What Motivation Really Works.
Just watching Videos and reading motivational quotes isn’t going to do the trick. You need to find the motivation that will actually get you going.
Motivation is easy to gather around these days. There are so many videos, articles, quotes and documentaries that can give you that temporary mental boost, just like candy does to your body. But the sad truth is that the impact those videos and that content has on you is limited. And these videos are shot in a way or in a format that keeps you going back for more.
Now as long as you want to be motivated for the right reasons, there’s no harm in watching videos or listening to TEDx talks in your free time. But only relying on online content for that surge of motivation is a foolish move, because there will be times when you would need motivation the most and you wont have Tony Robbins around to give it to you.
And lets face it. We all love the videos and pieces where there are distinguished people who tell us that we can be like them. We can be where they are. We can earn a billion dollars, we can climb mount Everest and we can win that Oscar or that Nobel prize. I’m not saying we can’t. But the true surge of motivation will always come from somewhere else. Some place you can relate to more. Some place where you can’t turn it off. Some place deep inside of you.
Yeah. You already have motivation inside of you. In some or the other form. It is highly subjective. We are motivated to eat food, because hunger is motivation in its truest form. People go crazy as they become more and more hungry. People now use the term “hungry” to describe that desire for success, but I am referring to the “hunger” that is a physiological condition in all humans.
Humans are motivated by hunger, sex and curiosity, need for safety, need for validation and need for enlightenment. Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs describes the basic human needs perfectly. We all have these basic needs that motivate us to do certain things. But in all of us these needs vary to certain degrees. Some people want money more than anything else. Some people want fame.Some just want the simple life. And some are just not that motivated to do anything at all. On the other hand some people are motivated to make a difference in the world.
It all differs from person to person. Everyone has different experiences, different tastes, and different dreams.
The Secret to Eternal Motivation
If you search through books, written by great authors,books like “Think and Grow Rich” outline the only things that you need to ever stay motivated towards your goal. The Idea around which the book revolves is the idea of “desire”. Desire is not wishing, wanting or a small temptation. It is something you want really badly to happen. It is something you would cross the seven seas for , like most people have. Your desire comes from within you, and that is said to be the most powerful source of your motivation. You can have that desire only when there is a stern reason behind it. The reason behind you doing anything fuels your desire. The stronger the reason, the more driven you will be.
Non-Materialistic Goals,Win.
Being motivated by materialistic goals is good but the satisfaction you get lasts for not long. Getting More money , bigger cars, bigger houses is the reason why most of these “entrepreneurs” are born in the first place. Motivation to not be poor is self explanatory, just like the motivation to “not be starved”. But having more than you could ever want or need is the dream these days, as there is a certain sense of satisfaction you attain. You feel happy for a while because you think it makes you feel happy. Its the dream advertisers and marketers have been selling you for generations. A six pack with a blonde babe at your side, driving around in a Mercedes is “the dream”. Or is it?
Materialistic dreams can take you only so far. It is your work and your purpose that does rest of the job for you. Its no point working your ass off in that corporate job for that one house or that one car, if it makes your everyday life miserable. Success is success when you can learn to enjoy what you do and live your life the way you want to over a long period of time,not just for a few moments. Cars Break down, Houses fall Apart, Hot women will grow old and fat one day. What will remain forever is the contribution you make to your field, to society or to the world.
The Pursuit Of Happiness
Try to find what motivates you other than money. It might sound crazy to someone who doesn’t have money, but money doesn’t buy happiness. I’m no millionaire, I am the regular “broke” college student who lives with his parents. But I still understand that having money and being happy are two different things. I have seen friends and family break down and have their happiness devoured by the corporate culture. They are paid well, but they are still unhappy and unsatisfied with life. You learn to be happy first. Everything else comes after. If you are not happy with what you have, there is something wrong. You need to reflect. You’re motivation makes no sense if it doesn’t teach you to be happy and live in the moment. People who are masters in their field or discipline Love what they DO, not what it pays them. They are happy even if its sitting in a cold crummy room,with no food an no water, underpaid and under appreciated, as long as they’re doing what they love doing. It is the journey that they enjoy. Aristotle once said that man is in search of one and only one thing. And that is happiness. This holds true even today. No matter what you are earning, no matter what you are looking for, the end result is always the fact that this thing that you want to achieve will make you happy.
The need to have a specific purpose in life that serves humanity is not the prerequisite to be successful at short term goals. If you only understand the ramifications of not doing certain things like studying, or practicing your craft,or doing work everyday, those consequences that matter to you the most are motivating enough to get you off that couch. Just remember whatever motive you have should be your own. It should’nt be something Elon Musk was motivated by or Mark Zuckerberg was motivated by . It is highly unlikely that what motivates them will motivate you.
Your desires and motivation might be poles apart from theirs. You must have some reason to be doing what you are doing. If you look hard enough for it, you will find it.
