What am I going to be talking about?
Five minutes ago, I took a bathroom break while writing my article on Helen Keller’s essay, Optimism. While doing this, I was scrolling through social media (breaking my own rule, no phones in the bathroom). The app I was scrolling on will recommend things based on your interests so my feed of stories consisted mostly of motivational quotes and videos.
I began to watch a few quick inspirational videos that popped up and it hit me… I don’t need to see this stuff. I’m literally writing a blog right now. I don’t need motivation, I’m doing the thing already.
For some, motivation is necessary. We need a push. We could use some help.
For others, it becomes a form of procrastination.
Motivational Excess
The availability of inspirational content is great. The internet provides a plethora of knowledge and is an amazing tool.
YouTube alone has 30,000 hours of new content added per hour (as I type this the startling magnitude of that number has my jaw on the floor). This means it is probable that whatever kind of motivation you need to hear to get after it so to speak, you can find it.
If we need a boost of motivation, it’s usually one thumb flick away. If you don’t see this stuff a lot, it’s a great thing, but overexposure leads to diminishing returns.
Hammer Time
Imagine that motivation is a nail, and the motivational content is a hammer strike. You only need to hit the nail a certain number of times to get it embedded into the wall. If you hit it after that, you’re just destroying the wall. Continuing to swing the hammer in an attempt to strike in a nail after it has already gone in is stupid. The same goes for spending excess time watching and planning instead of doing.
That analogy may suck, but rather than spend ridiculous amounts of time racking my brain for another one that suits this more aptly, I used it. WHY? Because that’s the point I’m making here! The hammer does the job. You understand what I mean. That’s what I needed to do.
Words become Cheap
There is a phrase, “talk is cheap.“
There is a phrase, “Acta, non verba.” (Deeds not words)
There is a phrase, “Just Do it.”
There is a phrase, “Why Put off till tomorrow what can be done today?”
Here is a phrase, “MEMENTO MORI.” YOU and I will die. Remember that. Here’s the motivation. Get off this website, go do what you said you’d do. It’ll still be here as long as I pay for the web domain. You can come back when you’re done.
That’s it, this is the bottom line… literally. 🙂