There seems to be some confusion as to what motivation is. I hear/see many conversations of people talking about how they can’t get motivated to do things. In the same conversation(s), they speak on how they managed to do these things but were not motivated. Huh?
Motiv-ation
The beginning part of the word motivation is derived from the word motive, which means reason for doing something. The end part of motivation “ation” is a suffix, which means the action or process of doing something.
Ergo...
Motivation is any underlining factor that drives one to act!!!
A persons mood, toward any given action, typically causes them to think/feel either motivated or unmotivated whether they act or not. Common mistake!
What you’re confusing motivation with is enthusiasm. This is understandable since enthusiasm is a synonym of motivation. On the other hand, motivation is not a synonym for enthusiasm.
So what does that mean?
When a person is truly not motivated they do not act, and when a person acts it is from motivation. You may not be enthused about going to a job you don’t like but go anyway. This is because regardless of how you “feel” toward it you have reason enough to continue to go (motivation).
Because you’re not enthused about it doesn’t mean you have no motivation. It just means enthusiasm is not it!