Two words that get thrown around a lot at LJ HQ are inspiration and motivation – and lucky for us, the office is absolutely oozing with both, but did you know there’s a huge difference between the two? While often used in conjunction with one another, it’s no wonder these two wonderful words conjure up similar sentiments, but it’s important to note that there’s one vast difference. We can rely on others for inspiration, but we can only rely on ourselves for motivation.
Allow me to give you an example… How many times have you flipped through a magazine or scrolled through Pinterest and stumbled across a picture of a woman who’s SO fit, it makes you want to drop what you’re doing and head straight to the gym? That’s inspiration and you can seek it from so many places. On the other hand, when 5pm rolls around, your energy has significantly diminished and you’re distracted by the long list of housework you have to push through when you get home, yet you still manage to make it to the gym because you know you will feel better for it? That’s motivation, and it’s something you can only find within yourself.
In short, we need inspiration to want to get stuff done, but we need motivation to actually get the stuff done. Whether it’s cooking, reading, exercising, working, prepping, playing or planning, you need both of these things to Make It Happen, but motivation can be the tougher one to find. Inspiration is everywhere. Seriously, everywhere. The inspiration for this article came from a single quote! Inspiration can strike at any given moment, whether it’s on Pinterest, from a book, from a person or even from a place… if you keep your eyes open, inspiration is easy to find. But motivation is not always as simple.
Where motivation is concerned, finding ‘the why’ in whatever it is you want to do is a good place to start. If you’re not feeling motivated to follow through with the meal prep you were so inspired by, think about why you were inspired to do it. To save time? To ensure you won’t have to skip your workout in favour of cooking lunch and dinner every night? Because it will save you money? If you’re not feeling motivated to get up with the 5am alarm you were inspired to set last night, think about why you set it. Because that run will clear your head and leave you energised for the day? Because it will get you one step closer to the half marathon you’re training for? Because it just feels so damn good to move?
As lovely as it would be for somebody to cut us off a big slice of motivation and serve it with a side of cashew cream, the only person who can truly motivate you, is you.
Remember, when in doubt; let your why drive the motivation in everything you do.
