At one point or another everyone lacks the motivation to do something. Lacking motivation is not necessarily a problem - unless of course it becomes a constant theme of your life. When you lack the motivation to get up in the morning, something is definitely amiss.
This may not be a regular problem for you (and kudos to you if that's the case) but for many students, 'lacking motivation' can be a real pain in the you know what!
If motivation is not present in the individual, simple uncomplicated tasks have a nasty habit of becoming huge complicated problems - ones that can end up being avoided for days (and sometimes weeks or months!) So how does this happen?
Motivation is a funny beast. When we have a feeling of "high motivation" we can be virtually unstoppable. Tasks are tackled with relative ease, our energy levels are right up, no problem seems too great, and everything seems to constantly fall into place. The problem is that the opposite is also true. A feeling of "low or no motivation" leads to failure to complete tasks, low energy levels, all problems seem incredibly hard to overcome and everything seems to be going wrong!
Generally, motivation comes in the form of fear. As in, what will happen if I don't complete this task? What will happen if I don't hand in my paper on time? What will happen if I don't do what my parents say? What will happen if I don't go to school? It's the fear of negative consequences that really motivates us as a human race. It's the way we are conditioned to behave. Why? Because it creates order.
If there was no deadline and no consequence for not handing a paper in on time, would we ever even hand it in? Would we even start the stinking paper? Would anyone ever do anything they didn't want to do?
Fear of negative consequences (i.e. negative motivation) is important in the world. We need to have rules and social conventions. We need to treat each other with respect. But that doesn't mean you should operate your entire life this way. There is more to life than just constantly doing what everyone wants so that they (and society) will be happy with you. That's not a joyful life experience.
Acting only out of fear of consequences will not lead you to a positive and happy life. It will lead to "existing" - and existing is not the level of motivation you will need to take you to where you really want to go - all the way to the top (of whatever it is you want to do)!
Want to find real motivation? Act only out of possibility. Never act out of fear. Act out of the possibility of what may come from doing what you're doing. If you're doing homework, ask yourself what the possibility may be. Is the possibility that you learn something new? Is the possibility that you are smarter than you were before? Is the possibility that you are closer to your ambition of a good grade? Is the possibility that you are one step closer to College? What is your possibility? Every act has a possibility. Find yours and you will have found your true motivation. The power of possibility always crushes the fear of negative consequences - if you harness it correctly.
The answer to finding motivation is actually simple. Whenever you are doing something and don't feel motivated simply ask yourself "What is the possibility here? What positive outcome is going to occur from this?" If you can't find a simple possibility (like I could learn something new, I could earn some money which I can spend on something important to me, I'm a step closer to something I really want to achieve) then you really aren't searching hard enough. There is a possibility in everything. Good luck.
This may not be a regular problem for you (and kudos to you if that's the case) but for many students, 'lacking motivation' can be a real pain in the you know what!
If motivation is not present in the individual, simple uncomplicated tasks have a nasty habit of becoming huge complicated problems - ones that can end up being avoided for days (and sometimes weeks or months!) So how does this happen?
Motivation is a funny beast. When we have a feeling of "high motivation" we can be virtually unstoppable. Tasks are tackled with relative ease, our energy levels are right up, no problem seems too great, and everything seems to constantly fall into place. The problem is that the opposite is also true. A feeling of "low or no motivation" leads to failure to complete tasks, low energy levels, all problems seem incredibly hard to overcome and everything seems to be going wrong!
Generally, motivation comes in the form of fear. As in, what will happen if I don't complete this task? What will happen if I don't hand in my paper on time? What will happen if I don't do what my parents say? What will happen if I don't go to school? It's the fear of negative consequences that really motivates us as a human race. It's the way we are conditioned to behave. Why? Because it creates order.
If there was no deadline and no consequence for not handing a paper in on time, would we ever even hand it in? Would we even start the stinking paper? Would anyone ever do anything they didn't want to do?
Fear of negative consequences (i.e. negative motivation) is important in the world. We need to have rules and social conventions. We need to treat each other with respect. But that doesn't mean you should operate your entire life this way. There is more to life than just constantly doing what everyone wants so that they (and society) will be happy with you. That's not a joyful life experience.
Acting only out of fear of consequences will not lead you to a positive and happy life. It will lead to "existing" - and existing is not the level of motivation you will need to take you to where you really want to go - all the way to the top (of whatever it is you want to do)!
Want to find real motivation? Act only out of possibility. Never act out of fear. Act out of the possibility of what may come from doing what you're doing. If you're doing homework, ask yourself what the possibility may be. Is the possibility that you learn something new? Is the possibility that you are smarter than you were before? Is the possibility that you are closer to your ambition of a good grade? Is the possibility that you are one step closer to College? What is your possibility? Every act has a possibility. Find yours and you will have found your true motivation. The power of possibility always crushes the fear of negative consequences - if you harness it correctly.
The answer to finding motivation is actually simple. Whenever you are doing something and don't feel motivated simply ask yourself "What is the possibility here? What positive outcome is going to occur from this?" If you can't find a simple possibility (like I could learn something new, I could earn some money which I can spend on something important to me, I'm a step closer to something I really want to achieve) then you really aren't searching hard enough. There is a possibility in everything. Good luck.
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