Why Motivation Is Garbage

Has there ever been a time for you when you felt really motivated to do something, maybe that was to get into the gym and get fit or maybe that was to start reading that book that has been sitting on your shelf?

How long did this motivation last for?

I bet the motivation didn’t last very long. Motivation is at a high when you first start something. Motivation is always strong in the beginning of anything. Like when you first start going to school, when you first start writing a novel, when you first start that new job, when you first start a page on social media, even when you first start a new relationship with someone you really like. The motivation to constantly nurture the relationship in the beginning is full go.

But….. after several months of dating, the motivation to nurture the relationship starts to decrease(normally after the honeymoon phase) and then your motivation is tested. Just like your new job, after you get used to the job you are at, your motivation to get up and work starts to decline.

Why Does Motivation Decline?

This is because motivation comes in spurts. Motivation is not a constant thing, especially when you become used to something. Like writing these articles, the motivation was sky high in the beginning but after I written 50 articles, the motivation to write them are way less than the beginning when I written my first article.

Also because in the beginning of starting something new, you get a high dopamine(internal reward) release. After some time, when your brain gets used to something, you don’t get as high of a release of dopamine, so the motivation to continue on is less.

Can You Learn Motivation?

No, you can’t learn motivation, even Gary Vee, the most motivated guy on the internet is not motivated everyday. He doesn’t rely on motivation to succeed in whatever he does. I bet there are days that he wakes up and doesn’t have motivation. There is something he has that keeps him constantly going. We will discuss this later in this article, keep reading.

Motivation Has Been Lying To You

People think that when your alarm goes off for the 3rd time after hitting the snooze button that they feel “motivated” to hop out bed and get ready for work. This is not motivation, this is just urgency. It’s not that you are motivated to go to work, it’s just you have an urgency because you have no time and running late for work.

Just like the person who works overtime at their job. This person isn’t motivated per se, they just have an urgency because it’s the end of the month and they are behind on their bills. So they have an urgency to work more to pay their bills. They aren’t actually motivated to work more.

Where Does Most People’s Motivation Comes From?

Most people’s motivation comes from an outside source. An example of this is let’s say you just taken a caffeine pill or just drank a large Red Bull, what do you feel like besides for jittery? You are going to feel motivated to do something, maybe that’s finally clean out your car or finally go for that run you have been saying you would do, etc. After the caffeine high wears off, do you still feel motivated? Most likely you are going to feel tired and unmotivated after the caffeine gets flushed out of your system. We call this a caffeine crash. You are going to want to sleep after a caffeine crash or take more caffeine.

Another source of motivation is music, inspirational quotes, motivation speeches, money, praise, and recognition. All these things that could motivate you is inspired by an outside source. Just like students who are motivated to go to class, and study. They aren’t internally motivated, they are externally motivated by the want of a good grade.

Why Motivation Is Limited

The kicker of all these external motivating things is that it’s very limited. Eventually the caffeine wears off, eventually you become content with the money you have, eventually you get used to the praise, eventually you get used to the recognition, eventually the music stops motivating you, eventually the speeches and quotes fade into the background. Your motivation also fades into the background.

Now you need more and more and more caffeine, speeches, music, praise, and on and on. Until you reach a point where nothing motivates you anymore. That’s why motivation is garbage because it’s limited and dependent on an outside force. Anything dependent on an outside force is always limited in its supply. Ultimately your motivation will run out.

The things that once motivated you today, may not motivate you tomorrow. Motivation’s life is short and dies once you are tired.

This Is What You Really Need Over Motivation:

What you need is AMBITION

We all have heard the term ambition before, but do you really know what it means? I used to pair ambition with motivation like salt and pepper. But ambition is different from motivation. To know the difference is quite important.

Motivation VS Ambition

Motivation is the inspiration provided by the outside world, from things like caffeine, music, quotes, speeches, money, praise, and recognition. We touched on this above. Motivation is being inspired to do things by an outside force.

Ambition is the power to constantly motivate yourself internally to reach goals. Motivation is relying on everything outside oneself and ambition is you relying on yourself for motivation. When you have ambition, you don’t need anything externally to motivate you. You are constantly motivated from within.

Motivation is you depending on other things to push you. Ambition is you pushing yourself.

True ambition shows when you do the things you have to do even when you don’t feel like doing them. When you can just flip on a switch and motivate yourself, that’s ambition

The 5 Great Lakes & Niagara Falls

Picture ambition as the 5 Great Lakes. Lake, Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Then picture motivation as Niagara Falls. The 5 Great Lakes make up world’s largest endless supply of fresh water that travels up north to Niagara Falls. Without the 5 Great Lakes, Niagara Falls would be nonexistent. Niagara Falls needs the 5 Great Lakes to stay flowing. This goes the same for motivation. Motivation needs ambition, because without ambition, your motivation would run out, similar to Niagara Falls. The falls would run out too without The Great Lakes.

Ambition is the source(The Great Lakes)of all motivation, without ambition, motivation(Niagara Falls) would be limited. Without ambition to internally motivate you, you will always depend on the outside world to motivate you.

Having ambition, you are like the 5 Great Lakes providing an endless supply of motivation(water to Niagara Falls).

That is why motivation is garbage. Ambition is what you really need.

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