How to Increase and Sustain Motivation to Reach Your Goals

In this article:

• Motivation is the "why" behind our actions, and it can come from both external and internal sources.
• Extrinsic motivation, like wanting to lose a certain number on the scale, is often what gets us started.
• Intrinsic motivation, such as enjoying a workout or feeling proud of your healthy choices, is more sustainable over time.
• The Fogg Behavior Model shows that a behavior is more likely to happen if it's easy to do, even if your motivation is low.
• To make a behavior easier, you can change your environment, break down big goals into tiny habits, and save time and energy by planning ahead.
• Focusing on your "why" and shifting towards intrinsic motivation can help you stay on track and maintain a healthy lifestyle for the long run.
• Lark can help motivate you and provide you with tools to achieve health and weight loss goals.

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Motivation can spark action. You’re especially likely to feel it when you’re working towards a new goal like losing a certain amount of weight or achieving a fitness milestone. Willpower can weaken over time, but motivation doesn’t have to fade away. You can keep progressing by allowing your motivation to evolve and support sustainable habit formation. Here’s more information on what motivation is, how to establish and maintain it, and what you can do to support healthy choices even when motivation is low. 

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation

Motivation drives your actions. It’s an internal state that gives behavior purpose and direction. Motivation can inspire you to make healthier choices, such as snacking on an apple instead of chips, taking a walk before watching television, or preparing healthy meals on the weekend. Factors that affect motivation include biological needs, emotions, and social pressures. Types of motivation include extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. 

Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation results from external factors, or things that come from outside of you. Extrinsic motivation is often what provides the initial push to change a behavior, such as when you decide to lose weight or start an exercise program.

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Here are examples of extrinsic motivation.

• Avoiding or managing a chronic condition, like prediabetes or high blood pressure.
• Following the advice of your doctor or wanting to meet official health recommendations like the Dietary Guidelines or Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
• Wanting to lose a certain number of pounds or inches
• Achieving a reward or recognition, such as winning a wellness challenge or having people notice weight loss or different dietary choices

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Extrinsic motivators can be powerful, and extrinsic motivation often drives initial behavior change. However, extrinsic factors alone are not typically strong enough to support ongoing behavior change.

Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation results from internal factors, or from within yourself. Internal factors that drive actions may include pride, enjoyment, or alignment with your personal values. For example, intrinsic motivation may cause you to set aside time to spend with family or friends, read books, or volunteer for causes that you believe are worthwhile. 

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Here are examples of how internal factors might motivate you to make healthy choices. 

• Pride and a sense of accomplishment: You feel proud of yourself for sticking with a new exercise routine or for mastering a new healthy recipe.
• Enjoyment: You find pleasure in the activity itself, like the feeling you get after a good workout or the joy of cooking with fresh, flavorful ingredients.
• Psychological benefits: You notice you’re happier, less stressed, or can think more clearly after working out or getting enough sleep.
• Increased energy: You feel more energized and less tired throughout the day when you eat well and get enough rest.

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Compared with extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation is more likely to support long-term success when it comes to changing behavior. 

Tips for Shifting to Intrinsic Motivation

It can take time to develop intrinsic motivation. It helps to have self-awareness and introspection. 

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Here are some tips. 

• Connect your goals to your core values by expanding on your “why.” Why do you want to achieve a specific goal like losing weight or being active? It may be in part due to external factors like following doctor’s orders, but what other reasons can you identify? For example, do you want more energy to play with your kids or grandkids? Do you want to be more efficient and feel more respected at work? Connecting your goals to your core values makes them more meaningful.
• Focus on identity and process, not just outcomes. Instead of saying "I want to lose 10 pounds," try shifting your mindset to, "I am a person who takes care of my body," and “I am a person who knows how to feel better by making healthy choices.” You’re aligning your behaviors with your identity to reduce friction and make healthy choices easier.
• Recognize progress without demanding perfection. Even if you didn’t make it to the gym like you’d intended, you can still walk for a few minutes as a better choice than doing no physical activity. If you had fast food for breakfast, you can still eat healthy the rest of the day. Nobody’s perfect, but you’ll make progress if you keep trying. 
• Give desired behaviors more meaning. Your walk can be more than “exercise.” It can also be your “personal stress relief time,” “time to engage with nature,” and “time to connect with a friend.” Finding meaning in your actions can give them more value. 

Work Smarter, Not Harder: The Fogg Behavior Model

It often feels as though we need more motivation and willpower to succeed, but that’s not true. Increasing motivation is helpful, but there are more factors that affect behaviors. 

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The Fogg Behavior Model says that a behavior (B) happens when three things come together at the same moment: 

• Motivation (M) - Desire to do the behavior
• Ability (A) - Ease of doing the behavior (e.g., skills, knowledge, equipment) 
• Prompt (P) - Cue or trigger for doing the behavior (e.g., time of day, visual cue, etc.)

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Stoewen DL. Dimensions of wellness: Change your habits, change your life. Can Vet J. 2017 Aug;58(8):861-862. PMID: 28761196; PMCID: PMC5508938.

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The model shows that if your ability to do a behavior is low, your motivation must be high to make it happen. On the other hand, if you have the necessary skills or knowledge, you don’t need as much motivation to get it done.

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With the Fogg MAP model, “trying harder” isn’t the most effective approach. Instead, try increasing your ability by making the behavior as easy as possible. 

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Here are three ways to increase your ability. 

• Change your environment to remove the need for willpower. If you want to eat more fruit, keep a bowl of washed, ready-to-eat fruit on your counter and keep chips or other tempting snacks out of sight or out of the house altogether.
• Take small steps and create "tiny habits." Instead of a 60-minute workout, aim for a 10-minute walk. Instead of cooking a gourmet meal from scratch, start by adding one extra vegetable to your dinner. These small, achievable steps build confidence and momentum.
• Save time and energy. Make a decision when you have time and energy to spare. For instance, rather than ordering takeout after a long day, plan your meals and prepare them on a Sunday night when you have more energy. This way, you've already made the healthy choice, and it's easy to follow through.

How Lark Can Help

Staying motivated and knowing how to overcome challenges can help keep you on track with your goals. Lark can help you make more small changes to improve heart health, lose weight, and manage or prevent chronic conditions. Your Lark coach is available 24/7 for encouragement, nutrition and physical activity coaching, and habit tracking. Lark can help you make healthy choices and establish habits that fit into your lifestyle so you can lose weight and keep it off with or without GLP-1 medications. 

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Click here to see if you may be eligible to join Lark today!

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