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- 18 | ❌ Motivation is bullsh*t
18 | ❌ Motivation is bullsh*t
Yo yo,
Yes I said it. Motivation is complete bullsh*t. Let me tell you why.
There's been a million and one times I haven't been motivated enough to do something. Bear in mind - these are things that would genuinely improve my life.
Arrive on time to a party
Learn to play the guitar
Eat less sugar
Run more
Get up earlier
The list goes on. The reason is always 'I don't have time' or 'it's too hard'.
I'm not motivated enough to try hard.
At the moment, I'm trying to juggle quite a few things and motivation is hard to come by.
So where does motivation come from? Why do some some people jump out of bed before their alarm, while I struggle to function?
Here's the thing, as far as I'm aware - it isn't motivation.
😵 Motivation is a myth
I'm going to say it: motivation is a myth. Well, almost.
Don't get me wrong. Sometimes we are motivated to do things. When the stars align, mercury comes out of retrograde and the rain finally stops. Then I'll go for a run.
Or when you start something new, like lifting weights. At first, it's great - you are putting on muscle, you're in a routine, life is fantastic. But then, the mornings get darker, you aren't making as much progress - you've hit the dip.
All that motivation from the start has fizzled away.
So, why is motivation so hard to conjure up?
Waiting for motivation to hit you is like waiting for a bolt of lightning to strike. It's sudden and uncontrollable - and it won't happen if you wait for it.
If we could conjure up motivation to get up early and do that workout, we'd all be bodybuilders. Alas - we aren't. Motivation is really hard.
Let's use this email as an example. I love writing it and reading people's replies and thoughts. But even now, at 10 to 9 on a Monday night, I'm lacking in motivation to finish it. And of course, today's lack of motivation isn't a sole occurence.
But, here's the thing - this will be the 18th consecutive weekly email in a row.
Clearly, there's obviously something going on besides motivation.
💪🏻 An alternative to motivation: hear me out
Why do we turn up to work on time every day?
Why do we pay our bills?
Why do we walk our dogs?
We don't have a choice. We have to. Our managers ensure we arrive on time. HMRC makes sure we pay our taxes. Benji makes sure I know about it if he needs to go for a walk.
So there's one way. Remove any element of choice, and we have to do the thing regardless.
But, the HMRC won't come and bang my door down because I just finished a whole pack of dark chocolate digestives. Motivation for an Ibiza body didn't stop me either, though.
So - what stops me?
Discipline.
Now, that's a boring answer I hear you say. An army veteran comes to mind - never puts a foot out of place, is driven by ambition and vision, isn't tempted by vices.
I don't mean, that, obviously.
✅ Discipline for non-superhumans
Discipline for non-superhumans like you and me (speak for yourself, Jake) comes in many forms. The main point, is that by doing these things and being disciplined, I don't need to wait for motivation to strike.
I do things because I have made it as easy as possible to do so, or I've made it so that I have to do them.
For me specifically, these are the two main ways to avoid waiting for motivation and get stuff done:
Easy, rewarding habits
These are things that I do day in, day out. Writing my to do list when I finish work ready for tomorrow, calorie counting, putting out my running gear on the side before I go to bed.
All of these encourage behaviours - being more productive, eating healthily, going for a run - without waiting for a surge of motivation to push me on.
Accountability
I write this email because I enjoy it. But, I also write it because I've made a commitment to 25+ people that I will continue to write and share something interesting every Monday.
Here's another example. In June, after the first week or so of posting 'Daily run #5' and so on, I almost felt like I didn't have a choice but to keep up the daily running. I would be disappointed in myself if somebody noticed and asked why I gave up.
It's the same concept for groups like weight watchers, or why we spend £100s on things that we want to be good at, but don't want to put in the effort. Buying instruments, courses, new running trainers. We think that by committing financially, it'll force us to do it.
Spoiler - it doesn't work. I know first hand!
To reiterate: accountability is extremely useful.
Note to self: don't wait for motivation to appear out of thin air.
Discipline - great habits and accountability - are key. Major 🔑 alert!
How do you stay motivated? Or - even better - what do you do instead of waiting to be motivated? Reply to this email and let me know.
Thanks for reading! 🤜🏻
If you’re new here - thanks for joining 👋🏻
I think you should share things online if it can help or entertain at least one other person. If that’s you - consider sharing this with a friend 🤝
How am I 1% better this week? 📈
I got a job offer 👍🏼
What have I learned this week? 🤔
I'm a sh*t listener. Proper listening - 'Active listening' - is hard and rare.
And yep - you bet I'll be writing about it.
This Week’s Recommendation 🔝
Article 🌎 - Which animals could Britons beat in a fight?
2% of Britons think they could beat an elephant in a fight, while 10% think they could take on a chimpanzee. Need I say more?
This Week I’m: ⬇️
Reading 📚 - Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens
Listening to 🎧 - Still listening to Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir (audiobook). To be truthful, it's amazing. 9/10 sort of standard. But it has dragged ever so slightly towards the end of the middle third - a few weird rabbit holes. But it's amazing so all is forgiven.
Learning 💭 - How to side step motivation and get stuff done anyway (hence the email)
Visiting 🌳 - Sherwood Forest next week
Planning 🏃🏻♂️ - The remaining 8 weeks of my half marathon training
Looking forward to ⚽️ - Premier League season returns on Friday!
This Week’s Quote 💬
“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again" — Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!
This Week’s Video 📺
This guy is a guru. How does he know so much? Where did he learn it all? I shared a video of his last week - he's amazing.
There we have it!
Looking forward to catching up next week.