Motivation Much?

We often bank on being motivated to get something done, and the inadequacy of it poses us with a scenario where we have work that we need to do, but do not.

Now, as is customary with this blog, I would like to bring another perspective to the table: Motivation is never the problem.

Once I have explained myself, it will appear to be painfully evident, and yet something elusive to most of us.

Let me paint a picture: You are a student. You have a deadline for an assignment coming up in a few weeks, and you have done no work on it. You know that to avoid the sleepless nights of excruciating hardship, you must start now. And yet, something keeps you from doing so. Instead of working on it, you make yourself believe that there is time and you will get it done. With that belief, you go out with your friends to the bar or spend the night at your girlfriend’s place. You get to the assignment, but you only do so when you are forced to face the music and you have no other option left but to submit to the deadline or fail the class.

Before we move on, let’s look at another scenario: You are in your mid-twenties. You have a job that pays you decent enough salary so you can live paycheck to paycheck and still enjoy some luxuries life has to offer. Here’s the catch: like a lot of adults, you don’t like the job and you prefer to call in sick most days and play video games or watch Netflix at home while you order a pizza and some beers. You keep doing this and you notice you have put on weight. You take the membership to the nearest gym. But we all know where this leads. A wasted gym subscription.

Both the above scenarios have many similarities, but one key aspect constant in both the stories is that the person in question was not doing what they were supposed to do. And that is often when we talk about motivation: when we feel that we are not doing what we should be, but want to.

So, I ask this: What is motivation?

I will not present the answer, but I urge you, as the reader, to ponder over this question before moving on to the next order of business.

Motivation is never an issue. And there cannot be a lack of motivation in a person’s life. We are predisposed to do other things instead of what we should do because history is witness to the fact that those who live by what they are asked to do never become leaders.

And not that doing what is expected of us is bad. On the contrary, it is perhaps the best way to succeed in life; but ask yourself, if 'working on what you should' has so many benefits, why not do it? Are we trying to subvert our lives?

That is not the case.

The reason behind why we do what we want to and not what we are supposed to is being rewarded. Our brain believes in living at the moment. And we choose an activity that grants us a reward sooner.

You must have drawn one conclusion from what I present here. It is that the problem, as we defined it, is not the lack of motivation. We are inclined to do something saw as having a higher payoff.

Are we unjust in resolving to that? If not, then what we are doing is corroborated, but anybody would concede that this is wrong.

So, I submit my original question again: What is motivation?

Perhaps when you find yourself capable of answering the question to yourself, you will draw a conclusion that can put this to rest.