Motivation comes after action (idea from book Feeling Good)
Motivation Follows Action
"Motivation does not come first, action does. You have to prime the pump. Then you will begin to get motivated, and the fluids will flow spontaneously. Action comes first, and the motivation comes later on."
In his book Feeling Good: the new mood therapy, dr. David D. Burns points out how internalizing the fact that motivation comes after action can be a game-changer in overcoming cognitive distortions and analysis paralysis. We tend to think, generally speaking, that we need to find motivation before venturing into what it is that we want, or need, to get done. Questioning our motives may be the first starting point in eradicating the cause of our inactions. Is it actually merely a lack of "motivation"? We tend to place motivation on a pedestal, perceived as a desirable characteristic of life that has a sort of enlightenment attached to it, and that is external to us, often almost uncontrollable. As dr. Burns underlines, however, it is only through action that motivation may be propelled. That's because motivation can be defined as the "enthusiasm for doing something" (Cambridge Dictionary, 2021). It seems that there is a generally accepted belief that we need to have the enthusiasm to do something before even trying it. But how can this be actually true? How can we be enthusiastic about one thing unless we first give it a try? Some activities are categorized as "more enthusiasm-provoking" than others, as far as I can tell. Take the example of skydiving. Skydiving is generally believed (at least in my impression) to be an exciting and courage-driven endeavor that makes for a good story to add to our autobiography. For this reason, motivation may arise naturally for most people before going skydiving. But most things in life are more routine-driven than skydiving (which can also become routine if you do it regularly enough), and the idea of beginning them may feel overwhelming at first. So, we don't start them and tell ourselves that we need motivation to start, waiting for the sudden appearance of it. Taking action toward the direction we intend to take, however tiny the action is, can go a long way toward sparking motivation for doing it, or maybe action allows us to figure out that we don't actually want to pursue that specific endeavor. This may be what success looks like.