It’s quite likely that my internal mindset is painting over my world view on this topic, but lately it appears to me that a lot of people in my generation are struggling with motivation. Everyone I speak to on this topic starts off with a list of projects that they feel passionate about, an outcome that they do desire to achieve, but in the same breath they drop hints around the lack of sufficient drive and motivation to actually work towards these goals meaningfully.
I think sometimes our ability to visualize and imagine the end goal in high fidelity is a cause for lower motivation instead of generating it. It feels like the mind is sufficiently satisfied by the imaginary achievement of the goal, and the value of achieving the outcome in reality holds lower meaning in the light of this fiction. Yes, it is a form of existential crisis where the value of achieving anything in particular is put under a sweep of the ‘so what?’ inquiry.
The only solution that I have come up with (besides abandoning the pursuit of the goal all together, which is a non-solution) is to consciously stop over visualization of what it would feel like to have achieved the goal. I do this by catching myself daydreaming incessantly about the outcome, reminding myself that this is a form of compulsive and addictive behavior, and then turning my mind towards contemplating the act of working towards the goal. Yup, it’s the good old ‘enjoy the journey without worrying about the outcome’ that does the trick.
The need for motivation reduces significantly in this approach, since you only need enough to get started. And guess what, if you have good discipline built around getting started, a lot of motivation comes along for the ride while you are on the journey.