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Hollerith, I actually agree with you, but the problem with motivation is it is fleeting. how many people do you know have been motivated to do something and sta

Hollerith, I actually agree with you, but the problem with motivation is it is fleeting. how many people do you know have been motivated to do something and started, but then gave up when they hit an obstacle or it got tough. So many people bust themselves up because they think they need more motivation, but what they really need to do is transform that initial motivation into creating habits of discipline that are driven by their motivations. Then, when their motivations wane, they can keep on going.

hollerith 14y ago
Not all motivation is fleeting: the reason Einstein complained in writing about the few years in which his motivation had been extinguished by his experience in grad school is that during the rest of his career, his motivation to think about physics was consistently strong. And I think some of the people reading this have a consistently strong motivation to provide for their wives and children. Sure, there are times in everyone's life when one needs to apply discipline because that is the only way to get something necessary done. And it would be foolish to neglect to apply that discipline and instead to wait for a natural human motivation to do that thing. And sure, the ability to apply discipline is extremely valuable and one should do whatever one can to increase this ability. And I would for example suggest to readers who have not tried it yet to see if strength training causes an increase in their ability to apply discipline even in parts of life that have nothing to do with physical strength or stamina because strength training tends to improve the health of the mitochondria in the muscles, which might improve the health of the mitochondria in the rest of the body, particularly the frontal lobes of the brain, which would tend to increase ability to apply discipline because IIUC the frontal lobes are almost uniquely dependent on an adequate supply of metabolic intracellular energy. I just want to point out to readers that there are now many many sources of information about these matters and to suggest that they be initially skeptical of any new source, particularly if he is selling something or likes giving pep talks.
s8qnze982y 14y ago
Motivation is not fleeting; there are different motivations and different qualities. If you teach a dog chasing cars to be disciplined, it will still be a dog chasing cars, but just chasing one. The people you mention fails primarily because it has frivolous/fleeting/misleading/excessive desires. You can grin your face like Joel and get a six-pack and be happy, until the moment you get distracted and get a beer belly before you even notice it. In this case you're chasing a misleading objective. Leading, and understanding, a healthy life will let a person getting in shape naturally - and getting a six-pack much easier. People who keeps doing multiple things and interrupting them, should find a single valuable objective and pursue it, instead of thinking of discipline. What guys like Joel don't tell is how formal (opposed to substantial) approaches like "be disciplined" burn out people emotionally. And you never ever get to know how they are ten years after. All of this, of course, in the context of the complexity of human behavior. I don't doubt that some people need discipline, but I definitively give secondary importance.
wamatt 14y ago
It might be useful when thinking about motivation over a longer term, to consider another word: passion

hollerith 14y ago

Not all motivation is fleeting: the reason Einstein complained in writing about the few years in which his motivation had been extinguished by his experience in grad school is that during the rest of his career, his motivation to think about physics was consistently strong. And I think some of the people reading this have a consistently strong motivation to provide for their wives and children. Sure, there are times in everyone's life when one needs to apply discipline because that is the only way to get something necessary done. And it would be foolish to neglect to apply that discipline and instead to wait for a natural human motivation to do that thing. And sure, the ability to apply discipline is extremely valuable and one should do whatever one can to increase this ability. And I would for example suggest to readers who have not tried it yet to see if strength training causes an increase in their ability to apply discipline even in parts of life that have nothing to do with physical strength or stamina because strength training tends to improve the health of the mitochondria in the muscles, which might improve the health of the mitochondria in the rest of the body, particularly the frontal lobes of the brain, which would tend to increase ability to apply discipline because IIUC the frontal lobes are almost uniquely dependent on an adequate supply of metabolic intracellular energy. I just want to point out to readers that there are now many many sources of information about these matters and to suggest that they be initially skeptical of any new source, particularly if he is selling something or likes giving pep talks.

s8qnze982y 14y ago

Motivation is not fleeting; there are different motivations and different qualities. If you teach a dog chasing cars to be disciplined, it will still be a dog chasing cars, but just chasing one. The people you mention fails primarily because it has frivolous/fleeting/misleading/excessive desires. You can grin your face like Joel and get a six-pack and be happy, until the moment you get distracted and get a beer belly before you even notice it. In this case you're chasing a misleading objective. Leading, and understanding, a healthy life will let a person getting in shape naturally - and getting a six-pack much easier. People who keeps doing multiple things and interrupting them, should find a single valuable objective and pursue it, instead of thinking of discipline. What guys like Joel don't tell is how formal (opposed to substantial) approaches like "be disciplined" burn out people emotionally. And you never ever get to know how they are ten years after. All of this, of course, in the context of the complexity of human behavior. I don't doubt that some people need discipline, but I definitively give secondary importance.

wamatt 14y ago

It might be useful when thinking about motivation over a longer term, to consider another word: passion