Motivation and Other People

I’ve been interested in the power of other people to motivate you for a while.
I’ve discovered that things like stopping smoking are much easier when you have a friend to give up with. When you’re finding it hard, you can call on your friend and they’ll help you pull through. When you’re about to relapse, you don’t, because you promised your buddy you’d stay strong, and you know that they’re doing their best to stay strong too. Of course it’s a mutually beneficial system and you keep them motivated and on track too.

I used this method quite successfully with my writing during my time in Costa Rica. I started a writing group with my friend Teresa, and each week we’d get together and share what we’d written, along with as much white wine as we could handle. Which turned out to be quite a bit. Despite the general debauched nature of our writing group, or maybe because of it, the idea worked and got me writing regularly. I had to show up with something to read to Teresa each week, and I had to make sure that it would be reasonably entertaining too.

Co-Motivation

I know, ideally the inner motivation would be there, but sometimes you just need someone to answer to to get you writing or achieve whatever your goal is. Since I’ve been in Australia I’ve discovered that a fellow Noosa resident has actually set up a website, Co-Motivate ^[1], with the same idea in mind. You post your goal, such as lose weight, give up smoking, write a book or whatever, find like minded people on the site, and then get on with it together.

Whether you want to do it online with a a new group of people, or with a friend you know and trust, try out the power of co-motivation. It might just help you get settled into some good habits and move closer to achieving your goals. Thanks Teresa, and cheers!

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