On a recent podcast of the Tim Ferriss show with Morgan Spurlock, Morgan mentioned a story of a friend entering Kanye’s house and seeing a giant picture of Kanye hanging there….
“So he’s inside Kayne’s house, and inside Kanye’s house there’s a big, giant poster of Kanye, like, right inside the living room. And so Toure said to him, he goes, ‘Kanye, why do you have a giant picture of you on the wall?’ And he goes, ‘Well, I gotta cheer for me before anyone else can cheer for me.”
As I mentioned in a previous post, belief in your own abilities is one of the keys to success which is closely tied to motivation and productivity, something which ebbs and flows.
I’m fascinated with the fluctuations of motivation and productivity and how to optimize them. Some days productivity is at an all time high, pushing the limits of what I thought possible. Other days, answering just one email seems to be too much of a burden. I’m not talking burdened because last night you partied too hard, I’m talking about the pool of psychological resistances put forth towards preventing you from taking action; the natural ebb and flow of creativity.
The old mantra of “just push through” can be seen as a potential solution, and it definitely is for an output type function. Make more of widget X, repeat what you’ve done before, autopilot but faster. But in a creative, brain-straining activity, I’ve never found that to be the ultimate, sustainable, most long-term efficient solution.
Perhaps that’s perceived as weak. In fact, that perception is how I was raised. It got me far and still does, it also has led to mental blocks, freeze up, being unable to problem-solve creatively, unable to think for myself and it has lead to torn hamstrings, broken ligaments, and other injuries.
So I’m just not sure that “just push through” is the optimum solution based on what empirical evidence and case studies are showing. From getting your best ideas in the shower or while doing other monotonous activities, to the power of walking away when frustrated only to discover the solution on your walk, to ideation flowing more in relaxed settings, and anecdotal case studies like the integration of Cadbury Adams, there seems to be times where “just push through” is the opposite of what works.
Especially true in a leadership setting, it’s difficult to think of others and how to motivate them productively when you yourself are struggling with motivation and stress. Dictating orders and demanding compliance may work in some settings, but instilling fear into your team can only go for so long until they numb themselves to the threat, are stricken with so much fear that they can’t do anything productive without your direct orders, or simply leave for another team.
On the other hand, I see this approach getting too extreme with things like “Chief Happiness Officers” and such a focus on “relaxation” that nothing actually gets done. For let’s be honest, procrastination is a universal quality that exists when enabled, and things take as long as you give them.
So is the question one of a juggling act where you are constantly balancing both mentalities of “pushing through” with “relaxation” or is it more a contextual, mutually exclusive issue of when to apply one or the other, and are there signs or triggers to know when a fluctuation in your motivation is coming, a trigger to spark in your mind: “oh, it’s time to do x”?
In an hourly services business, perhaps this isn’t an issue as the more hours you put in, the more money is made, so who cares. But in a position where efficiency of creatively and mentally intense deliverables are the basis for performance, it matters.
Last week, I talked about one method I use to overcome the potential pits of low motivation: affirmations. I also do yoga, Krav Maga, go running, take salt baths, meditate, write, go for a walk, focus on “power breaths” and a whole slew of other tactics. Not all at once, but a continuous experiment with the end goal in mind: get back to full motivation and productivity as quickly as possible.
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. -Abraham Lincoln
I’m experimenting with two new ways. One is to listen to Zig Ziglar while working out, commuting, and in transition times like cooking meals. Hearing his insights and motivational messages mixed with a humorous delivery has been recommended to me many times over by high performers. A rule I have is that if three high-performers recommend the same thing, try it.
Another I am experimenting with is stand in a silent area and without moving any part of your body or talking to yourself, stare in the mirror at your eyes for 3-10 minutes straight.
This is by far the weirdest experiment, but it stems from an Italian research paper and practices taught in yoga retreats, leadership seminars, and team building exercises. You can even stare into someone else’s eyes and odd things are interpreted by your brain, both mentally and visually.
Undoubtedly, some will laugh at the absurdity and self-centered focus of the new generation with this tactic, but in my own experience it has worked and that’s what I care about. I stand in silence, look into my eyes, focus on my breath and let my mind take it from there. Often the few minutes seem much longer than they actually are, and often I feel squirmish and uncomfortable, but pushing through that discomfort is what’s key.
The beauty is, when you’re unmotivated, all this requires is you sitting and staring, doing nothing. Most of the these types of situations, you’re already staring blankly at a wall or computer screen, so just try replacing the screen with a mirror. It may just help you overcome the doldrums of your motivation.
So perhaps you don’t have to be exactly like Kanye and put a large portrait of yourself in your room to keep your motivation high, but then again…you essentially are creating a portrait of yourself when you stand in front of a mirror.
Maybe you’re closer to being like Kanye than you think. And maybe, just maybe, Kanye is on to something…