Empower Newsletter – August 2014
Welcome to the August 2014 edition of the Empower Newsletter. This month the focus is on what motivates us to change.
Do you know?
‘what motivates you!’
Are you motivated to go after what you want when not having it becomes too painful or is it the thought of actually getting it that drives you? That is, is your trigger to change something in your life by moving away from pain or to move toward pleasure?
Neither way is right or wrong, good or bad, it is just a matter of what we do as individuals.
By becoming more aware of what motivates us to take action helps us to get where we want to be a lot quicker.
When I first heard this theory, I thought for sure I did things because I was driven toward the outcome, but that wasn’t the case! For example, the reason I make decisions about what I eat and don’t eat is because I associate putting on weight as being painful. Hence putting on weight is more painful to me than not having the food. If I was motivated by staying healthy and looking good it would be a different story.
Believe it or not, most people make a change to move away from pain rather than being driven to feel the pleasure of getting what they want.
To work out if you move away from pain or toward pleasure, think about something in the past when you have made a big change. Was it to get away from a bad situation or pain, or was it to get what you wanted?
Most people go on a diet because being the size they are causes them some degree of discomfort and pain. The trigger may be realising that the size they thought they were has suddenly become too small, or it may be seeing an unflattering photo of themselves, health concerns, or even an innocent comment from their partner about putting on weight. Whatever the trigger, all of these examples are driven to avoid the pain! If we were motivated to be healthy or to look a certain way then we would be driven by pleasure.
Other common scenarios are decisions based on leaving your partner, job or changing careers. Does your motivation come because you are experiencing pain? It could be that you have started to hate your job, your boss, or your partner. Maybe you aren’t getting paid enough money or you aren’t getting on with your partner. Or does your motivation come from wanting to feel the pleasure of working in a job or career that you have a passion for and would really love or being with your ideal partner?
Does your motivation come from moving away from pain or moving forward to feel pleasure?
Definition
Motivation
Motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviours. Motivation is what causes us to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge.
Something to Ponder
By continually creating more pain around an undesired behaviour, that is going to stop you getting what you ultimately want, will propel you to get what you want.
So why not use pain and pleasure to control your decisions, don’t let pain and pleasure control you!
Quote of the Month
“Get going. Move forward. Aim high. Plan a takeoff. Don’t just sit on the runway and hope someone will come along and push the airplane. It simply won’t happen. Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me, you’ll love it up here.”
~ Donald Trump ~
Affirmation Corner
‘Motivation comes easily to me.’
and
‘My life is full of purpose and motivation.’
Newsletters | Di | 
August 8, 2014 1:50 pm
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