I think there are two ways of motivating yourself.
One is “internalized external authority”.
You create an authority figure in your head. It tells you what to do.
It tells you when you’re good enough. And it tells you when you’ve
screwed up.
To motivate yourself using your internalized external authority, just
embody that voice for a moment. Work out some nice juicy judgements
about yourself, as in: “You haven’t been working enough! You need to do
this better! Get a better grade! Get a better promotion!”
Then, return to your main self and start working. If you slack off,
use your internaliszd external authority to whip yourself into further
action.
This method actually works. Most people use it to some extent or
another. The trouble is, it robs you of the inner stillness needed to
access states of inspiration and true creativity. It’s probably best
used in a corporate context or in similar environments where being a
well-trained, highly focused worker is valued.
I was born with a natural resistance to this type of motivation.
Personally, I feel that what you lose from this path is bigger than what
you gain. In fact, I once swore that I’d rather live on the streets
than follow this sort of path.
Self Unschooling
There is another way. I follow a self-directed version of the parenting/schooling approach known as Unschooling.
In Unschooling, parents choose not to exercise authority on their
children. Their faith is that when children are left to their own
decisions, they will eventually learn to be responsible by themselves. This philosophy has been vindicated by its results; unschooled children grow up healthy, happy and excellent at co-existing.
To Unschool yourself, remove that “inner parent” and give yourself the freedom to work out your own boundaries.
It won’t be easy to start with. You will basically go through the
same process as children do when their parents suddenly switch from a
conventional parenting style to Unschooling.
In these situations, children tend to “act out” against their
previous imposed boundaries until they have finally worked out their
boundaries for themselves.
For instance, if they were always obliged to limit their television intake, they will start watching television all day.
If they were obliged to limit how much cake they eat, they will eat all the cake they can find.
If they were obliged to be nice to their sister, they’ll be cruel to their sister.
A catastrophe right? But… wait…
After a few weeks of watching television all day, the child finds out
that television isn’t so interesting after all, and finds a new
interest to fill their time. Perhaps they start woodworking, learning
skills that will help them for life.
After eating far too much cake and getting sick, they find their own
limits on how much cake to eat. Perhaps they’ll start eating more
vegetables just to feel healthier.
After hurting their sister, they see the consequences of their
actions and feel remorse. They realise they have their own inner moral
compass that guides them away from such things.
Learning To Self-Regulate
When you condition someone to react to punishment and reward, you
deny their ability to self-regulate. Yet that ability is there, and is
smarter and more sensitive than any external authority could be.
We are taught to depend on external authority. That’s why we
internalise a voice of external authority. When there isn’t anyone
around we tell ourselves what to do.
When you silence that voice, you must finally learn to self-regulate.
First you’ll do the opposite of what your internalised external
authority was telling you to do, and then you’ll learn from experience
where your boundaries are. More than learn, which sounds more
intellectual than this is, experience will help an inner guide congeal inside you. It’s like learning to ride a bike; you can’t think it, you have to experience it.
For most people, this process is dominated by laziness. Most of our
life we have been using the voice of internalised external authority to
force ourselves through school and work. So when we don’t have that
voice, our immediate reaction is to do nothing.
It will take you some time to get through this stage. How long? I
can’t say… It took me about 3 years, but I was running on instinct and
was only cloudily aware of why I was doing what I was doing. I think if
you dive into inaction with a full awareness, and remind yourself
constantly not to beat yourself up for it, and remember you have a right
to define your own boundaries through experience, it should take much
less time.
Finding Yourself
There’s a phrase for this which sounds far better than “inaction”: finding yourself.
Do what you can to support yourself in this time. Live a minimalist life. Go WWOOFing.
Go to India or Thailand. Sell your car. Sell your house. Get a well-off
girlfriend. Sleep on the streets if you think it will help. Do whatever
it takes.
The important thing: reject both internal and external authority
voices. Apart from that, do whatever you like, whatever you feel drawn
to.
At long last, you’ll be rewarded with two things.
The first is the understanding that earning money is something you want to do, not “have” to do.
The second will come sometime later.
It’s a grace, an inspiration. You’ll find something you want to do. But not just anything.
There will be a motivation that burns inside you, and as you do it,
you realize that the fuel to this fire has no end. It’s something you want to do, not have to do, and yet it will be a source of monetary support if you if you want it to be.
I’m living this new stage now, and I can tell you, life has never been so exciting.
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