In this guide, I will share the best guided meditation for motivation, with both the script and audio.
When you want to know how to get motivated, meditation should be your go-to.
Not only does meditation remove many of the mental obstacles that stop you from feeling positive and motivated, but it also focuses your energy so you can get things done.
Try the script below. And for even more motivation, book an online meditation lesson with me today.
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Guided Meditation For Motivation
Script
- Have a goal in mind that you will focus on in this meditation.
- Sit comfortably in a chair. Place your feet shoulder-width apart. Roll your shoulders back then let them relax. Let your shoulders open outwards a little, which will open your heart space. Gently tuck your chin down to lengthen your spine.
- Next, we want to use a mudra for motivation. Mudras are hand gestures that activate accupressure points in the hands to create certain states of mind. The best mudra for motivation is Anjali mudra, which is literally just prayer gesture. So, hold your hands in Anjali mudra (prayer position).
- Close your eyes and meditate on your breath for five minutes. Watch as your breath moves through your nose, into your mouth, into your lungs, and then back out. Watch your breathing for five minutes.
- Bring your goal to mind. Visualize achieving your goal. Think about what you would feel like, what you would look like, and what would be happening around you if you were successful. Vividly imagine your success.
- This is the most important part and the part where many inexperienced meditators go wrong. Your mind will bring up objections and obstacles. For instance, if you want to get fit you might think, “But I’m so out of shape.” This is an obstacle. Many people make the mistake of ignoring these obstacles. Do not do that. Instead, accept the obstacles that are in your way. Acknowledge them, and then visualize taking positive steps to overcome those obstacles.
- Continue meditating in this fashion for 15 minutes.
- Open your eyes and do one thing that will move you closer to success (for instance if you’re trying to lose weight, go for a walk).
- You can also use these techniques for positive thinking.
More types of meditation for motivation
1: Guided Meditation For Motivation 2
2: Loving-Kindness
One of the most essential elements of self-motivation is self-love [1]. You need to feel compassionate and loving towards yourself so that you naturally want to make life better. If you feel negatively about yourself, that negativity will continually sap away at your motivation.
To develop self-love, use loving-kindness meditation (Metta). Spend ten minutes focusing on sending love to yourself and then ten minutes focusing on sending love to others.
3: Visualization
Tony Robbins states that you need to be able to visualize your success if you are to achieve it.
Visualize yourself working through your obstacles on the path to success. It is imperative to visualize the hard work and to be aware of the obstacles. This is why we deliberately acknowledge obstacles in the script we did above.
4: Silence your mind to find your life’s purpose
When you know your life’s purpose, you will naturally be incredibly motivated because you will know the one thing you want to achieve above all else.
The problem is that stress and pressure interfere with our life’s purpose. The day to day grind of life can make it a challenge to even realise your life’s purpose, let alone achieve it. That’s why one of the best meditations for motivation is nothingness.
Spend twenty minutes meditating on nothing and listen to your inner guidance.
5: Dynamic Meditation & Dance
Many studies have shown that meditation is demotivating [3]. However, that’s only true of specific meditation techniques like mindfulness. Some methods are truly excellent for firing us up. For instance, another of the best meditations for motivation and energy is Dynamic and Dance meditation as taught by spiritual guru Osho.
These meditations are active. They get blood flowing through the body and they produce the positive energy that you need to feel motivated.
6: Mantras & Affirmations for Motivation
Another of the best meditations for motivation is mantra meditation.
Mantras and affirmations are phrases that we repeat to ourselves to create certain thoughts and feelings.
For instance, “I am working hard, overcoming my obstacles, and moving towards success.”
Once you choose your mantra, recite it 108 times to yourself while meditating.
Link Between Guided Meditation, Motivation & Energy
Many motivational speakers like Tony Robbins have touted the importance of meditation for success in life, and for good reason.
Meditation helps us overcome laziness and remove negative energy.
It does this by working directly at the core of motivation.
There are different psychological aspects of motivation. There’s the direction (the goal we are trying to achieve, or the negative event we are trying to avoid). There’s the “seeking phase” in which we are actively seeking our goal. And then there is the “Reward”, which is the sense of reward we will get from being successful. Meditation can help with all these things.
Dopamine
One of the most important neurochemicals for motivation is dopamine.
According to researchers at the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón, dopamine is released when we anticipate something positive or anticipate avoiding something negative. Both pleasurable sensations and painful ones (like stress) can cause dopamine release. Because dopamine is a pleasure chemical, the release of dopamine associated with our goals leads to motivation
Our meditation for motivation and energy, above, helps to balance your dopamine levels.
Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation
As well as the neurological aspect of motivation, there is the emotional and the social aspect. Most theories of motivation discuss Extrinsic Motivation (those that are external) and Intrinsic Motivation (those that come from within).
Basic human motivations include the need for food, safety, and love (as defined in Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs). When one of our basic needs (like the need to sleep) is not met, it will negatively influence motivation in other areas.
Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory, on the other hand, explains that motivation is based on positive motivators (like career success) and “hygiene factors” which are basic needs.
Now we understand the nature of motivation. And we can start to see how to use meditation for motivation and energy.
How meditation increases motivation
Meditation increases motivation because it does the following:
- Balances dopamine
- Strengthens brain regions associated with motivation (thalamus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and especially the anterior cingulate cortex)
- Improves cognitive functioning
- Improves overall wellbeing (because, in accordance with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we can’t focus on higher motivations until lower ones are fulfilled)
- Improves social connections for positive social motivations
Summary
Above, we looked at my picks of the best scripts. We’ve seen how guided meditations for motivation can relax us so we are more productive, and compassion-based meditations can motivate us to help others.
Do you want to be highly motivated? Are you interested in learning meditation? Book an online meditation lesson with me today.
SOURCES:
2013 research led by Michael Hagerty at the University of California, Davis showed that meditation (jnana) improves dopamine tone
Considerable research has shown positive effects of meditation on regions of the brain associated with motivation [World Journal of Radiology]
Numerous studies show positive links between meditation and cognitive functioning
Research [Hutcherson, C. A., Seppala, E. M., & Gross, J. J. (2008)] shows that certain methods, such as Loving Kindness Meditation (Metta Bhavana) improve social connection.
1: Self-Compassion Increases Self-Improvement MotivationJuliana Breines at the University of California, Berkeley, and published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167212445599
4: Mindfulness Is Demotivating, Scott Berinato, Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2019/01/mindfulness-is-demotivating
Paul Harrison is a passionate meditation teacher who believes in genuine, authentic meditation. He has more than 15 years experience in meditation and mindfulness. He studied meditation in beautiful Oxford, UK, and Hamilton Ontario Canada, and earned his degree at Staffordshire University.
“My goal is to provide the most authentic meditation sessions so you can harness the power of your own mind for personal transformation” – Paul Harrison