To motivate yourself, try giving up.

Today I received an email (a subscription to one of those design websites I really should get rid of) entitled The Key to Motivation: Giving Up. Intrigued, I did the unthinkable: I read it.

And frankly? I felt cheated. The article is basically a long-winded reiteration of Nike’s slogan (“Just Do It,” for the heathens among you); the only reference to actually giving up comes at the end, something about giving up on trying to make yourself motivated and actually doing something.

Fair enough. But thinking about it, I realised that last night, after a rough and depressing day, I had spent a while thinking about giving up. Giving up on becoming a UX designer, giving up on art, giving up on the people I love, giving up on getting better from cancer (long story) … in short, giving up on life.

After writing it all down, I knew deep down that giving up wasn't going to be the answer. There was no way I could do that and still face myself in the mirror, every day for the rest of my life.

There was only one thing to do, then: To live. To keep pushing, and dreaming, and doing, and living.

So in short, trying to give up for a while did help me keep going. Actual giving up, that is, not just in the round-about way suggested in that article. Maybe you've tried this too?