Sidedoor Motivation Technique For Things You Don’t Like Doing

photo credit: Arlo Bates

Sidedoor Motivation Technique

Ever have things that you don’t really want to do because you don’t like doing them, even though you know you should?

How do we do the things we know that are good for us but we just can’t get around to doing them?

Well, I came up with a term called ‘Sidedoor Motivation’ since I figure that I must be using some motivation techniques to get myself to do some things I don’t particularly enjoy doing.  This would include strength training with weights and swimming endless laps in a pool.

This might come to a surprise to some of you especially those who know that I train with weights and swim on a regular (seasonal) basis.  But the truth is, I would really much rather do other things besides sweat through weights and get bored out of my mind in the pool doing laps.

But I still manage to do these two activities on a very regular basis.  So what’s happening here?

How To Motivate Yourself With Sidedoor Motivation

Well, first of all, I do both weights and swimming because they are darn effective in helping me keep fit.  I don’t really hate doing them but as I said, there are other activities I would rather do but unfortunately, they are not as effective as weights and swimming.

So these two activities are neutral to me.  But what I do is keep in mind that they will not only help me keep in shape, they will also help me improve in the activities that I do love doing, like snow skiing and martial arts.  So keeping these huge benefits in mind motivates me to swim and lift weights.

This is what Sidedoor Motivation is all about.  Here’s the latest Motivational WebTV episode (#58) where I talk about this concept in more detail.  It’s actually the first poolside episode I did this year.

So again, my Sidedoor Motivation techniques involves picking activities or tasks that are neutral (you don’t like or hate).  Then keep benefits of overall goals in mind to help motivate yourself to do these activities.

Share Motivational Techniques With Others

If you know others who would like this video, please share it with them so they can also benefit from the various motivation techniques I feature.  There are buttons on the blog post to easily share it on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and by email.  All past episodes are at my Motivational WebTV Archive.

Feel free to leave your comments below, especially if you have other examples where Sidedoor Motivation has been successful in getting you to do a few things you’re not crazy about doing either but you know are good for you.

If you the last Motivational WebTV with actress Tali Brady, check it out at Fringe Festival Theatre Scenes.