discomfort of doing exercise is over and you even
find yourself feeling good after each session. More importantly, you will feel
the rewards of your effort – you will feel fitter, begin to see changes in your
body shape and you may discover that you have more energy.
Motivation
becomes much easier, as there are now positive benefits to balance the short
term pain or inconvenience of exercise. Some external motivation is still
helpful though as it is easy at this stage to skip a session and lose momentum.
The
Pleasure Stage
As the
name suggests, during this stage your exercise program becomes a pleasurable
experience. The physical rewards are still realised, but the main motivators
are now psychological – a person in this stage wants to exercise.
When you
reach the pleasure stage, you don’t like to miss a session, in fact studies
have shown that regular, long-term exercisers show withdrawal symptoms if they
miss a session.
Needless
to say, when you have reached this stage, motivation is not a problem. Reward
yourself for your efforts.
The
Maintenance Stage
Although
you are well into your training routine and things are going great, it is
important at this stage to maintain long term motivation. If you continue to
perform the same program for too long you may become bored or your physical
results may plateau. It is important to add variety to your workouts and mix up
your training sessions, try a group class one day, a boxing session the next to
provide you with added stimulus and to spark further results and motivation.
Motivation is one of the major thing on staying fit everyday and this are the best of it.
Posted by: Medical Advice | 03/15/2010 at 12:18 PM