Is Motivation a Scam?

Many people would love to be motivated every single day of their life and that includes me! However, the reality is that sad to say motivation doesn't last. There are so many products, books, courses on motivation out there and people are hoping to find the cure all magical stuff that could help them improve their lives.

I was a victim too trying to find out whatever I could so that I could be motivated to study and pursue my goals. After reading hundreds of books, wasted hours and hours in seminars and courses, I dare to say if you think motivation is the cure or solution to study well, pass exams and get good grades then you have been conned!

So there's no such thing as motivation? You see motivation is a feeling deep inside us. We want to feel good so that we will like to study. But if motivation is something not within our control, aren't we putting ourselves at risk? Imagine half the year you are not motivated, does it mean we will fail in our exams? Personally, I will not leave it to chance.

For example, when I asked students why they want to study, they would tell me because they know study is good for them and they want a bright future or their parents tell them study is good for them. These are common reasons we hear from time to time. But let me tell you this, if these are your reasons, I bet you are having difficulty finding 'motivation' to study day in day out. Isn't that true?

So how? Is there a better way? Of course! I tried to dig deeper into motivation and I realised having solid good enough compelling reasons is the key to sustain and have 'motivation'. With reference to the above example, one should think deeper why he/she wants to study well and not just coming up with superficial answers. Honestly, no one really likes to study. Everyone could have different reasons if they start thinking deeper. For me, the reasons are as follows.

* I want to take good care of my parents when they are old.

* I want my parents to enjoy life.

* I want to study well, have a good career and earn lots of money.

* I want to get a big beautiful house by the beach side.

* I want to go on exotic vacations frequently.

* I want to be able to donate to charity and help the poor.

* I want to have plenty of options in my life.

* I want to retire young and not get caught up in the rat race.

* I want to be successful and not a failure in life.

* And so on...

I find that when I could visualize the above, I have clarity and my reasons for doing well in studies suddenly become so compelling! I no longer need to be so called motivated to study. Whenever I think of the above reasons, it will just push me towards my goals because I know so clearly what I wanted. So don't depend on motivation to achieve your goals. Instead come up with solid compelling reasons why you must do so.

So don't waste time, take actions NOW! Go take a piece of blank paper, write down all your goals and give as many compelling reasons as possible why you must achieve them. And do take note, it's not just applicable for studies, you can do so for your other goals too.