Mel Robbins has a video out about how motivation is garbage, which I’ve linked below. My initial reaction was wait, what!! It’s a fifty-minute interview so it is a little long, but I highly recommend watching it, as she has a lot of good information to give. In fact, I hope that people watch her videos since she’s really well informed, and is one the most engaging speakers I’ve seen.
Of course, the whole premise is that motivation doesn’t work, because motivation isn’t what gets you off your butt, action is. Which is the truth. We can all read motivational quotes until the sun goes down, but if we don’t actually do something the quotes will never help you. Personally, I find that the best way to motivate myself is to think of all the times I’ve done something that I really don’t want to do, and to think about how not doing it will wreck my number of days that I’ve already done it. This works really well with exercise and diet related goals.
Motivating oneself is difficult, since action is the crux of the problem. So, get off your butt and do whatever it is. Make that goals list, break it down into steps, and just start. Don’t wait until you feel like it – that, I’ve got to tell you, is never going to happen. You’re never going to feel like change because change is hard, it hurts and it’s difficult. Just do it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCHPSo79rB4