Altruistic Motivation

Hi there! It’s August and things have been busy for me as I return to work after a break. I've been feeling a mix of emotions, guilty to restart work but also excited because sometimes you need that mental stimulus besides being engaged with the baby chores - which brings me to the topic. Today, I'll explain what altruistic motivation is and how it's been affecting me lately. But first…

Weekly Inventory Check

Let's check our progress for the week. We're halfway through August, so it's a good time to see if we've accomplished our goals and reflect on why what’s not done has not been done yet. If you haven't achieved your goals yet, write down the reasons why and then analyze them so that they can serve as a reminder for you to accomplish them later.

Altruistic Motivation

What I want to discuss today is altruistic motivation. This idea came to me when I realized that ever since my child was born, I've been more focused on building the right kind of routine for myself so that I can be more available for my baby and my wife. For the past year, I have been working on getting up early, exercising, planning my day, and using social media less but I failed every single time.

But when my baby was born, I naturally started waking up at six in the morning to feed her without needing any motivation. And because of this, my whole routine got settled. Now after I am done feeding her, I have the time to exercise, sort my things out, while still staying away from the phone. So, everything has just started to fall in place with my baby acting as a central anchor around which my day revolves. Honestly, now the day feels longer because I am not wasting time on distractions. I can do everything I need to do and also spend time with my child.

This made me realize that when you plan your life around people you care about, you don't need to force yourself to do things. It's like a strong inner desire to do things for them, which is different when you are trying to do things for yourself.

It’s so strange, yet interesting because the kind of things that I do now, and the routine that I follow today is something that I was struggling with for the past whole year but it just did not work out. And now, it does not feel troublesome at all. I spend time with my baby, help my wife, get my work done and still have time for my personal development. This motivation didn't just come from within me, but from wanting to do things for my child. This leads me to the concept of accountability. People talk about having accountability partners, but it never made sense to me. Now I understand that when the person you're accountable to is someone you deeply care about and want to impress, it's a powerful motivator. Thinking about my child and wife's perspective makes tasks feel meaningful, not like chores. I do things willingly and happily. Sometimes we don’t want to do things for ourselves as much as we want to do for others. This actually is the essence of who we are as people and an evolutionary feature of being altruistic.

One well-known study that demonstrates the positive effects of helping others on mood is the "Helper's High" study conducted by Allan Luks in the 1980s. Luks found that people who engaged in acts of kindness or altruistic behavior reported experiencing a sense of euphoria or a "high." This feeling of increased happiness and improved mood was attributed to the release of endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain associated with feelings of pleasure and well-being. So, what is important to note here is that performing acts of kindness and helping others can have a positive impact on one's own emotional well-being.

Want More?

This article emphasizes having an accountability partner and many benefits that make them an ideal addition to your successful journey.

This article discusses how being altruistic can be good and the pitfalls of being altruistic but despite the potential problems, altruism is generally a positive force in the world, and it's a skill worth developing.

In this article, evidence has been given that altruism is pervasive and discusses the conditions that promote its development in children and its display in adults.

Read of the Week

While talking about altruistic motivation I came across this book, Find Your Ideal Accountability Partner: Simple Steps to Connect and Collaborate Toward Achieving Personal Goals. We often talk about coaches and mentors and how they can guide us to succeed. But have you thought about having an accountability partner? This short article explains the important steps to find and work with an accountability partner. It's about reaching your goals and also helping your partner reach theirs.

Thoughts to leave you with

I was surprised to discover how intriguing accountability partners can be, and I didn't realize this perspective could be applied. I encourage everyone to seek out accountability partners who you naturally want to look after and improve yourself for. When you do, your tasks at work, your responsibilities at home, and your efforts to grow as a person won't feel like a struggle anymore. They'll become a seamless part of who you are. I find this transformation beautiful, and I hope you're able to experience it too. In my opinion, this is how it should be.

The Weekly Vasl Podcast

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