Why Self-Motivation Falls Short

…What can you do to stay motivated?

No one can be self-motivated all the time. Life gets in the way. People get in the way. Sometimes we get in our own way.

We need outside influences to pick us up and help us out.

But for some reason, there is this thought floating around that we need to do it ourselves. That waking up to work out is our personal responsibility. That a lack of motivation is solely our issue. That we are lone wolves.

PLEASE DON’T THINK LIKE THIS!

You are not a wolf. You are a human. And humans need help.

I post motivational tid-bits on Snapchat every day (feel free to add me if you’d like. My username is KyleWillkom), but some days, the motivation works in the other direction. Some days, I’m the one who needs the motivation.

When I come across those days, I do something a lot of people have closed themselves off to doing — I ask for help.

I put my needs into the world, and let people know that I’m tired or feeling lazy or riding the struggle bus.

Rocky Balboa is a great example of this. The guy was a nobody until he was chosen (randomly) to fight against Apollo Creed.

Did he all-of-a-sudden, out-of-nowhere, become great on his own? No way!

He worked his butt off with his trainer, Mick. He had a supportive wife (YO ADRIAN, I DID IT!!!). He even partnered with Apollo after the initial fight to be better later on.

He allowed the people around him to build him up and motivate him when he couldn’t do it on his own, and you should too.

I’m not saying crazy amounts of motivation will all of a sudden flow in from every angle once you ask for help, but when I’ve asked, typically I get some words of encouragement from unexpected places.

I’ve had people I haven’t talked to in years send me motivational quotes and videos. Most of them tell me that they have been following my journey for a while and have been meaning to reach out.

This type of interaction pumps me up!

And at the core of this is the realization that I cannot stay motivated on my own, and neither can you.

When you need a pick-me-up or some extra words of encouragement (or even if you need something totally unrelated to motivation), put it into the world. Tell people what you need. Ask for help.

You may just get the unexpected positive response you were needing all along.

And just like Rocky, you may become the stallion you always knew you could be.