So often, people will argue that the reason they aren’t getting something done, is because they can’t find the motivation necessary to do so.
A frequent answer to this is that it doesn’t take motivation to get things done, it takes discipline.
While I think this is true, to some degree, I also think it’s often more complicated than that. Does your discipline inform you of the necessity of the task you’re completing? Are you going for that morning run as a disciplined robot, or is there some thought that this run will benefit you in some way?
Instead of thinking it takes motivation or discipline to get things done, think about this: how will this thing that you’re trying to get motivated to do benefit you, someone else, or society as a whole? If it won’t, then reconsider why you’re doing it in the first place.
By removing the necessity of us all developing marine corps discipline or being motivated at all times like Adrian Broadhead in The Milkman Comes Home*, hopefully we can all be a little bit more forgiving towards those who struggle with accomplishing tasks. At the same time, those of us who struggle with completing tasks can hopefully not feel as bad about not finding this magic motivation/discipline combo and instead focus on why we need to finish the task in the first place.
*How many people looked up this completely fake actor and/or movie?
Mel's Diner 