The newsletter which curates & delivers the best mind hacks, mental health tips & high performance strategies to you every single week.

‍🔥 MOTIVATION HACK

How To Boost Good Dopamine Release & Activate Maximum Motivation… By Setting 'High Motivation Goals!'

The best way to think about motivation is like the ‘fuel’ (or, ‘gas’) in your car...

You can have a great car... but, if there’s no fuel/gas in the tank, you’re not going to go anywhere!

In that same way, you can have lots of information, knowledge, plenty of great ideas & well-crafted plans... but if you lack 'motivation', you're not going to make progress!

'Motivation' is human fuel...

Motivation is the ‘stuff’ that gets us to move; it’s what gets us from point A to point B!

But, you likely know this already...

The question is…

Well, the place to start is goal-setting (done the right way!)

The research validates this...

See, for a long time, neuroscientists used to believe ‘dopamine’ (which is the brain's primary “reward chemical”) was released only after we achieved something...

They believed that dopamine's evolutionary purpose was to reward us for doing good work, making us want to do more of it in the future...

But, through continued study, we learned that this is not the case...

Yes, sure, dopamine is released after you check something off your to-do list, complete a big project, or finally achieve a goal you've been diligently working towards for some time (they were right about this part)...

However, they found that it’s also released before we took action as well...

Meaning, that as soon as we set a goal, or an intention for ourselves in our mind…

(e.g. I’m doing to do _______,
I need to complete _______,
I want to achieve _________!)

As soon as we do that… dopamine is released in your mind!

Why?

Well, it's to get us to take action in the first place...

Which makes ‘dopamine’ not just our brain's primary “reward chemical”, but also a “motivation molecule” which once released in our brain, gets us to start taking action!

Therefore, goals are a great place to start…

Here’s the (even more!) interesting part…

Not all goals or intentions we set release dopamine in the brain in the same way…

Meaning, that not all goals are created equal…

Some goals will motivate us (& continue to drive us!) over the long-term, helping us to create incredible results…

Others may motivate us a bit, for a little while… then we fall back into old habits & fail!

This brings us to this week's first mind hack & practical strategy you can implement...

Don’t just set goals...

Set a goal that is specifically designed to release as much dopamine as possible… (or, what we're calling “high-motivation goals”).

To explain what we mean by "high-motivation goals", take a look at this framework:

For example, the S.M.A.R.T. goals framework you may have heard about (making goals Specific, Measurable, Actionable, etc) is great later on in the process (step 3) but it’s not where you want to start…

Rather, you want to start with what we call ‘Creative Visioning’…

The question here is essentially:

This is the starting point ^

We also combine this question with visualization (another powerful motivation hack) to help people to really connect with this emotionally...

Then, once you’ve figured out what you really, truly care about in life (big picture, boundless thinking) there’s step 2 which is more practical & it’s called “Stepping Stone Targets”.

The question here is…

And finally, there’s part #3, “Inputs & Outputs” (which is another critical step that most conventional goal-setting completely overlooks!)...

“Lose 5 pounds”, “write a book” “start a business” are not actionable items…

Nobody “loses weight” per se — that’s merely an “output”.

And so, the final part of the goal-setting process must be to clarify the “inputs” (the actionable things that you can schedule, keep yourself accountable & do consistently) to create those measurable “outputs” that you desire…

For weight loss, for example...

It might be a specific nutrition plan, exercise plan, hydration, etc - these are the actionable things you do to achieve your goal & therefore what you must focus on every day to make the goal happen!

You need all 3 parts — the entire spectrum of a big, bold, inspiring vision for your future, as well as the specific, measurable inputs — in order for your goals to activate maximum motivation & drive in you!

If you’d like to learn more about this goal-setting framework, as well as a number of other ‘motivation hacks’, we have good news!

You can actually download a free guide we wrote about this called:

‘7 Proven Motivation Hacks’

Inside this guide, you'll discover not 1 or 2, but 7 proven, practical & highly-effective 'hacks' that you can apply into your life to... eliminate procrastination, multiply motivation, accelerate your progress & achieve even your biggest, most ambitious goals.

👉 Download the ‘Motivation Hacks’ ebook (it’s free) »

💭 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The point of this quote, we think, is that you don't necessarily have to see something or have evidence of it to believe it to be true/possible...

As well as that the past does not necessarily equal the future.

Everything about your life today could be pointing in a certain direction but that does NOT mean that this is how things will actually turn out...

Things can change (even completely) because you have the will to change them...

You can absolutely 100% become that 'butterfly' (not literally, but metaphorically) in your life & achieve all of your dreams — even if your present-day circumstances might not indicate so…

Have faith in your potential & your future!

📖 FREE BOOK

Speaking of transformation, if you'd like to learn how to become the very best version of yourself… transforming who you are into the person you were truly meant to be… & unleashing your fullest, highest potential... this book is for you:

’Self Mastery: Create The Life You Want By Becoming The Person You Want To Be’

Written by our founder, Bogdan Juncewicz, this guide decodes the mindset, habits & daily practices of the world's highest achievers…

…& reveals how you can apply those same ideas, insights & strategies into your own life to become unstoppable & achieve anything you set your mind to!

Best part: even though the book normally retails for $24.95, you can actually claim a FREE* copy of the book (*just cover shipping).

👉 Learn more & claim your free copy here »

🎯 PRODUCTIVITY HACK

A Simple 3-Step Process To Overcome Overwhelm, Complete Big Projects & Achieve Your Goals Faster!

One of the biggest things that prevents people from getting more done & achieving their goals is a strong feeling of overwhelm...

For example, you set a goal (a 'high motivation goal' even — & yes, these strategies work best when combined together!)...

Or you start thinking about project you want to complete, an objective you'd like to achieve or milestone you'd like to hit...

However, soon after bringing this goal to mind, your brain starts to list out all of the different things that you need to do...

All the individual steps you need to take...

Everything that's included with achieving the outcome you want...

And before long, your motivation turns into overwhelm & from there, into procrastination/delaying...

(a bit like staring at a mountain in front of you & not knowing where to even begin as the task seems so daunting!)

So, if you've ever felt overwhelmed (& that has caused you to procrastinate), here’s what can you do better next time...

To wrap up this week's newsletter, we want to offer a simple 3 step process for combatting overwhelm, sustaining motivation & getting what you say you're going to do, done...

Here goes:

#1. Don't Keep Everything In Your Head... Write It All Out!

If you diagnose deeper, one of the biggest causes of overwhelm is that we attempt to keep everything in our brain; we attempt to remember, plan out & keep track of everything in our mind alone!

This is a classic mistake & it leads us to feel incredibly overwhelmed...

The simple solution here is to take the information out of your brain & put it onto paper (or a computer, a note-taking app, etc - whatever your preference).

Essentially, take every single idea, note, to-do, project, priority & reminder that you're currently attempting to remember & write it all down somewhere safe...

For example... if you have a big project you're procrastinating on doing right now, chances are it's because you feel there are so many different things to do & that's what's causing your overwhelm...

The best first step is to ask yourself "what's everything that I need to do to complete this project?" & then write everything you can think of, before you start to sort it, plan & take action...

Which brings us to the 2nd part of the process...

#2. Break It Down Into Chunks ('Project Planning')

There's a great saying that goes... 

What's really causing us to feel overwhelmed in the first place is how our mind is 'chunking' all of the incoming & relevant information...

Essentially, we are looking at something that needs to get done... or some project in front of us... as just 1 massive chunk without ever taking the break it down into individual phases, stages, categories & individual steps...

The obvious solution here is to flip this & do the opposite...

Break it down.

For example... lots of people want to write a book, but whenever they think about actually writing it, they feel overwhelmed & end up doing nothing...

One of the biggest reasons for this is that they've never taken the time to break down & project plan out their book writing process...

In reality, writing a book (just like any project) is a desired outcome - & the first step is to take that outcome & break it down into individual phases, parts & steps:

My Goal: To Write & Publish A Book

• Part #1: Do the research for the book

• Part #2: Map out the table of contents for the book

• Part #3: Write out the Introduction for the book

• Part #4: __________________

Then, you got to break those bigger phases into even smaller steps...

For example, the first phase of 'research' can break down further into:

Phase #1: Do the research for the book

• Step #1: Go through all the keynote speeches I've given on this topic

• — Specific Action Step: Keynote Speech - XYZ Conference, 2013

• — Specific Action Step: Keynote Speech - ABC Convention, 2014

• — Specific Action Step: ___________________________

• Step #2: Read back through the best articles / videos I've posted

• — Specific Action Step: Read Article 'XYZ' (March 2018)

• — Specific Action Step: Read Article 'XYZ' (April 2018)

• — Specific Action Step: Read Article 'XYZ' (May 2018)

• Step #3: Re-read / Scan through my 5 favourite books on this topic

• — Specific Action Step: Re-read Favourite Book #1, titled "XYZ" - Specific Action Step: Re-read Favourite Book #1, titled "XYZ"

• — Specific Action Step: Re-read Favourite Book #1, titled "XYZ"

Can you see how breaking things down like this can help turn overwhelm into motivation... as you now have very specific, highly-actionable steps you can take, one-by-one that'll help you move the relevant project / goal forward?

And finally, part #3...

#3. Only Focus On The Next Immediate Step

Once you've taken the time to write everything down, as well as break it down & plan everything in a way that supports action-taking, the 3rd step is to only focus on the next immediate step!

You don't need to focus on steps #2, #3, #5, #12 & #15 of the process...

Ignore all of this...

Pretend they don't exist...

Or trust that you'll handle those in due time...

In fact, whenever you catch yourself doing this, say to yourself "that'll come, but for now, I'm going to choose to focus on the next immediate step" & proceed to bring your attention back to the present moment & that next immediate step in front of you...

Overwhelm is the natural result of thinking about many different things at once & constantly juggling those thoughts in our mind...

The antidote (once you've completed the previous 2 steps we've covered) is to focus on just 1 thing at a time.

One step... One bite... The next immediate step...

In the example of writing a book, once you've done the first 2 steps, stop focusing on the entire contents, what page 165 is going to say & what the cover is going to look like, etc...

Sure, you'll get there...

But for now, only focus your attention on the first step of re-reading your 5 favourite books (for ideas), or watching back old presentations you've given, or laying out the table of contents for your book...

Whatever that first step you've identified is... only focus on that!

Then, once you complete that particular step, then only focus on the next immediate step after that...

One by one... Step by step... Bite after bite…

It's how you eat your food ('one bite at a time')...

It's how you drive your car (Google Maps only announces the next turn, not the turn that's coming up in 3 hour’s time!)...

It's how you do anything that you successfully do in your life already... so do the same for those things that you may currently be overwhelmed around & procrastinating on...

Apply these 3 steps & you'll be astonished as overwhelm melts away & is replaced with greater productivity, faster progress & exponentially better results! 😎