In the last part of the book "Drive," Pink provides a what he calls a toolkit for Type I behaviors. In other words, he provides tips on how to be more intrinsically motivated and work towards Motivation 3.0. I found this part of the book to be my favorite part of the book as it was super helpful in many areas. One part I will share because it is also relevant to my 20% project is the tips Pink gives to "getting (and staying) motivated to exercise.
Pink give four tips to getting and staying motivated to exercise:
Pink give four tips to getting and staying motivated to exercise:
- Set your own goals: Pink says to create a plan that is tailored to your own needs and fitness level and set the right kind of goals. He goes on to state that research shows that people who seek to "get fit" for extrinsic reasons such as losing weight for a wedding tend to reach that goal but then end up gaining it back after the fact. He says that people who pursue fitness with a more intrinsic goal such as to get fit in order to feel good (much like my own 20% project), make slower progress but achieve better results in the long run.
- Ditch the treadmill: Pink says to find a form of fitness you enjoy "that produces those intoxicating moments of flow." He says to "use the Sawyer Effect to your advantage -- and turn your work(out) into play." In other words, exercise shouldn't be dreadful. WIthin my own 20% project I found that I enjoy running, not on the treadmill but outside. I found that I can not only run a longer distance but also at a faster pace running outdoors.
- Keep mastery in mind: Pink states that getting better at something provides a great source of energy that can be renewed. Therefore, he says that we should pick something that we can continuously improve on overtime. Increasing the difficulty and setting more challenges, renews our energy and helps to stay motivated. I will use this with running. I have really come to enjoy running and find myself wanting to increase my distance and also my pace all the time. Just in this short time of our 20% project I have seen great improvement which has led to me be more motivated to keep going.
- Reward yourself the right way: Lastly, Pink says not to reward yourself with "if-then-rewards." (If I run four times a week then I will buy myself a shirt). He says "an occasional "now that" reward is more beneficial.