Obstacle To Motivation

Why people cannot get motivated or why people cannot find anything to do is a common question.

I think one reason for some people is because they actually do not want to have anything they love and enjoy to do that they can become attached to. The avoidance of attachment is stronger than the desire for joy or purpose. However, there is a good reason for this distaste of attachment which we will explore.

It is a sort of allergic reaction that is developed, with the reaction being a dulling of the mind such that nothing can be seen clearly. Apathy grows and everything turns into a dull grey or black instead of colourful joy.

When one says they cannot find anything interesting, they are really saying they do not want to find anything that would be so interesting because they do not want to become attached to anything because, if they lose it or cannot do it, that will cause great pain and suffering.

It is the avoidance of pain, but what exactly is that pain they are avoiding?

From the Buddhist point of view, one could say that in a previous life they were a Buddhist monk and highly developed. This life is continuing the path of non-attachment and so in this life one carries that personality and does not want to become attached to anything by recalling the teaching of the Buddha.

Nibbida, a Buddhist  term which is meant to cultivate disgust and disdain for all material and emotional attachments and possessions. Buddha taught that we must cultivate Nibbida for all things, detached from all material pleasures and possessions, so that at the time of death, or even through the course of life, as we lose our possessions or loved ones, we will not suffer.

Of course, this is a dangerous teaching because it is so easily misunderstood and turns into doing more damage than good if there is no instruction from a wise guide in its application.

But if you are not one who believes in the continuation of life or that you were a highly developed monk near enlightenment, we are faced with my view of life; deal with what you  are right here and now.

There is no need to live today based on a possibility of what past was or future life will be, what we must do is focus on what we are right now. Right now if there is a reluctance, regardless of its original cause or source, there is a way to deal with it in this lifetime.

Although avoidance is an excellent prevention of pain from the loss of things we love and are attached to, it actually does not work because it replaces a potential loss with a guaranteed loss of day to day happiness.

The obstacle to motivation we would like to point out in this article is the fear of the pain of loss and rejection.

The cure is the acceptance that life is suffering no matter what. So you may as well get into something and enjoy it rather than spend the whole life wasted in dullness avoiding what you in fact filling your cup with.