The Conundrum of Staying Motivated

We all have dreams, some of us even have road maps on how to achieve them, few of us work hard for these dreams but it is only the ones who are persistent and consistent in their hard work realize them. The only trick is to be motivated and stay motivated until you reach the goal. The conundrum here is that to stay motivated, should the goal be good enough or it is just that you push yourself enough. Well, the answer is bit of both because if the goal is not worthy enough, you will not be motivated to put in the grueling effort to achieve it and if you are not going to put in years of toil, even if it is a worthy goal you won’t reach it.
This conundrum of motivation can be solved if we understand how motivation works; Motivation can be broadly classified into Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.

Extrinsic motivation: If you are working on task just for an impending reward then you are extrinsically motivated. Activities like studying hard to get good grades or passing the tests or to just get a job come with a clear goal and equally crystal clear reward.

Intrinsic Motivation: If you are pursuing anything just because you love it or it makes you happy; you are intrinsically motivated. Reading on a subject because you are curious to understand it, Learning an art form just because it makes you happy, and volunteering because it makes you feel content, all these actions are motivated not for any objective reward but for the internal reward.

Yes, at first you won’t find anything wrong with extrinsic motivation because it seems to be getting things done but once the rewards stop exciting you, you will see the problem. As we grow older, to see any kind of results for our hard work it is going to take an awful lot of time unlike the quick rewards like clearing exams or winning a medal. This is one of the reasons why people who have excelled in academics fare average in work life.
But if you choose to be successful in the long run, you have to make it a point that you choose to stay motivated. Daily affirmations help in this aspect, you need to give a reason to yourself so as to why you are going to work, what is your objective in doing the work you do. This exercise might seem to be daunting in the beginning but this is the only way to have a clear goal and compelling reason to work hard today and every day to realize that goal in the long run.

Choose things that make you happy and content.
Remind yourself daily why you are doing what you are doing.
Envision your goal. Stay Motivated.
After all, Life is what we make it!