Why Motivation Is Overrated

Motivation can be a pretty tricky concept to understand. Some days you’re all fired up and ready to work, and other days you just want to lie on the floor. While motivation can be a useful skill, it’s not good to become reliant upon it, exactly because it can be so fleeting at times.

Don’t get me wrong, motivation is vital and necessary to success. But motivation is also vastly overrated because it is not the most essential component of success. It is being relied on too much as a means of achieving goals. So why is motivation overrated? What are some tactics you can use in addition to motivation?

#1: Discipline is Greater Than Motivation

One of the biggest myths of all is that successful people are constantly motivated. The online world that we live in certainly perpetuates this false assumption. Social media only captures what a person wants you to see. As a result, certain people have created the illusion that they operate in a fairy tale land that’s devoid of bad days and bad moods.

The reality though is that no one lives in a constant state of motivation. We all experience ups and downs, and moments when we don’t feel like doing what needs to be done. Successful people don’t just work when they feel like working however. Instead, they are disciplined enough to get the job done regardless of their mood.

If you always wait to feel a certain way before you act, don’t expect to ever accomplish anything worthwhile. Too much time will be spent procrastinating as you sit around waiting for the perfect mood to arrive. Meanwhile, your successful competitors will be busy putting in the work whether they want to or not. So try and focus more on discipline, rather than motivation.

#2: Do It Anyway

Let’s be honest, we don’t always feel motivated to do the things we have to do. And while it may seem easier to wait till you are motivated to do something, it’s pretty counterproductive. You see the key to achieving the things you want to achieve is doing it regardless of how you feel.

While motivation is necessary, it should not be all you rely on. When it comes to working out, discipline is a far more useful skill to learn. Motivation isn’t what puts one foot in front of the other. It’s discipline and work ethic that keeps you going. In other words, you shouldn’t let that feeling of not wanting to do something stop you from accomplishing what you set out to do.

Some of my absolute best workouts happened just because I DID them, even though at the time, I didn’t particularly feel in the mood for training. The same goes for personal and business pursuits as well. Nike had it just about exactly right when they coined their famous marketing phrase “Just Do It”.

#3: Embrace The Grind

One of the keys to becoming more successful is recognizing the simple fact that life is tough. There is no such thing as a perfect time to work or start a new task. Therefore, rather than constantly seeking out motivation to begin or continue, your time would be better spent cultivating habits that will eventually lead towards enhanced productivity.

Speaking for myself, I have never relied on motivation to succeed. I certainly welcome those times when I’m fired up and ready to go, but I’ll never limit my output to such moments. I’d rather take pride in my work than wait to feel a certain way before I work. So learn to embrace the grind instead of relying on motivation to get you where you want to go.

The Takeaway

In the end, motivation is helpful but it’s definitely not something you should rely on entirely. Instead, try learning to discipline yourself more and start embracing the grind. Discipline is an extremely useful skill that will make your fitness journey go a lot smoother. Use that discipline to build habits, which will get you a whole lot farther in ALL aspects of your life than motivation ever will. So stop relying entirely on motivation, you’ll thank me later.

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