The Importance of Motivation
How motivation gets you to your goals.
Motivation is a huge deal. Without it, there might be no sense of effort and accomplishment. Motivation has always been a huge struggle for me personally, just because it is so easy to be negative. In fact, it’s much easier to be negative than it is to be positive. Good motivation is very hard to come by, but if you go out there and look, or you put yourself around the right people. I still watch the same video every single day just because it makes me feel good, and it gives me a little bit of energy every morning. Whatever motivates you, go out and find more of it. If its good friends, then turn to your classmates or colleagues and make some new ones. If your significant other inspires you then go spend more time talking with them about your goals. Whatever it is, it works for you, and the more you have, the quicker and easier it will be to accomplish your goals.
Motivation Gives you a start.
This is probably the biggest factor of motivation. If there is nothing pushing you to start your project then the project will probably stay stagnant forever. That script you are writing will always be a blank page. That skill you are trying to learn will be learned by somebody else before you ever get the chance to try. The goals you set for yourself will come and go without you ever realizing you missed your chance. This is one of the hardest things, to start. But it’s also the most important thing. If you never start what you are trying to accomplish than you can never physically accomplish it. It sounds very simple, but it is the truth. You can’t finish something that you never started. Find your motivation however you can, and use it to give you that big push to start.
Motivation gives you a reason to keep going.
Once you have actually started your project it feels really good. Really. Good. If you are starting a content project the ideas seem to keep flowing. If you are trying to practice a sport for instance, it’s amazing how much faster things seem to click. If you are trying to learn a new skill it’s cool how easy thing seem to be absorbed. While you are working on your project you should be taking breaks every now and then. On those breaks it’s also good practice to clear your head and get some more motivation. Let’s be honest. Too much motivation is never a bad thing. The more you have the more work gets done. I have had times where a project is taking me forever to start, and I am dreading having to do it, because of how long I know it is going to take. But for some reason when I find my motivation to start, I find myself not having moved for 6 or 7 hours and the project is almost done and looks great. The right motivation will keep you going and you won’t even realize that you aren’t stopping.
Motivation gives you a reason to be proud of what you did.
After you are done with your project, a lot of times it is really hard to be proud of what you just finished. If you are editing a video, you just might not like it for some reason. If you practiced a sport for a half an hour you still might not feel comfortable with your skills even though you are much better than you used to be. Maybe you were working out and you set a new personal record but for it just doesn't feel good enough. Part of good motivation is that it can help you see how much you really did succeed. There is a saying I really like that says, “Never let perfection stop you from making something great.” This is so true. Most of the time what you did is really good, and there is no need for improvement. Good enough is deemed a terrible phrase when in all reality that's the goal isn't it? Good enough. That isn't saying that your work is bad. Its saying that your work is exactly as good as it needs to be! Find motivation to tell yourself that you did a great job, and that you should be proud of what you accomplished.
If you are searching for good motivation but just can’t find any here are my top five motivational videos. The first, Remember Me, is from one of my favorite video makers, Devin Graham! That is the one that I listen to every single day!
Start your project and finish it. All the way through and be proud of what you did. You are worth every bit of success that you earn. Go for it. If these videos don't get you as pumped up as they get me, find what works for you and take it as far as it will let you go.
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Jake Matthew Morrow