Push versus Pull Motivation

Here is a little tidbit from Tony Robbins that we've been using in our business for years.  

There are two types of motivation:

PUSH MOTIVATION: This is willpower – where we are pushing forward to attain or achieve something. This is the type of motivation that easily leads to discouragement whenever obstacles present themselves in the path of achievement. This type of motivation is tenuous as best. Willpower alone is only as strong as the desire behind the willpower. With push motivation it is easy to question your original goal when things get hard, and you ask yourself, “why am I pushing so hard at this?”, “is this worth it?”

PULL MOTIVATION: This form of motivation is much more powerful than push motivation. This is where the thing that we want is so compelling and exciting and clear that it seems to pull us to it. Each of us has experienced pull motivation at sometime in our life. Pull motivation is where effort seems easy. Where we stay up late and get up early and never seem to need to “talk ourselves into working”. We want something so bad that it just seems to pull us to it. When we wake up in the morning we think about this compelling thing and it makes us excited to get to work. With pull motivation we never have to “convince ourselves” to work hard. We just do.

SO WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO: In order to have pull motivation you need REASONS.

The thing you want must be compelling. You need many reasons and strong enough reasons that the thing is so compelling that it pulls you to it. If you find yourself in push motivation, not pull motivation, then you don’t have enough reasons for what you are trying to get, or the reasons aren’t strong enough.

If you paint an internal picture for yourself of how compelling and freeing and exciting the achievement of a goal will be you will experience pull motivation. Create the vision and make it so compelling that the vision will pull you to take the type and quantity of actions needed to achieve even your most difficult goal.