One definition of motivation is “the general desire or willingness” to do something.
That’s the thing with motivation.
It’s a feeling.
Desire. Willingness.
Must you have these to act?
I don’t like cleaning my kitchen, I’d rather not have to do it.
It’s nice when I am motivated to do it, because I feel like it.
Doing things when you feel like it is great!
But sometimes I just have to start cleaning and get over the fact that I don’t want to do it.
Because, seriously, how often do you feel like doing hard things?
Mundane, boring things? Or time-consuming things? Or, stressful “out of your comfort zone” things? (Like, Go for No!)
The author of “The Five Second Rule,” Mel Robbins has the most brilliant insights when it comes to people’s obsession with their feelings.
She says that you aren’t battling your ability to do whatever it is you want to do (diet, work hard, etc.) you are “you are battling your feelings about doing it… you must ignore how you feel, and just do it anyway.”
So, that’s motivation.
Consistency can be defined as “the state or condition of always happening or behaving in the same way.”
For any endeavor, consistency can’t be overstated. It’s an absolute must if you want to get good and stay good at anything.
Show me a person who is not consistent, I will show you someone who will ultimately fail.
Show me a person who is consistent, I will show you someone who will fail their way to success. (In other words, even if they mess up, they can succeed.)
If you aren’t focused on the internal “feeling” of motivation and you showed up every single day to do something… consistency wins over motivation every time.