It wasn’t until sitting on my apartment’s roof at 4 am with a friend, having the classical motivation versus discipline discussion, that I realized how much we are held back by such artificial concepts. Recently, the idea that motivation matters little compared to discipline has been popularized in the media. But despite this, the murmurs and excuses of “just not having the motivation” to do something still flood the conversations around me. While I agree that discipline is incredibly important to hold, especially when you can’t seem to find motivation, I see little reason to have a lack of motivation as it is not something that simply comes and goes. Sometimes you need a break – yes. And sometimes reaching for discipline is going to matter more than reaching for motivation – yes. However, lack of motivation is simply an excuse, and perhaps if we view the concept of motivation as something that is made and not a feeling that simply comes and goes, we would be able to do a lot more and push a lot further.
Motivation is defined as “the general desire or willingness of someone to do something”, defined as a feeling, but when we push this aside and view it as a reason, you will find its supply is infinite. When you make the active decision to make your own motivation and not wait for it to find you, you take your life into your own control, and the feeling of burnout and laziness begins to feel sparser. This probably sounds great, a dream even, but it does not flip the switch in your mind for you to think this way – so what does? Of course, like most topics discussed here, time and reflection are almost the only guarantees to change the ways we think, and like many of my other posts I am only here to pose some places on where to start – this being your future, present, and past.
1. Future
One of the best places to look for motivation is where you want to be in the future. The reason we all want motivation is to find the will to work towards our goals, but why not make this motivation by looking towards the same things. If we envision our futures – where we want to go, who we want to be, what we want to do - we are already finding a multitude of reasons for why to be motivated and work hard. It is impossible to reach this future without putting in everything we have to get there, so why are we waiting for motivation to fuel this effort when it itself can be that motivation to work.
2. Present
Focusing on the present for motivation is simply the practice of gratitude. It is looking around, absorbing your environment and surroundings, and finding a reason to be grateful. This appreciation’s scale is far stretching – it could be something as large as the gratitude you feel towards your parents for the sacrifices they made to give you these opportunities, or it could be something as small as the peace an early morning brings. Similarly to the last point, here you are absorbing what is around you and using it to fuel your motivation. The difference is instead of putting in the effort to reach for everything you want in the future, you are working for everything you have in the present. This approach can be easier to find reasons to stay motivated than the previous, even if not as powerful as there are countless reasons to be grateful when you are simply alive in this world.
3. Past
The previous two focus on finding motivation in your future and present but looking into the past is about your recognition of growth, focusing on building motivation based off of who you used to be. If the previous points of finding motivation seem to fail you, my last-ditch effort is always this – putting in the work now so you can look back and be proud of how far you have come. Being able to reflect on your growth and recognize the feelings that come with your personal change should light some type of spark within you – whether that be to continue to feel the pride of improvement or to make sure not to feel the shame from lack of it in the future – one of which can both be used as reason to create motivation.
At the end of the day, discipline and motivation are both concepts made by man and while likely with the innocent intent of understanding complex emotions and actions, have turned into reason to do the opposite. It is difficult to rewire your mind to create motivation instead of simply waiting for it come, I myself, frequently falling back into this, but focusing on your future, present, and present are all great places to start. Guarantee by yours truly, changing your view on these concepts will lead to a decrease in burnout and laziness and an increase in productivity, which is far needed, especially during this finals season.
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