I originally published this on my medium blog. Creating an archive here
· The internet is full of motivational content.
· But aside from triggering temporary emotional response from us, it does nothing else.
· Instead you have to develop your own discipline and learn to enjoy life’s challenges, trying new things and figure out what works.
Photo by Blake Cheek on Unsplash
If you spend any considerable amount of time just browsing randomly on the internet, you have for sure come across motivational articles: chronicling inspiring stories of some guy or girl who overcame all odds. Similarly, social media is full of images and videos of motivational quotes, posters, stories, etc. etc. etc. from their favorite TV shows, Youtube videos, movies, video games, books, podcasts (every other guy seems to be doing them these days) and other sources; you may even be one of those who has shared them or shares them regularly. People keep giving each other these motivational pep talks all the time, organizing seminars and conferences and inviting some successful people to their offices or colleges to give some rousing speech on the secret of success and staying motivated to achieve all goals. But here’s the thing……………
It is all a fluke
Yep. It really is. It is great that all those people you read about succeeded but that won’t do anything for you. You may feel temporarily pumped after seeing and hearing all this motivational talk thinking THIS IS IT! I am going to change my life and do this and do that. You may even accomplish something. But we are talking about the long run. All the talk about motivation and willpower will never get you anywhere permanent. Motivation dies after sometimes when you get it like this from an external source. We have short memories and we forget, or we simply get tired of reminding ourselves why we are motivated. If you need something or someone to motivate you, I got news for you: something is wrong and you need to fix it. Because you will eventually stop and be back to square one. Nothing changes despite what the sellers of this motivational charade may want you to believe. It will make you feel good and inspired and trigger emotions, then back to where we were. Nothing wrong with taking inspirations and learning from those stories you read about, just ensure that you don’t get floated away in the endless motivational cycle.
So what next?
Work on skills. I am not going into time management and tell you that you need to get organized and prioritize work. Introspection will give you the answer to what you are wasting your time and energy on and how you need to fix it. I don’t know what your answer is. It is ultimately your own responsibility to get your work done and try whatever you can, see what works for you. Make yourself better every day. Stop needing what roasters of the internet culture call “Motivational M@$turb@ti0n”. In the end to get your work done, you have to learn to love the process and really care about your outcomes, instead of treating your workload as burden that you need to get off your table. People often ask me what motivates me to wake up at 5 in the morning and workout every day (almost). I don’t stay motivated. I do it because I love it, love being healthy and strong and being able to train. Same goes for other things. You have to learn to care and think for your own best interests. Develop that discipline. Find what works for you. That’s it. Break free of needing things to keep you on track.
Update on 21st July 2024:
I kinda wanted to update my views on here. There is good news & bad news & I am talking about workouts here but this can be applied to anything:
Good: It is human nature to lie to themselves. We lie to ourselves of the time. So you just have to lie to yourself. Tell yourself you love to workout. Drill it into your brain. It should be like eating food or brushing your teeth everyday. You wake up & just do things. It should be routine. & you should love it, the way you used to love playing games when you were a kid instead of studying like your elders told you to. That is the trick. I do it because I love it. I am in it for a lifetime. That is what your commitment should be. For life. We all have different reasons to start, get away from frustration, impress girls, get stronger against bullying etc. If all that keeps you consistent, fair play. But for the majority of us, the way to play the game is to love the game.
Bad: This is probably controversial, but chances are if you being a full adult can't take the responsibility for you own health & actions to do what you need to do, you probably won't now. Which is fine, it is not your priority. But don't wait or fret that you need someone to help you, because that does not exist. No one is coming to save us. It is kids who need pushing, not full grown adults.
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