Progress

At first when considering motivation seriously, I thought motivated individuals possessed something I lacked. It appeared they were naturally quite energetic, disciplined, highly focused, and very sure about their objectives. Meanwhile, I frequently found myself really wanting to enhance my existence yet struggled greatly with maintaining consistent work ethic for extended periods. I really felt enthusiastic about a target for a couple of days – perhaps several weeks – however, after the initial thrill faded away, things got significantly harder all at once. I’d put off starting until later, get sidetracked easily, or rationalize beginning anew the next day. For a rather long period of time, I took this as a personal failing. I believed I was just never a highly motivated individual. That notion really demotivated me greatly since it created the impression that motivation was something I either naturally had or didn’t have at all – rather than an ability I could develop over time.

After a while, I discovered that motivation isn’t some sort of enigmatic energy set aside for those extremely driven folks. Rather, it’s usually the outcome of well-defined targets, quite significant reasons, little daily activities, helpful habits, and seeing real-life proof that we’re making progress indeed. I didn’t have to suddenly wake up one morning feeling totally different all at once. I really had to establish certain conditions that made moving forward slightly easier. As soon as I grasped this concept, motivation became infinitely less daunting. I ceased expecting a strong emotional spark and began concentrating on very basic behaviors that helped generate momentum. In this post, I aim to share the easy-to-learn lessons which really helped me start building motivation from scratch myself.