Nothing.
That’s right…makes sense, doesn’t it?
I’m not really motivated to do much of anything these days. Were you thinking I’d be motivated to change that lack of motivation?
At first, I was somewhat concerned by my lack of motivation. We tend to think that a lack of motivation indicates depression, which in turn indicates a need for therapy and drugs. Everything can be fixed with drugs in our culture.
But then I began to wonder…why is motivation so important?
A basic level of motivation is certainly necessary to get up out of bed in the morning, make yourself breakfast, go to work, and pay your bills on time.
But let’s face it — beyond that, some people are just more motivated than others. These are the people who build real estate empires, climb Mount Everest, and run marathons.
As it turns out, I’m not really interested in any of that.
Right now I’m interested in getting out of bed in the morning, making myself breakfast, heading to work, paying my bills on time.
Let’s Get Motivated!
We tend to obsess over motivation in our culture. If you’re not motivated, something is wrong with you.
Motivational books fill the shelves of the bookstore. Inspirational videos keep popping up on your YouTube feed. And if you work in a place that has ceiling tiles and fluorescent lighting, posters with positive quotes and nondescript imagery of sports or nature probably abound.
Many people are motivated to get a better home, a better car, a better job — and in many cases, better kids, and a better spouse.
It’s relatively easy to get better kids…you just force your children to do a bunch of extra-curricular activities they don’t want to do, and funnel them into the broken system of purchasing a university degree that costs six figures and a lifetime to debt.
As for the motivation of getting a better spouse….well, good luck motivating someone else to get motivated to meet your goals. Could motivation be one of the contributing factors to our staggering divorce rates?
Motivation from within vs. Motivation from without
Motivation is good. It’s healthy to be motivated. Some people are just more motivated than others, and more often. They seem to have inexhaustible reserves of motivation.
Could it be genetic?
Incidentally, motivation tends to come in two forms: motivation from within, and motivation from without.
Motivation from without happens when life throws a wrench in your plans, forcing you to get your ass into high gear. Or it happens when you meet an extraordinary individual who awakens you to some exciting possibility. Or it happens when you get a spiritual epiphany. Etc. Etc.
Internal motivation is often far more valuable and tends to last a lot longer than external motivation.
Your boss threatened your job security? If you’re like most of us, you’ll be motivated to perform better at work for a week…or maybe the rest of the afternoon (that’s external motivation).
You realized that you have more intrinsic worth than you’re told you do at your job selling credit cards over the phone? (This is what I did, so I feel it’s okay to use this as an example). That you want to do something that actually leverages your skills and talents and that you enjoy doing?
This is motivation from within.
As it turns out, motivation from within can also be inspired by external factors, but usually, these external factors have been building up slowly over time…however, a prolonged discussion of the distinction between the two feels like it belongs in a separate post.
Are you feeling motivated?
I believe that sometimes when people are not feeling motivation from within, they may just need to wait until they feel it. This might be the time to relax, read some more books, do something frivolous, or just lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, and think about life.
As you rest from the endless cycling of the hamster wheel, what emerges into the silence is either (1) a renewed sense of motivation fueled by boredom, or (2) an understanding of why you’re not motivated. Maybe there are some deeper reasons why you’re not feeling motivated, and you’ll realize what they are when you take a breather. Then you can address those problems and rediscover your old self.
But by and large, I think it’s okay for people to go through periods of feeling unmotivated.
Motivation is good. It’s healthy to be motivated. Some people are just more motivated than others. And some people go through periods of time where they feel less motivated.
Complacency, on the other hand, is often regarded as something bad. I would agree that in some cases, complacency isn’t the best thing…though I struggle to come up with specific examples (perhaps I’m not motivated enough).
But I also think there is something of value to be happy with what you have. Many people who aren’t motivated to conquer the world may just be satisfied with what they have — and I think that’s good.
For everyone else…the world is your oyster.
But as it turns out, I’m not so into oysters.