Why is it so important?
What is the importance of motivation? Is it for real, or just feel good ideals spouted by gurus?
Motivation is actually a basic part of our lives, and directs a large portion of what we do and how well we do it – and how we feel about it later.
Without motivation, nothing would ever get done. We would all just lie about like sloths or slugs. Fortunately, we are hardwired with certain types of motivation; hunger, fear, pain… these things get us up off the ground and start us on the search for food, shelter, safety.
Deeper motivators kick in when the initial needs are met. We crave companionship, attention, approval. These things motivate us to build relationships with others, perform well and live up to expectations.
When it comes down to motivating yourself, you may scoff and say ‘I don’t need motivation!’ In reality, though, you do – and if you think you don’t you need to take a good hard look at yourself and your goals.
Do you have goals? If so, are you achieving them? If not, you need to figure out if you are unmotivated or just a victim of bad goal setting ability. See, it’s not just the goal that is important; it’s the game plan and the reward at the end. How you set up a goal makes a huge difference in whether or not you score the point.
If you don’t have goals, it doesn’t mean you aren’t still motivated in some ways – but it does mean you are setting yourself up for failure. If you have motivation but no goals, you can run yourself into the ground and still ultimately fail, just as you can fail if you have goals but no motivation.
If you have neither motivation nor goals, you are in a sad, dark place – even though you may not realize it. You are stuck and will never move forward, and your life will stagnate around you. Often people with addiction are victims of this type of unmotivated living – and the ones who manage to free themselves are always the ones who finally managed to find something to be motivated about.
The motivation may go back to the basics – fear of homelessness, of losing one’s job, or the need for shelter and food – but if even these fail there is another motivator that can still sometimes pull one through – love. With love as a motivator, amazing things can happen!
Without motivation, however, failure is not only possible, it’s likely. Believe me, the importance of motivation cannot be underestimated!