How to Find your motivation for 2017..

How are you doing? It's been AGES. Over a week in fact. What's going on with you? Are you well? Are you OK? How's the head doing? Calm and collected or radio Maniac FM?

We're into our 3rd week of January now. The business end of the month. When resolutions fall away, (if they haven't done so already) or desired new habits remain elusive.

Of course you may not have any 2017 goals/resolutions. That's cool.  However I suspect, you'll probably have some kind of  plan/want/desire in 2017, even if it's an ongoing life one. If you haven't got any plans at all and just take things day by day. You're either stoned, a poet or student. If you're the latter you're probably the former too. Far out I say. Peace and shit.

However, if, like me you do have goals for 2017, how committed to them are you? What is motivating you to achieve them? Have you even started?

This came from a motivation day I delivered yesterday with a law firm on health, wellness, goal setting and motivation for 2017. (Yes I really do Corporate Motivation and Wellness and stuff. Incredible huh?)

I did it with a health coach and PT who doesn't do goals. Instead she has general life intentions but not yearly resolutions as it stresses her out. Instead she prefers to build in things to her every day life so not to induce too much pressure (Probably because she's a nightmare perfectionist and would want the world conquered by Thursday 17th Feb thank you very much.)

I, on the other hand am surrounded by lists, to-do's and goals for 2017. I rarely do them, but they're up never-the-less. This is odd, because I'm such a non-planner, non focused, serious goal setting type of bloke. I generally look upon the whole motivational speaking, NLP coaching, goal setting, visualisation goal setters as Satan's little helpers. I hate being that focused and goal orientated. It feels forced and mechanical. A little part of my creative beatnik dies when I see a goal setting vision board.

Having said that, I can totally understand how practicing that way of thinking and living can provide good returns and success. After-all if we don't know what we want how can we find a way to get there? I have things I'd like to do. But it's not a straight jacketed shopping list of things to achieve so I feel a success.

We all have different ways of living. Some plan and plot goals, Others, like me, are more loose as a goose and rely more on instinct.

But what is more effective?

That depends on what side of the fence you sit. After spending a day with 40 normal people yesterday, everyone had a goal for the year. They ranged from losing 3 stone, to getting better arms for a wedding (bride not groom), Visiting a new place to learning a language. Most were fitness or health goals and centred around getting healthier.

What interested me is WHY they had those and what would motivate them to do it.

I estimate 1/4 of them would achieve their goals, 1/4 would probably, 1/4 would fall short but not care (the floaters) and 1/4 had already failed by the end of the day and would have no chance.

The 1/4 who already failed weren't prepared to change their routine or mind-set. Instead they wanted us to solve it for them. They wanted someone else to do the work without them having to change or do anything. This is an immediate fail and was a surprisingly popular attitude. (I share this sometimes)

Stated intentions or goals that are specific and achievable are easier to accomplish. Instead most people who had vague notions of losing 2 stone already had an army of negative responses to any suggestions to change lifestyle habits. They had a closed mind-set.

Who wants to lose weight? Tone up? Get fit? Become healthier? Lot's of people. Trouble is - it involves doing shit. That's the horrific thought sometimes. That's where you need a real WHY and open mind.

Our message was simple. Take it easy. Make small changes. Don't do too much but do it anyway. Ask for help, surround yourself with can do people. Don't listen to the inner negative head and be open minded.

The main thing is to find your WHY. Why do it? I need to stop smoking, drinking DC and look after my health. But I'm not at the moment and I have to ask myself why? Because I am not motivated enough to have the WHY. I just hope my WHY doesn't become because otherwise you'll die. When faced with that realisation most will do what's needed (though some don't of course)

I know people who are so self motivated it's scary. Others who find it in their kids, families, health or a higher power. We all need a purpose and reason to exist and do things. The trick is finding the ones that work for you in the pursuit of what you want to do with your life and year.

Personally, my motivation in the past has been to look amazing in a lycra tri-suit. I can try and dress up all my endurance Ironman events all I want as testing my mind, strength and proving to myself I can do things I didn't think I can. But if I'm being really honest, it's because when I was fat in early sobriety, 15 years ago, I saw an image of an Ironman on the cover of a health magazine, looking ripped, strong, muscular and focused. He had a tri-suit on and I thought, "Fuck me, I bet he doesn't have any fear, problems, is totally sorted and nails everything that moves."

So, I decided I wanted to look like that and do Ironman and be amazing, strong, focused, lean and like a James Bond/Jason Bourne style legend (from Hounslow in Lycra). And I did. It took a while, but I looked amazing in a tri-suit, got muscles, ripped, lean and did nail everything that moved. I did Ironman triathlons, but found I was still me under the bonnet. Still full of fear, doubt and insecurity. Fuck!!

I found that my motivation to concentrate on the outside meant the inside was still the same.

But you know what. I did 3 ironman triathlons, 8 marathons, had loads of experiences, got modelling jobs and TV adverts because of the looks and hundreds of incredible sexual experiences, My insane self seeking ego was nourished many times by my shallow pursuit of looking amazing and I enjoyed myself along the way. In fact. I had a ball!

That's the terrible truth. Ego based, lightweight, vanity based narcissitic shallow looks based motivation. ( Sounds like the cast of Celebrity Big Brother.) Got me through all that. I wouldn't recommend it to people as a form of motivation but you know, whatever gets you through sometimes....

Now I have learnt more about real motivation. Deep rooted motivation. It can be whatever you want. Big or small. Shallow or deep. Your WHY is yours. Not for someone else to tell you WHY. It's for you and deeply personal.

The trick is finding that WHY. That's why we need hand holding and a little help sometimes. If you know then well done. If you haven't. Don't stress. Just try this for 2 minutes tonight.

Think of something that made you feel good that was a direct result of your action. Not an outside factor. But because of YOU

Really focus on it for 2 minutes. WHY did it make you feel good? End the 2 mins with thinking of yourself as a MASSIVE FUCKING LEGEND (MFK)

I Guarantee at the end of that 2 mins you'll know more about yourself than the start of the article.

Self awareness is so fucking cool sometimes. I love it

And you

Nicholas Edward Evans