Not Motivated

To do what? That is the question. You’re always motivated to do something. But when our inspiration and our goals don’t align, what do we do?

Over the last six months, I haven’t been very motivated to work on my business. I’m still grieving a past failure, spinning my wheels as to where to go next. But I have been very motivated to start, build out, and seriously invest in my Pokémon card collection. I have bought cards, boosters, boxes, sleeves, and binders. I have made new friends and traded with them. I even made a master spreadsheet, started tracking everything, and began to consider the investment side of things on top of the just-for-fun hobby.

Should I spend more time working and less time collecting? Absolutely. I could kick myself for it, and sometimes, I do. But I never gave up on my business altogether. I still work on it every day. And whenever the motivation pendulum swings the other way, both it and I will be here, ready for another season.

There’s a balance between acting only on inspiration and relying solely on pressure to marshal yourself forward. Sometimes, what’s fun and useful will align perfectly. At other times, you’ll need a fun distraction to carry you through a rough patch. Don’t worry about it too much. Life has its own agenda. What feels like wasted time in the moment might later turn out to be training for the right opportunity.

Not motivated. To do what? You’re always motivated to do something. The only question is what is it, and how much will you allow yourself to follow your nose?