I’m fascinated with what motivates us because it’s those motivations that determine our thoughts, habits and progress.
When it comes to motivation, specifically motivation that affects your ability to persist with the quest to build muscle, there are two types of motivation: implicit and explicit. Firstly, I’ll tackle explicit.
Explicit motivations are essentially external motivations, they’re signals from your environment pushing you towards a certain goal. For an ectomorph these explicit motivations may include:
- Friends and “enemies” alike making fun of your weight and lack of strength.
- The media condemning anyone who doesn’t have a six pack and huge muscles.
- Sports stars promising fame, fortune and a dream lifestyle if you train long and hard.
These are weak motivations. Explicit motivations are weak. They’re founded on the opinions of others, and based on ideas that probably don’t gel with our own, but sound compelling all the same. And that’s the key, they sound compelling, but in the vast majority of cases an explicit motivation is not enough to pull you through hardship.
Implicit motivations are the opposite, they come from within. Some examples of ectomorphic implicit motivations to build muscle include:
- Having a burning desire to succeed in a particular sport that requires higher levels of strength.
- Wanting to improve your physical state because of your own disapproval.
- Desiring total freedom which you feel is impossible while remaining skinny with a lack of strength.
These are powerful motivations because you can’t escape them. External motivations can be ignored, blocked out, and will fade with time. But when there’s a motivation linked with your very being, it keeps you going.
What motivates you?
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For a deeper look into motivation watch this great video from Dan H. Pink speaking at the TED Conference.
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