This Surprisingly Science-Backed Habit Holds The Key To Your Self-Motivation

Neuroscience has uncovered a surprisingly basic source of inexhaustible self-motivation.

We are capable of doing anything we set our minds to. However, it can sometimes feel as though our brains are working against us when it comes to completing our objectives.

Plans to learn a new skill, stay in shape, or accumulate money and start a business are continually postponed in the hopes that Future You would take care of it "someday."

It's a vicious circle of bad habits. Procrastination is classified as a form of self-sabotage in psychology.

However, there is some good news. According to Psychology Today and cognitive neuroscience, while understanding how to become self-motivated may seem complex or ambiguous, the potential solution is surprisingly easy.

According to their research, Ron Siegel, a psychology professor at Harvard University, believes that the key to following through on motivation is to:

Doesn't this seem a touch cheesy? After all, finishing a term paper or filing your taxes isn't exactly a pleasurable experience.

While the habit appears to be irrational, the physiological reasons for it aren't.

According to the study, our primal psychology is to blame for our procrastination on our goals:

The original evolutionary aim of living in a perilous world is still encoded into our present minds. We evolved specialized brain structures that selectively tuned in to danger signals over a million years or so."

When it's time to create and be productive, our minds focus on the worry and dread that comes with trying something new, putting ourselves out there, or daring to fail, rather than the joyful and rewarding aspects of achieving our goals.

We switch to survival mode and avoid potentially unpleasant events. Indeed, from an evolutionary standpoint, optimism and fun are relatively new concepts for our brain.

There are, however, a few really simple things you can do to make developing and realizing your ideas feel smooth and fulfilling:

Stack the deck in your favor.

Writing a list and getting the rewards of doing something to exceed the early pangs of getting started, according to Siegel, is one simple approach to break out of a self-motivation rut.

Writing a list and getting the rewards of doing something to exceed the early pangs of getting started, according to Siegel, is one simple approach to break out of a self-motivation rut.

A straightforward two-column pros and drawbacks list will suffice. While working on that Excel spreadsheet at work may not be fun, you'll find that having your weekend free of it is definitely worth it.

While this procedure is effective in and of itself, the next step is what really seals the deal:

Visualize yourself having a full-body experience.

Try to picture and conjure up the precise sentiments and sensations that attaining your goal will bring you as you make your list.

If your objective is to eat a healthier diet, for example, visualize how you will feel as a result of your efforts. Consider how you'll have more energy, healthier skin, or improved protection against heart disease.

Walking yourself through the process of accomplishment, as well as the joys and advantages that come with it, can train your brain to be motivated by anything other than fear.

Visualization has been scientifically demonstrated to boost your chances of achieving your objectives. "Research has showed that mental activities are almost as effective as actual physical practice, and that performing both is more effective than doing either alone," Psychology Today adds in another piece.

Reward yourself for your achievements.

"But I'm not a kid," you could object to this one. I don't need to get compensated for everything I accomplish."

Returning to Professor Siegel's argument, one of the most important parts of long-term self-motivation is pleasure and joy, and a reward system is an excellent method to achieve this.

Not only is rewarding yourself for achieving goals an excellent self-care approach, but it can also affect our brain chemistry and make us more driven.

Dopamine levels in a specific part of the brain were found to play a big impact in people's ability to be self-motivated in a study that compared motivated and lazy people's brains. Dopamine is released in anticipation of a reward, thus praising yourself for accomplishments can help you stick to your goals.

Choose the right rewards.

Don't make the mistake of destroying your victories with counterproductive rewards, such as spending lavishly, just because positive motivation works. "If the rewards you offer yourself undermine the purpose itself, it simply serves to set you back," LifeHacker said.

Remember, the greatest gift you can give yourself is to invest in yourself. Instead of punishing you once the novelty wears off, the new "I deserve it" should be something that rewards you for years.

Taking a fun class or putting money aside for future ambitions can all be enjoyable — and effective — ways to stay motivated. You're doing yourself a favor by putting money into your future. That's something to get excited about!

Small victories should be celebrated.

You, like most people on the road to success, are likely pursuing important — and hopefully ambitious — long-term objectives. But, as you are probably aware, these lofty goals will not be achieved overnight.

That is why you should make a symbolic fist pump at least once a day. "This is a journey – a difficult one," said Tech.Co co-founder Frank Gruber, "and the only way to make it sustainable and acceptable is if you genuinely appreciate your minor victories along the way."

You'll get a much-needed daily dose of self-motivation by appreciating those small victories.

You'll get through the hard labor eventually if you focus on the enjoyable, gratifying, sensory experiences of achieving your goals.