Motivation is Overrated

I don’t seek out public speaking opportunities any longer.  I’m focused on my writing and podcasting because both have the potential to let me reach more people.  I’m not against doing it if asked, I just don’t seek it out anymore.  One of the things that is a relief about the transition away from seeking out speaking opportunities is that I don’t have to refer to myself as a ‘motivational speaker’ any more.  Motivation is overrated.  Even the idea of having a ‘why’ is a bit over indexed in my opinion.  Being motivated or having a ‘why’ both have their place but the problem is more about wanting to feel an emotion that causes us to act on the tasks that we know we need to do.  It’s that time right after we get off work and it was a long day and we know we’re supposed to go to the gym (I’ve written about this).  It’s Friday night and we’ve been working hard all week and it’s not over because we have a test scheduled on Saturday morning and it’s time to start studying and your friends are going out to party (This was my 5 year college experience as an Engineer).  It’s sitting down at the computer to write at 4:30am in the morning and you’re tired and you’re not particularly excited about any of the writing ideas you have.  I apologize for the run on sentences but it’s these moments where we would love a shot of motivation right in the arm!  We would love to be reminded of our ‘why’ and suddenly have the energy to climb a mountain.  Guess what?  99% of the time, it ain’t comin’!  

The feeling of being truly motivated to accomplish a task is something that I relish too.  A good motivational speech is incredibly captivating.  It feels awesome giving a motivational speech and watching the audience respond positively.  It’s more than awesome.  It’s intoxicating and incredibly dopaminergic.  I think this is why I had tunnel vision on it as a business for so long: I’m a talented speaker, I have a great story, and it’s a dopamine producing activity for me and the audience.  For the time being, I have detached myself from speaking due to several factors but as it relates to this article, it almost feels disingenuous at this point to give a motivational speech.  Not because public orating isn’t useful but because I know what it’s like to be in the trenches of working to change yourself in a positive manner.  In my experience most days are just blah and you have to concentrate on simple habits, show up, and do the work.  Nothing extreme.

So yeah, motivation is overrated.  What’s underrated?  Self Discipline and willpower in my opinion.  I think people know they need to cultivate these things but it’s not fun.  However, the most underrated trait is the wisdom to strategize.  I’ll give you a simple example.  I’ve been focused on recording podcasts for 2025 over the last 6 weeks.  I haven’t been writing much in that time frame.  Knowing that it will take some time to recondition my writing muscles, I’ve given myself the easy mandate of showing up everyday to write 500 words (easy relative to my ability).  When I’m in tip top writing shape, I can crank out 1,500-2,000 words in an hour but right now I’m getting back in writing shape.  The point being that there’s the discipline to write when I don’t feel like it, but there’s also the wisdom to know that I have to start small and build momentum.  No extremes.  Show up. Do the work.  

The feeling of being deeply motivated and moved to action is rare.  That’s why it feels so good.  It’s like drinking a cold glass of water when you’ve been walking in the desert all day.  I don’t begrudge wanting to feel that way.  However, let’s chase self discipline and wisdom in strategizing our efforts. Let’s be pleasantly surprised when when intense feelings of motivation show up to quench our thirst as we diligently persist through the desert.

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