Motivation is Bullshit
We’ve fallen into a trap. A trap that tells us we need to be motivated or passionate to perform any action. You have to be inspired to improve your fitness levels, instead of simply doing it because it is the best course of action for you to take. You have to be motivated to eat well, instead of recognizing the long term benefits of cleaning up your diet. You need to have a passion for health and fitness, even though it is necessary to prolong your life.
We need to search out images or sound-bites that motivate us to improve ourselves. The reward of self-improvement is not enough anymore, we can’t deal with the fact that it might hurt and it might be hard. Self-improvement is not instant so we need to be comforted into taking small steps toward action.
Oftentimes a lack of motivation or passion is cited as a reason for not taking action. “I didn’t go to the gym today because I had no motivation.” It becomes an easy excuse once it becomes apparent that motivation and inspiration are momentary, fleeting feelings.
Motivation is bullshit. It is shallow and short sighted. It is unreliable. Discipline is permanent. The ability to make yourself do things you don’t want to do will shape your life more than a minute’s motivation.
