The Problem With Motivation

Most of us get our ass off the couch and commit to action once we feel a certain level of motivation.

This motivation usually comes from doing something that evokes some sort of emotional inspiration in us. We therefore assume that in order to commit to action we need to go through a certain set of events first…

Emotional inspiration –> Motivation –> Desired action 

Unfortunatley though, we don’t always feel this emotional inspiration and so we never really get motivated to do something. After all, we therefore assume we’re just screwed if we don’t get motivated or have a major emotional life-event happen, that makes us take action.

This is literally what my mum used to tell me back in high school. Instead of sitting at my desk and solving algebra problems, I was the one who downloaded computer games and avoided work like the Ebola virus. At one point she marched into my room and told me if I don’t get motivated to do XYZ, I might just end up being a garbage collector.

…and there I was. Self-loathing and condemning myself about being an unmotivated piece a’ shit.

Many of us face this problem. We desperately want to do something, but then fall into modes of procrastination, doing Netflix & chill and ordering 2 for 1 Margherita deals.

How To Get Motivated

I recently read one of Mark Manson’s powerful quotes in one of his books.

‘Action isnt just the effect of motivation. Its also the cause of it.’

What Mark really means by this quote, is this;

Action –> Inspiration –> Motivation

How often did you find yourself doing random things at home, or at work, and all of the sudden have an epiphany moment where you go ‘whoa! I could do XYZ!’ 

I get it all the time! It’s almost magical!

And once you get started on something, after being motivated enough, you also begin to notice that your actions trigger further inspiration and that this inspiration brings about further motivation which brings about further action blah blah blah…

So look, the lesson here is that if you’re stuck in the middle of an existential shitstorm right now, feel like you’re chasing after false dream, or if everything just feels a little meaningless right now, just DO SOMETHING. Anything. It could be anything of the simplest thing. When starting to actually do something, you’ll not only discover new values for yourself, but also overcome that emotional hurdle on getting started on something bigger.

Thanks for reading 🙂