As a society, we have tossed this concept of "motivation" around for so long that we often believe it is required to start new goals or maintain goals. So much so that if we don’t simply “feel motivated,” than we won’t do it.

When in fact, we should be talking about dopamine.

Dopamine is what drives movement and change. And in fact, the anticipation of something is what moves us ("motivates us") more so than the actual result. This is why creating small, attainable, constant goals is so important. We need to continuously have that anticipation of what is to come.

Take a moment to close your eyes and think.

Think about the last time you accomplished a major event. Maybe it was a graduation? You ran your first 5k? You got hired for a job? The feeling you had when it was achieved was such a relief, but eventually that feeling faded and often, much faster than you’d hope.

Now, how long did it take you to achieve that goal? How were you feeling leading up to that goal, event, or race? I can speak for myself in sharing my experience: I just swam my first swimming race in 12 years, and how I felt before hand was much more intense than how I felt after.

Adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin were all increased leading up to my swimming events and then after, I felt happy and relieved but I also noticed a drastic decrease in my overall excitement.

This is why visualization is so important. Being able to keep a goal in your mind and seeing yourself truly accomplishing it is so powerful. Simply visualizing reaching your targets increases the dopamine levels in your brain to keep you going and moving, even when you’re tired and feel like you can’t (Bulumulla, 2022).

This is also why breaking down assignments into their smallest components works for students/children who are having a hard time accomplishing tasks, especially for autistic children and children with ADHD. The dopamine hits are more consistent and regular during shorter tasks.

“Feeling Motivated” is simply just a feeling.

And all feelings come and go.

Instead of trying to feel motivated, try to create anticipation into your daily goals, such as making sure you have activities in place that you forward to. Some examples are:

I will make my favorite breakfast after I workout this morning
I will watch my favorite show at the end of the night after my workout
I will go for a walk at lunch and listening to my favorite podcast

By creating little anticipations throughout your day, dopamine will be released each time you remind yourself of your anticipation treat! Rather than focusing on the concept on “if or if you do not feel motivated”.