Quotes About Motivation

Quien tiene un porqué para vivir encontrará casi siempre el cómo».

Jordan B. Peterson

The socialism that soon afterward became so attractive to me as an alternative proved equally insubstantial; with time, I came to understand, through the great George Orwell, that much of such thinking found its motivation in hatred of the rich and successful, instead of true regard for the poor.

Then you ask yourself, "What could I do, that I would do, that would accomplish that, and what small thing would I like as a reward?" Then you do what you have decided to do, even if you do it badly. Then you give yourself that damn coffee, in triumph.

A little careful kindness goes a long way, and judicious reward is a powerful motivator.

An aim defines progress and makes such progress exciting. An aim reduces anxiety, because if you have no aim everything can mean anything or nothing, and neither of those two options makes for a tranquil spirit.

Una gran parte de las emociones positivas que sentimos está relacionada con objetivos. Técnicamente hablando, no somos felices si no nos vemos progresar, y la mera idea de progreso implica un valor.

Stretching yourself beyond the boundaries of your current self requires carefully choosing and then pursuing ideals: ideals that are up there, above you, superior to you—and that you can't always be sure you will reach. But if it's uncertain that our ideals are attainable,

Stretching yourself beyond the boundaries of your current self requires carefully choosing and then pursuing ideals: ideals that are up there, above you, superior to you—and that you can't always be sure you will reach.

We live within a framework that defines the present as eternally lacking and the future as eternally better. If we did not see things this way, we would not act

What is a truly reliable source of positive emotion?" The answer is that people experience positive emotion in relationship to the pursuit of a valuable goal.

we don't experience any positive emotion unless we have an aim, and we can see ourselves progressing toward that aim

I will make a different plan. I will try to want whatever it is that would make my life better—whatever that might be—and I will start working on it now.

No purpose? Then, no positive emotion, as most of what drives us forward with hope intact is the experience of approaching something we deeply need and want. And worse, when we are without purpose: chronic, overwhelming anxiety, as focused purpose constrains what is otherwise likely to be the intolerable chaos of unexploited possibility and too much choice.

Consider the role that creative people play in cities. They are typically starving a bit, because it is virtually impossible to be commercially successful as an artist, and that hunger is partly what motivates them (do not underestimate the utility of necessity).

those who start to have will probably get more.

When you dare aspire upward, you reveal the inadequacy of the present and the promise of the future.

I will try to want whatever it is that would make my life better—whatever that might be—and I will start working on it now.

and the answer to why they're mad about the shoes is because they should change jobs

Of course, there must be vision, beyond discipline; beyond dogma. A tool still needs a purpose.

THE QUESTION IS WHY WOULD YOU EVER DO ANYTHING?

There is a high goal, a mountain peak, a star that shines in the darkness, beckoning above the horizon. Its mere existence gives you hope—and that is the meaning without which you cannot live.

nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche so brilliantly noted, "He whose life has a why can bear almost any how."61

Those well positioned (and this is a great danger of moving up) have used their current competence—their cherished opinions, their present knowledge, their current skills—to stake a moral claim to their status. In consequence, they have little motivation to admit to error, to learn or change—and plenty of reason not to.