M.O.T.I.V.A.T.I.O.N. jordanmarsh6, February 7, 2021April 5, 2023 Have you ever been really intimidated? Like I.N.T.I.M.I.D.A.T.E.D.? I feel intimidated right now. This post feels like the beginning of a LOOONG journey. Here I sit, trying to be the wise guy on being your best self, and I am staring wide-eyed at this stubborn little word: Motivation M.O.T.I.V.A.T.I.O.N. Okay sorry I’ll stop the whole caps with periods thing, but somehow it seems to convey how sheepish I feel tackling this topic. Human motivation appears to be fragile (F.R.A… haha just kidding). Here’s some proof: Roughly 90% of people who lose a significant amount of weight eventually regain just about all of it.Research done by Strava, a running and cycling app, analyzed over 800 million user activities in January to determine the day that people were most likely to stop using the app: January 19. We start our New Year’s resolutions with all the intention in the world, and it usually lasts us just less than three weeks.I found an interesting statistic: a four-square analysis shows that gym attendance increases by 6% between January 1 to February 8, and fast-food restaurants receive about 4.6% less customers during that time. However, 50% of people cancel their gym membership within six months. I use statistics here that illustrate health and fitness goals only because that seems to be a near universal goal we all have wanted at one point or another. This obviously applies to any goal we may want: to quit our decent-paying-but-dreadful job and do something we’ve always dreamed of, to put more effort into our relationships and family, to run for political office, to learn how to finish a bathroom, and many others. This sounds ominous! I don’t want to completely discourage you, but I do think we need to have a real reckoning with the opponent we’re up against: our own fragile, fragile motivation. I laugh a little at clickbait articles or videos online that take five minutes to read or watch and give “three simple steps to transforming your life”. You’ve definitely seen them. Good for attracting readers, not particularly good at actually changing our behavior. I want us all to just kind of sit in this suck for a second. I personally have felt so discouraged in the past. It has gotten to the point where I have an idea on something I want to do, but I tell myself I probably won’t follow through because I’ll have other ideas (hyperactive inspiration) or I will just lose the same passion I had for the idea from when I first had it. Perhaps you have felt similarly. It’s almost like the concept of “hitting rock bottom” for people dealing with addiction. Before they’ll ever really be able to change, they have to hit rock bottom. I don’t know if we all have to actually “hit rock bottom” before we start making real progress, but I do think we have to respect the opponent we’re up against. So this post offers no quick fixes. I haven’t even offered a single thought on how to be more motivated. Aren’t you happy you read it? 😉 I hope you can see why though. This post is more about recognizing that you’re human. That means the motivation you need to accomplish your dreams is going to wax and wane all the time; my hope is that we’ll find ways to have that motivation wax a whole lot more than it wanes. I have ideas! Self Improvement