Motivation Isn’t What You Think

Motivation isn’t about big goals or sudden bursts of inspiration. It’s about finding energy in the everyday steps.

People see something that resonates with them and they get high on motivation. Maybe it’s an inspiring video. Maybe it’s the classic New Year’s resolution. It feels good at first, like kids high on sugar - there’s a spike, then a crash.

The crash comes when people see they don’t look like Arnold Schwarzenegger after one month in the gym. Or they don’t feel “transformed” after a few weeks of trying something new. They quit. But motivation doesn’t work like that.

It’s not a magic pill. It’s an engine. And if you fuel it with short-term inspiration or goals that exist only for the sake of having goals, it burns fast and dies out.

Setting ambitious goals - losing weight, running a marathon, hitting a career milestone - is noble. But don’t get fooled. To get there, you have to walk a long road. Most people fail because their motivation is fixed on the finish line. They picture themselves crossing it, and then get discouraged when the distance feels endless.

A healthier motivation is in walking the walk.

Take weight loss. To hit that goal, you need to change your lifestyle. Adjust eating habits, sleep better, cut down on alcohol, move more. If you see it as one giant sacrifice in service of the finish line, it feels miserable. But if you anchor motivation in the process - sleeping soundly, feeling lighter after a good meal, waking up without a hangover - suddenly the journey itself becomes rewarding.

That’s the real trick: find motivation in the process. Learn new habits. Enjoy the way forward.

It’s easier when the “walk” overlaps with things you already enjoy. Comfort comes from familiarity. Once new routines feel familiar - discovering healthy meals you actually like, or finding the type of exercise that clicks for you - the process stops feeling foreign. For some people it’s running, for others team sports or lifting weights. The activity itself matters less than finding something that sticks.

Yes, effort comes first. Change is uncomfortable. But at the end of that tunnel, there’s enjoyment to be found. You just have to walk far enough to reach it.

And here’s the truth we often forget: we are not perfect. We will fail. We will get discouraged. Life will throw us off track. That’s normal. What matters is getting back on the road eventually. When it happens to me, I stop and ask: do I need real rest right now? If yes, I take the break without shame, clear my head, and come back later. Returning is always harder than stopping - it takes self-control to restart the loop. In those moments, I remind myself how good it felt when I was walking the walk: the dopamine after a workout, the clarity after solid sleep. I also look back on the progress already made. Seeing how far you’ve come can be the nudge you need to keep going.

The same mindset carries into work. Careers are long roads too, full of plateaus, breaks, and restarts. Big milestones matter, but they’re too far away to keep you motivated every day. What keeps you moving is finding energy in the process itself - the projects, the learning, the small wins. Once you see progress not as a finish line but as an ongoing path, the grind turns into steady forward motion.

I want to leave you with this: don’t chase temporary spikes of motivation. Focus on building routines that keep you moving forward, even when motivation dips. The finish line is nice. But the real growth happens while walking the walk.

And as with anything, this too can be learned. Motivation, discipline, even finding joy in the process - they’re skills you can build. Start small, with a goal that sits in your comfort zone, so the first steps feel doable. That early win matters, because it creates momentum. Once you’ve got momentum, push a little further. Take on something unfamiliar. Stretch yourself. Over time, the cycle becomes second nature: set a goal, walk the walk, stumble, reset, keep moving.

That’s why I don’t see motivation as a gift you either have or don’t. It’s a muscle - it grows when you use it, and it weakens when you ignore it. Each small, consistent step strengthens it. The more you practice, the more prepared you are when bigger challenges come along. Because at some point, they always do.