Motivate Me To Study: Motivation Can't Be Faked

By Lachlan Haynes


You may be wondering why you can't "get motivated" or why you don't "feel motivated" but if that sounds like you, you needn't worry. You see, "getting motivated" is really just a myth. Motivation isn't something you can turn on and off like a tap. Sure, you can watch a self-motivation video or read a self-help article like this one and feel full of passion and hope and have great dreams - and then all of a sudden you fall flat on your face. Life has got in the way again!

A true state of motivation occurs when you have a strong craving to achieve something, you can imagine exactly what it is you are trying to achieve, and you are prepared to do anything to make it happen. When in this state you will wake up each day ready to take on the world and make your dreams a reality. That is the real essence of being motivated. But how many of us really feel this way when we get up in the morning?

But let's focus on the mundane tasks we complete each day. It makes sense that if something is going to benefit us (and we understand what that benefit is and agree that it will benefit us), we will be far more likely to complete the task. If I want to learn to speak Chinese, then watching a "learn how to speak Chinese" video is something that will strongly interest me and I am very likely to watch it.

But if the task you have to complete has no benefit to you? How do you feel motivated when what you have to do is completely unrelated to what you are trying to achieve? Well, the reality is that you are likely to revolt against the task or the person asking you to do it. For example, if you want to learn Indonesian you are forced to learn Spanish, you are probably going to be pretty upset! Again, this makes perfect sense. You want to Indonesian, not Spanish. Therefore, there is no motivation to complete the activity.

So what are we left with? Clearly, when what you are doing isn't consistent with what you are trying to achieve in life you will feel no motivation. As such, it is clear that what really matters is understanding why completing each task helps to get you closer to what you want to achieve. When you understand why you should do something and how it will help you, your motivation won't be an issue.

To wake up and feel motivated each day then the tasks you complete each day should be taking you towards your ultimate goals. The outcome is what's important - the task itself is really irrelevant. Isn't it? Getting good grades at school is really about getting into a good college or university or getting a great job that you love and are paid well to do. It's not really about getting good grades. Going to work each day is really about paying your bills or paying off your house or funding trips around the world (or anything else you desire). So stop focusing on the task and instead focus on the outcome.

So what is your ultimate ambition? What are you striving to achieve? Do you aspire to work for minimum wage? Is getting a good job and a nice home your grand ambition? Or would you prefer to work for 10 years and then retire and do as you please? Yes? No? Don't know? If you don't know your ultimate ambition, then you won't be able to motivate yourself to complete each individual (and often painful) task. But, once you know why you are doing something, the how becomes only a matter of course, not an immovable obstacle.

If you have to complete your Maths homework in order to get a good grade, in order to pass the subject, in order to pass the year, in order to get into College, then just do your Maths homework! Remember, it's not about the task; it's all about your grand ambition. Start by creating an ambition that is meaningful to you and then do what you have to do to achieve it. Now is the time to ask yourself, what is your grand ambition and what are you willing to do to get it?




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