Motivation isn’t the secret ingredient!
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Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve been lied to for most of our lives. Everyone around us throws around the word ‘motivation’ as if it is the cure to cancer, the solution to world hunger and the reason for world peace. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but motivation isn’t the secret ingredient.
If you think that motivation will help you write better articles, get a better body or ace your finals, congratulations! You belong to the population of motivation-sponges.
Like the name suggests, a motivation-sponge is a person who loves absorbing motivational content to the point that he/she gives up his productive time to do it! I have been a motivation-sponge for years now and I know how it feels.
My tryst with multiple hobbies (including writing) started as a result of motivational videos, but somewhere down the line I began to rely too much on motivation. I obsessed over motivational videos so much that I had no time to actually execute on the goals I had planned. Slowly, but surely I realized that these motivational videos were a means of instant gratification!
Let me explain.
The more I watched motivational videos, the more I felt that I could control my life. The more I felt that I could control my life, the happier I felt! Motivational videos, which seemed to be a harmless source of ‘power’ had soon turned into a harmful sin of procrastination.
I understood that day that my energy towards my goals is like fire. In order to light this fire, I need a spark of motivation. Even numerous sparks of motivation will do no good, if there isn’t a constant wind of action. Motivation can only get you started, but action keeps you going! Motivation isn’t the secret ingredient. In fact, there is no secret ingredient. The recipe to success is simple —
A pinch of motivation + An endless flow of action
If you are spending your valuable time reading motivational posts on Medium or watching motivational videos on YouTube, ask yourself —
Am I seeking a spark or instant gratification?
