Let’s talk about motivation.

🙋‍♀️ I’ll start with the fact that I’ve been struggling with motivation the last few weeks.

I have an ambitious goal to lose 20 pounds by mid-July. My brother is getting married in Barbados, they’ve rented a fancy beach villa and I’m his “Best Man.” If that isn’t incentive to finally drop the baby weight, I don’t know what is.

So I’ve been eating better, snacking less, enjoying fewer glasses of wine.

I’ve kicked up my work outs.

But making these changes has been hard. Getting motivated isn’t the issue, but staying motivated? Ugh.

The good thing is I know that motivation doesn’t actually matter at the end of the day.

I know I’ll reach my goal because of the routines I’ve put in place.

Three days each week, after dropping Sonny at daycare, I hit the gym. Weights, jog, steam, done.

The other days, Sonny and I are out the door at 8am for a ruck (i.e. me hiking with him on my back). Him plus the pack weighs close to 50 pounds.

Here we are the other day:

Now, a lot of the time, I genuinely enjoy this. I like to push myself and the sense of accomplishment I get afterwards is next level.

But other times? It’s the last thing I want to do. And my brain is REALLY good at telling me all the reasons I don’t need to actually do it (I do). Or that I can do it later (I won’t).

Or that he’s getting too heavy, I’m always aching afterwards, what if I damage my shoulders or back? This one gets me the most - the irony of rationalizing I shouldn’t go to protect my health lol - but I also know this is unlikely so long as I stretch and don’t overdo it.

If I relied on motivation, I’d be carrying these extra 20 pounds the rest of my life.

Our success in achieving the goals we set for ourselves - actually making the changes we want to make - hinges on the quality of our routines.

This, of course, applies to our teens with school.

Which brings me to our Q+A:

“My son has no motivation. He’ll talk a big game but at the end of the day nothing happens. How do I get him motivated?”

Of the 3,000+ students I’ve worked with over the years, almost every single one has told me at one point that they’re “just not motivated.”

Here’s the thing:

The problem is not their lack of motivation.

The problem is that they think they need to feel motivated to do their work.

And in my experience, parents (inadvertently) perpetuate this problem. Teens will pull the motivation card, and parents focus on figuring out how to help their kids get motivated.

The question you as the parent actually want to ask is: how do I help my kid understand that motivation is irrelevant?

The solution here is to shift from focusing on motivation to focusing on routines and habits.

Here’s an image to illustrate:

Your teen’s good grades and productivity, helping them kick the procrastination once and for all, is on the other side of making this shift.

The number of parents I’ve spoken with these last few weeks struggling with their kids’ lack of motivation, especially with final tests and exams coming up, has motivated me to host a workshop on this specific issue. It’s this Saturday and may be just the most valuable thing your teen does all month. Sign up here before May 8th for early bird pricing, and see below for details.

If you have friends who wish their kids were more motivated, pass it along!

Motivation Bootcamp

This is a live workshop where I personally teach your teen how to self-motivate.

We’ll cover what motivation actually is, how it works, and how they can tap into it any time.

I’ll also show them exactly how to still get their work done even and especially when they’re NOT feeling motivated.

If your teen is dragging their feet to the end of the school year, this is for them. If they wished they were more motivated, this is for them.

If they think they’d get better grades and feel less stressed if only they were more motivated, this is for them. If they have final tests or exams coming up, and want to feel confident and prepared, this is for them.

If YOU wish your teen felt more motivated….this is for you too 🙂 

Details:

• Saturday, May 11th @ 12pm ET

• Early bird pricing from now until Wednesday, May 8th: $99

• May 8 - 11: $149

• Register here. Your confirmation email with the link to attend will be sent within 24 hours of registration.

Opportunities

• Traveling Social Media Manager (Contract). This is a super cool opportunity that could be a good fit for a recent college grad OR experienced Mama/marketer. For someone who loves travel, adventure and new experiences!

• Victory Ventures Accelerator. Is your son or daughter a student-athletes with big ideas? This one is for you 👟🏒 ⚽️⚾️ 🏈 

• NHL Power Players. For kids who like hockey and want to be involved with the NHL! On a hockey-related sidebar - if anyone reading this is or has a Leafs fan in the home, I too am feeling the rage from last night.

• D’Skills AI Sprint. The women running this company are amazing. I spoke with one of the co-founders recently, and have been really excited to share their initiative with you. They help kids learn how to use AI to create fun and profitable opportunities for themselves. If your kid is a techie - which I think all of them are these days?! - check it out!

If you have an opportunity you’d like to share with 7,000+ likeminded parents and/or their kids, hit “reply” with the info and I’ll include it in the next newsletter.