I watched a video on YouTube the other day titled “NEUROSCIENTIST: You Will NEVER LACK Motivation Again”. Clickbait right? Well I decided to watch it anyway. It was short talk from Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman at Stanford University describing the link between dopamine and the reward system. Here’s the video. He goes on to talk about how reward is often the trigger for a dopamine release. We are motivated by the reward at the end of a project or goal and sometimes this motivation doesn’t last. I’ve certainly been there. I can’t tell you how many times I see those inspirational infographics on Instagram or LinkedIn depicting the difference between discipline and motivation. On one side of the image is a bar graph showing a steep increase in effort over time until it drastically drops off; this is the motivation side. The discipline side of the displays a consistent incremental increase in effort which continues to climb. The obvious moral of the story is that discipline is a more effective strategy than motivation.

So how do we channel that mindset? In the video Dr. Huberman describes a change in mindset that focuses entirely on enjoying the effort. The idea is rather than making that reward at the end the trigger for the dopamine, find joy in the journey. Make those painful efforts the reason you keep doing the thing that you’re doing. While that may seem difficult to imagine, the end result will not only be much more satisfying, but it creates a sustainable pattern of motivation for continuing your journey. Long story short, enjoy the pain. There has to be some reason why thousands of people train for months on end to run 26.2 mile, and have to pay to do it! It’s because they love it, and they love the journey.

I am inherently challenge driven. I have found the most success for myself by finding a challenge and trying to check all the requirements. This all started for me in 2017 when I was probably at the peak of an unhealthy lifestyle. I was shooting a wedding at Folsom Field at the University of Colorado in Boulder. I remember walking back to my car that cold January night thinking to myself “I really shouldn’t be breathing this heavy walking the quarter of a mile back to my car.” I was loosely tracking the activity rings on my Apple watch at the time, thinking I had at least closed all three in the last 8 hours; I wasn’t even close. I decided in that moment to make that my goal for the year; close all my activity rings every day for the next 12 months.

Over the months that followed, I went back to the gym, got back on my bike, and started exercising again, all with the mindset of closing out those rings. While this worked really well for me, this strategy doesn’t work for everyone. Not everyone will have the same satisfaction of watching the red firework-like ring vibrate and light up when closing the move ring. I think this is why its really important that we recognize finding joy in the journey.

None of this is easy. Getting back on the bike was hard for me after years of letting it gather dust in my garage. My hands hurt, I had poor posture, and I quickly understood why cyclists wear padded shorts. In that moment I could have turned back around and put the bike back in the garage where I found it and never picked it up again, but I was driven by the need to close those rings.

Motivation isn’t enough to keep us going. There is a deeper drive that either tells us the consequences of quitting or reward for continuing; it’s not unlike the carrot or stick approach. Some of us thrive on carrots, while others fear the stick. Which one are you? This may be a simple exercise, but I would encourage you to write down one core statement about why you want to change your health. Start with that statement then underneath, write down another one answering the question of why you want to accomplish the above statement. As you start to add layers to this exercise, you’ll soon find the root of what drives you. Maybe you’re core statement is to avoid health complications later on in life. Perhaps that motivation is because you lost a loved one due to those same complications. Finding what drives your motivation is super important to creating sustainable habits.

There isn’t a “one size fits all” formula to creating a drive. What motivates me may bore you to death. I find satisfaction in finishing a challenge, even if it means getting a literally worthless virtual badge. But dammit I worked hard for that digital sticker. Find the core of what drives you and hyper focus on that factor. The slow start to the DFC is intentional. It provides space to really evaluate the behaviors that become a catalyst for change in your life. It may seem menial, but these small mindset adjustments create waves of progress.

Happy Tuesday. Lets do some push-ups.