Motivation Myth or Fact?

What is it and where to find it.

I have been a student of motivation since I was two. My dad was my primary source of motivation at two. Motivation is an after-the-fact description, a story, or an explanation for the action taken. I am sorry, but the motivation most sought is a myth concocted by the ego to stay in charge. You can loosen the hold of any belief by seeing it as a myth, a hoax, or a superstition.

Motivation is helpful, but is it entirely necessary? Inspiration to action is quick, often instantaneous, but many activities occur without cause. Another ego-centric term is procrastination for lack of motivation. Or is it a situation where action has become less desirable than acting? You might not be excited about a task at school or work, but is that a story to blame or victimize yourself? Some people are well-trained victims.

What is your definition of motivation? The description may be the problem. What are some motivational beliefs people use that are not valid?

“If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.” - Harvey Mackay.

Motivation and integrity are interchangeable for many. What if both are after-the-fact explanations, making you a hero or a victim? I took piano lessons as a child. I practiced, but I would need more than two hours a day of practice to turn me into a great piano player—more time than hours in the day. In a dream world, anything is possible. I had a knack with the tuba, but not the piano. Intelligence, talent, skill, resources, commitment, and opportunity are just a few things that matter at least as much, and what if all of those, too, are myths?

Every corpse on Mount Everest was once highly committed and highly motivated. Despite what your mother told you, there are things you can never do, no matter how motivated you are. Motivation is available and straightforward if you are inspired. What is the source of inspiration, or is it like a fuze, once lit, has a life of its own? What are some things you regularly do that you genuinely don’t want to do? What causes that to happen? Fear? Habit? Reciprocity? Dad? Do you even think about it?

Some people I know say, “You should only do it if you’re motivated.” Do you think the best athletes only train when they ‘feel’ like it? Do you believe bestselling authors only write when the urge strikes them? Successful people in every field go to work and get busy every day. They do it despite how they happen to feel. They don’t wait until they feel like doing it. Or is that just part of the myth? Is something inspiring them to act? Do they have an insight into the source of the feelings? Imagine choosing the way you will feel today about everything!

If you only do what you want, you could live snacking on the couch and binge-watch TV, OR, at some point, something else inspires you to act. Motivation is excellent when available, but you’ll have to pick yourself up and do what needs doing all the other times. Overthinking this may drive you bonkers.

How is motivation always available? Inspiration is sometimes on-tap when looked at from an extrinsic point of view. Some days, you feel super motivated, and some days, you’d rather just quit. Everyone deals with this phenomenon at some point. Once you discover the intrinsic source, motivation IS available on demand! What causes the feeling? It’s hard to predict when you will feel motivated if you require an outside source. Dad has to go to work, too. The best policy is deciding to put in the work whether you feel like it. It sounds like a good habit, but what if there is an easier way?

Motivation is created or caused by outside forces when you are two. Motivation as an extrinsic drive only works if the intrinsic, internal machinery resonates at that moment. The incentives many sales organizations use are all extrinsic and, for many, deflate their ability to go for it. Daniel Pink wrote, ‘Rewards narrow our focus,’ suggesting expanding or softening our focus to include everything may be a better path. If you buy the outside extrinsic ‘motivation,’ external forces use your beliefs against you. Change your opinion or point of view, and manipulation still occurs. Every decision has a cost. However, motivation makes it much easier to pay that cost. If you’re dying to go to Paris, the plane ticket price is easier to bear than if you’re not excited about the trip.

Motivation is always available. You always motivate [demotivate] yourself. Some use the “Fake it until you make it” method. Does lying to yourself ever really work? Others suggest just put your head down and do what needs doing. Or discover what inspires you and where inspiration comes from! Who spends their life waiting for the perfect circumstances and attitude. What if every occasion and mood is perfect? Begin looking at what preceded what motivates you to action. Once you discover the source of inspiration to act, motivation is always there.

Definition: Motivation [Inspiration!!] is the desire, will, or energy to engage in life in a particular way. It is independent of anything outside of you. It’s instant, spontaneous, and always a function of how and what you think.

Begin now to notice your thinking; you, too, can change how and what you think. Motivation, being inspired to action, is an inside phenomenon.

“You can’t think your way out of a problem you made up with your thinking.” - Michael Neill.

How do you motivate yourself to do things you want to do but do not do, or how do you put your ego into total control?

You think you know what to do, but you don’t do it. The belief you can’t reliably get yourself to do what you know you should do is the real problem. When your ego rules your life, difficulty compounds daily.

If you could get yourself to do the hard things, you could successfully follow any diet exercise routine, stay away from your ex, keep your house clean, save money, or ask for that promotion. You would be the master of your time. This belief is, of course, one point of view, and it sells a lot of books.

We’re all severely limited by what we can’t get ourselves to do. We know plenty, but we need better self-management skills. It’s hard to think of a skill that could impact your life more. Is this stroking your ego or arousing it? Use these strategies to change your life by getting more control over yourself and keeping the ego in charge.

Consider what you gain by taking the action. What are the advantages of getting this task done? What do you have to achieve? Make a long list of benefits and use logic to your advantage. I suggest you notice where the ‘logic’ is coming from. Sales courses and Time Management courses I’ve taken spend days on this.

Consider what you have to lose if you don’t do what you think you should do. Imagine the worst that can happen if you fail to act. Make a list of everything that could go wrong. What are the disadvantages of putting this task off? Make it painful to procrastinate. Do this well, and you may discover not doing it is the better path, especially if it is your ego’s favorite hope.

Focus on how great you’ll feel when it’s finished. Visualize completing the task. Focus on how wonderful it feels. Imagine all the benefits you’ll gain. Notice how happy you are to have this monkey off your back.

Now, do the opposite. Vividly visualize not doing the task and experience all of the negative consequences. Make the experience as horrible as you can. Do not worry. It’s in your best interest! Or so says ego. I am aphantasic, and this whole visualization thing is bogus for me.

Release the tension and relax. Now, imagine doing the work and noticing the tension in your body. Keep thinking about performing the task and relax those tense areas of your body. It will be easier to perform when you visualize the goal and do not experience an adverse reaction.

Start very small. Sometimes, the best way to start is to start small. It might be a single phone call, five minutes of work, or cleaning out one closet. Break your task down into bite-sized portions that you can handle easily. Promise yourself a reward. Bribe yourself. It could be a candy bar, dinner with a friend, or a new TV. Avoid being silly and putting yourself into debt. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Enroll a friend to help. Here is an easy way to motivate yourself to do something. Give a friend an amount of money that’s meaningful to you. It might be $10 or $1,000. Tell your friend to wait to return it until you’ve completed the task. You can turn up the heat on yourself by giving yourself a deadline. Tell your friend they can spend the money if you don’t complete the task on time!

Information is seldom a problem these days. If you did everything you knew you should do, your life would be unrecognizable. You already know enough to have a much, much better life! However, we still need to improve managing ourselves.

If you can master this one skill, everything is within your grasp. All you need is to learn how to do the hard things. If you can do that, life is easy! Something else happens once you know how to do this.

There are times when you need to remember. Both victory and defeat succumb to something else. What is it? Until you discover it, place reminders everywhere.

There has to be another way! A way with ease and effortlessness built in.

I ‘stepped’ into mastery, sometimes for years, with an ingredient I see as ‘zero doubt.’ Where does zero doubt come from? It is already there, but you’ve filled it up with worry and every negative thought you keep chewing on. A favorite story of mine about umpires comes to mind. When asked how he calls balls and strikes, a rookie umpire says, “I call ’em the way I see ’em.” An experienced, seasoned umpire says, “I call ’em the way they are.” A master umpire says, “They ain’t nothing till I call ’em.” Which one resonates with me today? The ego is the first two. The observer operates from mastery. Can you skip the first two and be a master? Of course, you remove all doubt.

My greatest successes combined fun [playfulness], zero doubt in the outcome and the revealing path, and an openness to make a fool of myself. Commitment? Commitment makes success possible while being ‘inspired’ accounts for everything happening. What is the Source of inspiration? Where does She come from? When She isn’t present, or I cannot hear Her over the noise, I’ve learned to wait instead of moving forward without guidance. I am the plane, not the pilot.

Competence? It shows up in the willingness to appear foolish. When those around me believed I was competent, they made it so. I was being competent. When my audience thought otherwise, making it nearly impossible to Be anything but stuck, the space was heavy and devoid of fun. Having the audience, real or perceived, in your favor makes a difference. How to proceed without your audience’s favor is self-sabotage. What defeats waiting for inspiration is the ego operating full bore, and crashing the plane seems likely.

You have everything needed now to be inspired and motivated at any time. You just don’t believe it. Visit your favorite location for books. “Instant Motivation” by Chantal Burns is worth your time and treasure.