From Laziness to Passion: How to Find Motivation

Your warm bed begs for 10 more minutes of snoozing. The Netflix show ends on a cliff-hanger, so you decide to watch one more episode. Even when you know it would be better to hop out of bed and start your day or turn off the TV and get ready for sleep, indulgence is tempting.

Why do we give in to this temptation? Even when we have clear goals and plans, laziness often beckons. And we readily give in – at least, some of us do. Then there’s this other group of people, those who pick out their workout clothes the night before, set their alarm for 4:30 a.m., and start stretching before going for their run in the morning. What’s the difference between the two groups? Is one set of people more productive than the other? Is one side better?

The answers depend on several factors, with two of the key considerations being how we define productivity and the importance that we place on it. In our article on breaking the chains of laziness, we highlight how Western society holds productivity in high regard. What if we dared to challenge the definition of productivity, not as the mere absence of lethargy (also known as laziness) but instead as the enthusiastic pursuit of our passions? What would change?

How do you stop yourself from watching another Netflix show in favor of pursuing your ambitions, goals, and dreams? That’s what we’ll explore in this article. We’ll dive into the relationship between laziness and motivation and how personality traits, responsibilities, and distraction affect that relationship.

Ups and Downs of Motivation

When we feel motivated, we feel like we can conquer the world. No mountain is insurmountable, no task too big to tackle. Motivation is the driving force behind our actions, helping us work more efficiently, meet deadlines, and produce high-quality work. With motivation in our sails, we swiftly set course for our dreams.

However, for many of us, motivation seems to be as fickle as the wind, blowing hot and cold with no warning. One day, you wake up brimming with energy and enthusiasm. The next, you struggle just to get out of bed.

On top of that, what motivates one person might not motivate another, and vice versa. In our “Ambition” survey, we ask people how they feel about fighting impossible odds. We see that mostly Analyst personalities, but also some Diplomats and Explorers, like fighting impossible odds. Other personality types answer that they don’t really think about the chances of success or that they think it’s foolish to go ahead with the odds not in their favor. There does not seem to be a universal guideline that will serve all of us to ensure that the level of motivation that we feel is always in line with our plans.

Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Motivation

So far, we’ve established that motivation can come one day and be gone the next. Impossible odds are compelling to some personalities. Beating them might boost their confidence and the sense of satisfaction that they derive from the task. That is what we would call intrinsic motivation – behavior that is driven by an internal, personal reward, such as satisfaction, enjoyment, or pride.

Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, involves an external reward, such as a cash bonus, a promotion, or a prize. Extrinsic motivation can also stem from wanting to avoid a negative outcome, such as a punishment, a fine, or a negative feeling.

Motivation can seem unpredictable and uncontrollable. It’s influenced by a myriad of factors, including external circumstances, internal thoughts and feelings, and even the weather. For some personality types, a sunny day is reason enough to throw all plans to the wind and find a nice spot in a park to soak up all the rays. For others, a sunny day is like productivity fuel. Their motivation soars as the sunlight fills them with optimism and energy.

Does this mean that you’re left to the whims of fate when it comes to motivation? Do you always have to distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation? While you can’t control everything, there are things that you can influence to better harness and sustain motivation in a manner that is suitable for your personality.

The Spillover Effect of Motivation

While a majority of respondents to our “Passion” survey agree that being passionate about their job would make them more successful, only about a third report that they make a living from any of their passions. So being passionate is not always a recipe for (financial) success.

Passion, however, is an integral ingredient for motivation, and motivation, in turn, plays a significant role in career success. Motivation is the driving force that helps people set and achieve their career goals, after which they create new, loftier ones. When employees are motivated, they are more likely to meet deadlines, work efficiently, and produce high-quality work. But what if you’re on a career path that you are good at and even interested in, but you’re just not passionate about it? Fret not!

It is possible that feeling motivated in one area of life, such as when you’re pursuing a hobby, can positively impact other areas of life as well. This is what we call the spillover effect, or transfer of motivation. When you have decided to learn the piano and are motivated by the goal of playing a piece publicly in six months’ time, you find the motivation and dedication to sit down every day and practice. Adhering to this dedication and discipline creates a positive feeling of success and fulfillment, which can boost your overall sense of self-worth, self-esteem, and confidence. That boost might make it easier for you to take on smaller tasks or to get them out of the way more quickly and efficiently, so that you can focus on your main goal again. By pursuing a passion, even one that is unrelated to your work, you can inadvertently become more effective, efficient, and productive in your career.

As with almost all things, balance is important. While motivation can transfer, it is also entirely possible for that focus area to become highly time-consuming or exhausting, overpowering you and leaving you with less energy and motivation to tackle additional tasks in your life. This worry might be more prevalent for people with the Intuitive or Prospecting personality traits – in our “Passion” survey, they’re more likely to report that their passion can often get out of control.

Finding the Time to Pursue Your Passion

A 40-hour work week, an exercise routine, grocery shopping, keeping house, and any social and familial commitments – isn’t that enough to keep you busy? Now you have to worry about allocating time to explore and pursue your passions as well? Not too much time, though, for fear of it taking over your life.

Balancing the pursuit of passions with your everyday responsibilities might be challenging, but it is possible. There just isn’t a silver bullet – you have to find out what works for you. This will involve a bit of self-reflection, maybe some journaling or long walks in nature, and experimentation.

People with the Thinking trait in their personality type – Analyst personalities and Logisticians (ISTJ), Executives (ESTJ), Virtuosos (ISTP), and Entrepreneurs (ESTP) – will benefit from thinking through their interests to explore their passions and how they can integrate them into their daily life. In our “Passion” survey, we find that people with this trait usually say they experience their passions most intensely in their head (as opposed to their heart or their gut). They can analyze what these passions will bring them, what they will cost them, and how much time and resources they will have to allocate to them. By applying their Thinking trait to uncover which interests take priority and why, they can start to organize their daily life accordingly, befitting the intellectual way that these personalities experience passion.

People with the Feeling trait in their personality type – Diplomat personalities and Defenders (ISFJ), Consuls (ESFJ), Adventurers (ISFP), and Entertainers (ESFP) – might want to take a different approach to exploring which topics interest them the most and how they can focus more on them. What makes their heart sing? What fills them up with positive feelings? If they were to create a list and meditate on it, what items would resonate the most? These personality types usually look inside their heart – instead of their head – to uncover their true passions.

To ensure that this pursuit doesn’t unwittingly take over your life, adhering to some sort of time management strategy might be a smart choice. The key lies in deciding what truly matters to you. As such, it is not so much time management as it is choice management. What do you decide to spend your time, energy, and resources on?

You might find it interesting to see whether you can integrate your passion with another aspect of your life. Want to learn all about photography and composition? Bring your camera to the next work happy hour. Is baking your passion? Commit to trying out one new recipe a week and bringing it as a treat for the team meeting. Or incorporate outdoor activities into your fitness routine, if you want to stay healthy while exploring nature more.

Strategies to Pursue Passion and Leave Procrastination Behind

Procrastination is a complex phenomenon, and it is closely intertwined with motivation. In fact, you could argue that procrastination is a manifestation of the struggle between instant gratification and long-term goals. Watching another episode on Netflix can be much more appealing than working on a challenging project that will earn you your promotion next year. The motivation for the latter is not front and center yet, and the instant satisfaction of knowing how the cliff-hanger gets resolved wins.

Finding the right strategy for you to manage this conflict between long-term motivation and short-term satisfaction is key to overcoming procrastination. The difficulty here, of course, is that motivation is not a constant state. Cultivating habits that suit your personality will help you maintain forward momentum and will boost your motivation levels.

By aligning your motivation with your passions and integrating them into your daily life, you can experience a profound shift. Not only can your personal life flourish but your career can benefit too. Your passions are not a distant dream. They are an integral part of the journey that we call life. And life is hardly ever a straight line.

Remember: no one ever said you have to take this journey all by yourself. During the more difficult parts, it can be a wonderful thing to rely on the people around you who can share their expertise, knowledge, wisdom, or just some cheerful support. Collaborating with like-minded personalities to share thoughts, to motivate one another, and to hold one another accountable can help you stay focused while also making the process feel less overwhelming. Sometimes it’s just a kind word that you need to remind yourself of your “why,” and sometimes a little bit of tough love can get you back on course.

Passion Is the Key

The group of people who set their alarm for 4:30 a.m. to go for a run have figured out their long-term goal and feel so passionate about it that they have set up habits, routines, and strategies to help them show up daily. These personalities tap into intrinsic motivation, even in the moments when it’s clouded by distractions. They’ve found what works for them and planned accordingly.

You can still feel immensely motivated and passionate without having to wake up at 4:30 a.m. Passionate and motivated people also enjoy watching episodes of their favorite TV series. What sets them apart is the conscious choice to keep it at one episode at a time, and they do not unwittingly binge an entire season. They will keep that energy and focus and channel it toward achieving their goal.

Passion is a deep and powerful emotion that drives people to invest time, effort, and energy into pursuing their interests or goals. Passion provides the motivation and determination to keep going, regardless of any obstacles and challenges that might come their way.

What’s your way of tapping into your passion to achieve your goals? How do you avoid falling into the distraction and procrastination trap? Let us know in the comments below!