You don't have a willpower problem. 4 truths about motivation to get you moving

SALT LAKE CITY — You meant to go the gym, to clean out that closet, to put away the laundry or make the phone call. But here's the truth: you don't have a willpower problem. Science can help you crack open more motivation.

Dr. Matt Townsend said motivation isn't something you wait to feel. He shared four truths about motivation to get us thinking and moving the right way.

Willpower is a battery you drain every day.

Dr. Townsend said that willpower isn't something you either have or you don't.

"Willpower is a battery," he explained.

Like a phone battery, it gets drained throughout the day by decisions, responsibilities and stress. Every choice costs energy.

"It's a limited resource of time and energy and information and choice," he said.

Decision fatigue is real. The more decisions you make throughout the day, the less mental energy you have left for difficult tasks. Dr. Townsend said to tackle the important things early.

"Do the hard stuff early because by nighttime, it's over," he emphasized.

Stop assuming that you'll have more motivation later when actually, your mental battery is usually fullest first thing in the day.

Since willpower is limited, simplifying your life is a way to save yourself stress. Instead of making every choice from scratch each day, he suggested making routines that get rid of unnecessary decision-making.

"You can actually save a lot of your life by just minimizing the decisions you need to make," Dr. Townsend said. "Try to create a lot of decisions that are already made."

That can look like meal planning, workout schedules or morning routines. Pre-deciding reduces the mental strain and leaves you with more energy for meaningful goals.

Your habits lead your life.

Dr. Townsend said that we aren't really consciously directing most of our daily actions. Habits actually determine our behavior long before motivation gets involved.

"Our body will tell us what to do," he said. "So if you really wanna have power on motivation, you have to evaluate your habits."

The routines you follow each morning, the foods you reach for and the activities you default to are shaping your life every day. Dr. Townsend said to look at the systems that support your goals. Habits create momentum either for better or worse.

Feeling motivated doesn't come first. Action does.

One of the most common myths about motivation that most of us believe is that you have to feel motivated before you can act.

"It's actually a small act toward the goal that actually creates motivation," Dr. Townsend explained.

You don't have to want to work out before going to the gym. You just need to take one small step.

"You just gotta get your shoes on," he said. "You just gotta get your helmet on."

Once you start moving, the motivation follows. Starting with small things is easier than tackling a huge goal, and starting is usually the hardest part. Dr. Townsend said he uses a countdown to get started.

"I always do the countdown, five, four, three, two, one," he said. "By one, go do it."

This system interrupts hesitation before your brain talks you out of taking action.

Successful people don't do more, they say no more.

Successful people don't actually take on more. Many of them are just better at protecting their time, attention and energy.

"If you only have so much bandwidth and if everybody else is putting their stuff in there, you're not gonna do yours," he explained. "So the more nos you say, the more yeses you're actually saying."

Get more advice from Dr. Matt Townsend at matttownsend.com.

This story was adapted from a TV broadcast script using artificial intelligence. Every story, including those adapted with AI, is reviewed by a human editor before publication to ensure that KSL's editorial standards are upheld.