The Link Between Motivation and Healing

In many circles, when people talk about genezing, they emphasize willpower. This is especially true when people talk about mental health issues, such as addiction. However, willpower by itself is not enough for the healing journey. In this article shared by Werkelijk goddelijk, you’ll see the link between motivation and healing. You’ll also discover options for boosting motivation, such as motivational interviewing.

Remembering Your “Why”

Motivation is the drive or desire to complete a goal. Often, it comes from a specific source. For example, you may feel motivated to heal from an injury because you miss the activities you enjoyed before it occurred. The “why” adds meaning to your healing process, and that meaning can help you keep going.

Motivation and Short-Term Energy

The right motivation can help you begin your healing journey. When you engage your motivation, your brain releases chemicals like dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. These chemicals help you take action, partly by boosting your short-term energy. The healing journey requires a lot of energy, and motivation can help you turn your brain into your biggest ally.

Motivation and Long-Term Goals

Engaging with your motivation can also help you keep up with your healing in the long term.

Have you ever stopped pursuing a New Year’s resolution after a few weeks of diligence? Many people have this experience, often because the goal doesn’t feel new anymore. The brain doesn’t see the goal as exciting anymore, so it doesn’t dedicate as much energy to it.

In these moments, it helps to return to your source of motivation. The “why” can help you stay on track when your healing goals feel difficult or boring. They can help you continue things like exercise, therapy, and spiritual practices when life gets busy or when you feel tired.

How to Leverage Motivation for Healing

Often, motivation arises naturally. Sometimes, motivation needs an extra boost. This is usually the moment when people start talking about willpower, asking you to force yourself to pursue your goal even when the motivation isn’t there.

However, this is like asking someone to drive a car without fuel in the tank. Again, motivation is connected to the brain chemicals that help you take action. Without those chemicals, you won’t always have the energy you need to pursue healing.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to leverage your motivation. Let’s take a look at some of your options.

Consider Motivational Interviewing

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a therapy modality. It can help you if you haven’t quite found your motivation yet. MI is often used for clients overcoming addiction, but it can also be helpful for other types of healing journeys.

MI helps clients explore their experiences, perspectives, and other factors that can help them discover their reasons for healing. It’s especially helpful for those who want to overcome mixed feelings about their journey.

Add Novelty to Your Healing Process

You can increase your motivation by boosting dopamine in healthy ways. One way to do that is to add novelty to your healing.

Of course, consistency is important. Still, finding moments of novelty here and there can help you keep going when your brain needs a little extra help.

Engage Your Emotions

You may feel a gap in your motivation if you only engage with it on an intellectual level. For instance, you may know that you want to heal so you can spend more time with your friends, but if you don’t tune into your emotions, your motivation may not feel strong.

Try adding an emotional aspect to your motivation. Imagine how you feel when you see your friends and do your favorite activities with them. The emotional connection can strengthen your motivation.

Plan for Motivation Gaps

Motivation is a limited resource. You can improve it and strengthen it, but much like your muscles after a workout, your motivational reserves will eventually need a break. When this happens, it’s not because you don’t want to heal badly enough, or that you are weak or lack willpower. Everybody experiences motivation gaps.

However, you can plan for these gaps during moments when you do feel motivated. Consider what supports you might put in place for days when motivation is low. For example, if you participate in an addiction support group, you could put your sponsor’s phone nummer in a prominent place in your home.

By leveraging your motivation and planning for days when motivation is low, you can make the most of your healing.