Counterpoint: Self-Motivation is Having Integrity With Your Future Self
We’ve all heard similar proverbs about integrity throughout our lives. In one way or another, it comes down to doing the right thing even when no one is looking. By and large, this means you can’t force someone to have integrity. Integrity is a choice.
Similarly, just like integrity is a choice, having self-motivation is a choice. A choice to do something because you want to do it not because you have to do it. While it’s fairly routine for the average person to show self-motivation to do fun activities that provide immediate gratification. It’s not so easy to show self-motivation to do things that are both uncomfortable and only provide benefits in a distant future.
In essence, this latter type of delayed gratification self-motivation is when you must have integrity with your future self. This is doing the right thing when no one is looking and no one cares, at least no one in the present moment. There is some distant version of yourself in an unknown future that will care. This distant future version of yourself is the only one who can hold you accountable for this type of delayed gratification self-motivation.
This may be an esoteric perspective to grasp. However, I do believe it’s a foundational concept for the type of “delayed gratification self-motivation” pursuing difficult goals requires. If you have never considered a future version of yourself as a stakeholder in the decisions you make today, then I would seriously consider you try this approach.