“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.”
Jim Rohn
Ever wonder why some people seem to be able to take the leap of faith and change their lives, while others who are going through the same situation choose to stay the same?
Everyone wants to get away from an undesirable life to live their dream life, but what motivates people to struggle for change is different.
I may be motivated by the rewards to make a drastic change in my life, but that may not apply to you.
Perhaps, you make a change because you have had enough of the things that are not working for you in your life.
So, everyone has a different reason. However, what truly motivates people to make a shift can be categorized into 3 main things…
1. Dreams and desires
We all have dreams and desires. We want to drive a better car, earn more money, live in a better environment, have great friends, build better relationships, etc.
Those are the dreams and desires that can motivate us to change the way we live.
Read: 5 Powerful Methods How to Boost Your Desire for Success
For instance, think about why you want to earn more money. Everyone wants to earn more. We want to live a better life from what we get from money.
When you are driving a Toyota, you dream of driving a BMW one day. If you are earning $5,000 a month, you may be dreaming about earning $10,000 a month. If you are living in a 1,000 square feet apartment, you may be dreaming about living in 5,000 square feet landed property.
These are the dreams and desires that can motivate us to change.
In other words, dreams and desires are the pleasures that we pursue in life. We want to live a better life by obtaining all the things that make us feel pleasurable.
While dreams and desires are great, they are not the strongest form of motivation that drives people to struggle for change.
What is even more powerful is not pleasure, but the need to avoid pain…
2. The need to get rid of pains
The second factor that motivates people to change is the need to get rid of the pain. And this form of motivation is stronger than the need to gain pleasure.
Think about it, most people are struggling, they are more willing to go through the uncomfortable to make a change.
This is why the majority of people only make enough to survive, not thrive. As long as they earn enough money and get to live a comfortable life, they stop pursuing more. There’s no pain to force them to change for the better.
Imagine these 2 scenarios right now…
- You are in serious debt. If you don’t find a way to get rid of those debts, you will go bankrupt. Your car will be repossessed by the bank. And you will not have enough money to put food on the table for your family.
- You are living a comfortable life. But you want more. You have no problem with your income right now, but you wish to earn more so that you can have a better lifestyle.
Which situation motivates you more? Option 1 or option 2? The choice is clear…
Pain is a stronger force than pleasure.
People are more willing to take action and change their life to avoid pain than to struggle for change for pleasure.
This is why most people fail to thrive in life, but they never fail to survive and make enough just to survive.
Read: 3 Fundamental Principles How to Turn Failure Into Success
Now that you understand the 2 main forces that motivate people to change, there is another form of motivation that can also drive people to change…
3. Serving a meaningful purpose
Besides avoiding pain and pursuing pleasure, there is another factor that can motivate people to struggle for change – a meaningful purpose.
In this article, I shared why having a purpose-driven mission is important…
In an experiment conducted by Adam Grant and his team, he studied paid employees at a university’s call center who were asked to cold call for a fundraising campaign.
The work is grimed as employees don’t get high pay and they have to face rejections for asking for donations. So, the turnover rate is high and the morale is low.
So, Grant and his team arranged for a group of employees to meet with the students who received scholarships from the fundraising campaign. The employees got to ask the students about their lives and studies for just 5 minutes.
The following month, that little 5 minutes interaction with the recipients of the scholarships made a huge difference. The group of employees spent twice as much time on the phone and brought in more money from their fundraising call, from $185.95 to $503.22 per week. And that’s about a 271% improvement in performance.
You see, when you know what you do is helping and serving people, you become more motivated to work harder.
Like the group of callers in Grant’s study, when they know their work is helping students to get scholarships, their performance increases.
I’m a blogger in the personal development industry. Whenever I receive emails from readers around the world telling me how my content has inspired them and helped them to do better in their lives, I feel good.
This is why you want to make your mission to serve and to help.
If you want to learn and understand more about serving, having a bigger purpose than yourself, or how people are motivated through a meaningful course, read this book from Adam Grant, Give and Take.
When you are pursuing a bigger purpose than yourself, besides gaining pleasure and avoiding pain, you become intrinsically driven. You are motivated by your inner values, which is a great form of power for change.
Conclusion
These are the 3 main things that motivate people to struggle for change. Either you are motivated by pleasure and pain, or you are motivated to serve a meaningful purpose.
The more you understand what motivates you, the more likely you can tap into your inner motivation and help you achieve better success in life.