Motivation’s Overrated: Here’s What You Should Focus on Instead

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Wandering Terra

5 min readFeb 12, 2021

I’ve written before about how to get motivated, but as great as motivation can feel, I think it’s a small part of a bigger picture. Sure, motivation gives you some oomph to get going, but it isn’t a long-term answer, just as willpower isn’t. It gives you an oomph, it’s not a long-term answer. But inspiration is.

Inspiration is the love for you wake up with, what makes getting out of bed easy and what gives every moment of the day the potential to be recognised as truly brilliant. Without that, life feels a little listless and to me, as someone who’s always been naturally quite inspired, a little empty. I don’t feel too strongly about things like life’s just… grey. Let’s work together to discover how to get inspired, shall we?

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

What do you believe in?

Well, that’s a pretty big question — I hope you weren’t expecting this to be easy.

Truly, I think inspiration comes from a very deep love for life so if we’re going to start uncovering that, we need to dig deep into the lens through which you see the world (ie. your beliefs). This can be anything from “I believe in God” to “I believe breakfast is important”.

Why do you bother getting up every morning?

We radiate outwards from the sense of belief and knowledge in our core that there is reason to rise everyday. It might not be a divinely intended reason nor one from a set religion or spirituality, you might just believe that you can make a difference or that it’s important to make the most of your time — they’re equally valid beliefs.

So once you’ve got your beliefs written down, hold them close to your chest. Act in accordance with them. Life’s a blessing? Then appreciate every damn second of it. Everything’s valuable? Breakfast’s important? Better start treating it as such, every single day. Of course, this list will continue to grow as you think of more things and it’ll stretch from complex, huge beliefs, to little details — both are equally important.

What do you love?

If you’re feeling like you’re uninspired, knowing what you love might cause you some grief or uncertainty. Sometimes I think we unconsciously fence ourselves off from loving too much, especially when we feel uncertain. To love something is to put faith into it and there’s always a chance that that could come back to bite us. But isn’t life better with love? Isn’t it brighter and more colourful? The path of the cynic is safe, but grey. So make a list of the things you love, especially if you feel unsure. Include everything, from people to passions, the temperature of your tea to the way you like your toast done.

Sometimes I like to do this as a creative exercise, writing it as a descriptive stream of consciousness. I like reading them, too. I’ve asked friends to write them with me and Pinterest is full of them. Even if they start a little awkward, you can always feel people’s happiness oozing from them by the end.

What makes you feel good?

Alternatively: what’s your ideal day? What is non-negotiable for you? What makes you feel rubbish? What makes you feel fulfilled?

Now you have a list of things you love, how can they be incorporated into your life? What is guaranteed to make you feel happy? What’s guaranteed to make you smile? Which habits do you know keep you steady?

I always notice a general drop in my physical and mental happiness if I let my basic habits slip: water intake, time outside, eating healthy (at least most of the time), moving my body. They’re my foundation and they’re non-negotiable. After those, comes a long list of things I love doing, smells, habits, foods and activities that make me happy, that I do as much as I can.

These things are so important. Afterall, what would be the point in a life you didn’t love?

Where do you find your peace?

This is one that might take some figuring out. It took me a long time to truly find my peace and I’m still learning about it today. Sometimes it’s a hobby an item or an action, sometimes a feeling, a place, or an atmosphere.

For me: cooking, cleaning, coffee shops, busy city streets with headphones in the rain, sunny forests and fields, windowsills in the dark, gardens, gyms, smiling, books, yoga, silent cups of tea, quiet early mornings, dancing with loud music and big crowds. Sometimes places, sometimes things.

And of course, these things are just gateways. It’s always possible for you to find your peace, any place, any time, but especially whilst you’re learning and practising, having actions and objects can be really helpful.

What do you want?

Again, open-ended. Inspiration, motivation and action are a cycle. You have the overarching inspiration that helps you get up in the morning, feel content and wanting to do things, then your motivation, which gets you actually doing those things, and finally your action, your investment and fulfilment, which at least most of the time, will make you more inspired. So, if we want to take action to prompt our inspiration, we need some ideas for where to put your energy.

Who do you want to be? What life do you want to live? What do you want to invest in?

Ask yourself and start making plans that you can put into action right away. Give yourself bitesize tasks to start tackling. Start slow and build yourself up, you’ll be flying before you know it.

Inspiration doesn’t have to be as deep as it can sometimes seem. I think people label it as something you either feel right now or don’t, not something you can work on, but you can work on it ~ we’ll be on the journey together.

Keep that chin up 😊 Love, Ella-Rose xx

Make sure to visit my blog for more lofty life thoughts and inspiration ✨