Motivation

I have many times in the past stared at a blank word processor, completely unable to type a single word. I'm a writer, I'd tell myself, at least I would like to be one... So why is it sometimes I cannot put anything down? Why can I sometimes not put to paper any of the dozens of ideas that run through my head at any given time? It's that little bastard we all have to contend with called motivation.

We all have drive, we all want to do something, and we all make an effort to make that something happen. So why does it go away at the worst times? Why do you want to do something, yet still feel like not doing it, where does our motivation go? It seems odd that we just don't want to do what truly fulfills us. That the thing that makes us happy is the last thing we want to do.

Work vs. Reward.

I could write an article, a short story, an entire novel. But it takes a lot of time, effort, and you always risk failure. I have to work hard on my stories, make sure all my ideas fit together perfectly, I have to make sure my style of narration is progressive and fluid, I have to fight again what I want and what works. Then what happens, who reads that? What if they don't like it? All the payoff is so far off and without guarantee. I can easily go off and play a video game instead.

Yeah, a video game. An interactive experience where I'm rewarded for my efforts. Those rewards are swift, come right after a task is complete, and are guaranteed right from the start. Failure isn't a big deal because I haven't put any of myself into this, if I fail I just try again with another life, it's easy. I can do that with many things, movies, television, a book...

Wait a book?

Those easy things, those simple pleasures we distract ourselves with have hours of hard work in them. People who slaved over them to make them happen. People who weren't afraid of a lack of reward. People who found the motivation to sit down, and finish something. And here I am enjoying their work...

And I can tell you this right now, no game, movie, or book can give you a sensation as powerful as knowing you put an effort into something and were rewarded for it. Nothing makes me happier than knowing someone has read my work and enjoys it. That's kind of the point of this blog here, to make me write, to force me to put something down every other day. To teach me how to motivate myself, to learn to not fear failure.

Motivation is something we all have to find, and sometimes fight for. We're fighting ourselves for it, fighting against our vices. But I assure you this, if you can win that fight and put forth an effort, and it doesn't just have to be something creative, the sensation of accomplishment when you DO get that reward is so much better than anything else.

And get to it, there's no extra lives in this game.