4:1 - Pain:Motivation

No matter how passionate you are, you are gonna be depressed for doing what you “love” doing. So let me offer a different way of looking at MOTIVATION.

Some of you may be musicians, some painters, some bloggers, some programmers, some engineers, some hookers(everybody has got to put food on the table).

Well, I’m sure if you aren’t a procrastinator student that you realised life isn’t all that it was supposed to be. Maybe you were lucky to find something you love.

Maybe you found someone you love, and got married. It doesn’t matter how, one day you will learn something. You learn that even though you “love something” or someone, there will be down moments, sometimes more than happy ones.

But you realize that your effort is worth it. If you haven’t realized this by now, give it time, work your craft, work your job, try to get better and soon you will realize nothing is good forever.

Hell even sex isn’t that great if you do it 12 hours a day with only 30 min for lunch, 5 to 7 days a week, trying to improve everyday and hearing people nagging you for every single mistake you’ve made the past days. But that is how you get better.

4:1

Most artists realize during their lives even if they “do what they love” they probably still won’t be motivated all the time in their lives. It’s probably about 4:1 for me, for some it is 10:1.

It’s one of the things you need to experiment in order to get it.

I had to meditate(something I find awesome and extremely rewarding) for 10 hours a day, for 10 days to realize my rate of boredom:motivation is about 4:1.

And I say boredom:motivation in that order, because I am almost NEVER motivated at the beginning of anything. Anything that is worth doing repeatedly and doesn’t offer instant gratification always start boring for me.

Motivation comes after you’ve began working, don’t wait it to work, let it come to you during your work.

It’s not a tragedy. Don’t make reality into a tragedy, you will be living in it. Life is still worth living even if the sky isn’t green, or dogs can’t talk(don’t trust those youtube videos), so why be upset for something that exists just the way it does and is a part of your life? Learn a little equanimity.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t be upset if someone/something is ruining your life, but if you can’t do anything about something, then accept it as part of your life for the moment, and don’t waste mental energy on it.

I used to think boredom was the worst thing I could have in my life. Now I finally accept it as part of life.

Realize what I am saying by experimenting

So just sit and work, work work work on your “passion” or even at your “job” for at least 50 focused hours in a month(about 2 hours a day, or 1 hour a day and 10 hours on weekends).

Then next to each hour mark down how many were “boring” or “exciting”. That’s your current level of boredom(or pain): motivation. That is your rate.

You can always try to improve it, but it won’t ever be 0:X. Pain is a constant.

You can have peace of mind now.