Here’s Why Motivational Videos Suck (The Truth)
Motivational videos pop up everywhere, especially on YouTube. If you browse the website, you might have seen multiple videos of motivational speakers: Jordan Peterson, Simon Senik, Joe Rogan. They’ll have the picture of the person with something generic like: “Only 2% understand this.”
It’s marketing, hence why they succeed with you ending up watching one. We go to these videos when we procrastinate or do not feel like doing a particular action. It’s easier to sit through 10 minutes of motivational words than to take action. And that is the trap.
Know listening to words may trick you into thinking you are taking action. You might spend 10 minutes on one video, only to find yourself scavenging to find that one sentence, a piece of information that will compel you to take action. Lo and behold, you spent half an hour doing nothing.
They're quick, digestible content that helps procrastinate the necessary action. To explore this more, I have 3 main points why I think they suck.
- Raw action will always outcompete inaction.
- The illusion of action
- Discipline is the ultimate solution.
Motivational Videos Give The Illusion Of Taking Action
I’d say the only time these motivational videos work is whatever they told you to do in the video, which you immediately implement through action. But we know the videos alone are not successful when looking at the big picture.
Bringing it back to the self-improvement industry that these motivational videos stem from: these videos wouldn’t be so big if people took action. Why would you need to watch a video to get motivated to take action when you’re already taking the necessary action?
So, how come people don’t take action? Watching a motivational video satisfied their need for action. It gives the false perception that watching multiple videos of motivation is taking action. It’s easier to scroll through, click videos, and sit there and watch than do anything else. So, although you may have had that burning desire to take action, it gets put out.
Take, for example, I want to improve at video production. I might watch a few videos getting me motivated to make the videos. But the real action I need to do: is to record, edit it, apply my basic knowledge about thumbnails, video titles, and descriptions and upload it to YouTube. The real action is something that creates effects and results, and motivational videos are not that. Because you may be compelled to take action after watching a video, it wasn't the video that actually executed raw action. It was you who decided to do so.
Raw Action Outcompetes Inaction
Winners take action.
Perhaps inaction is needed, but on average, taking action than doing nothing at all will lead you somewhere better than where you were previously. Analysis paralysis is a term I found might explain why we don’t take action. Because you are given so much information, this stimuli overload leads you to conclude action is not worth taking without even more. Motivational videos, in our context, are that information overload.
I put fitness as the leading example because it is probably the easiest thing to improve through action. Eat healthily and work out. You do not need to hear people in videos saying, “It’s good. Go work out.” And give you the confirmation and validation of taking action. What the hell are you doing watching their video and not working out? You know damn well if you go to the gym, progressively overload and skip out on every unhealthy food, you will stay in shape. And if you say, “I need to know the best workout.” Start with push-ups. Rest assured, if you do them and maybe use a weighted vest to make yourself heavier, you’ll be in better shape.
Taking action has a more direct and immediate effect on your health than just listening to the theory work. And most of the theory is devised into a plan. It shouldn’t take more than a day to create one. You will learn more from a feedback loop than from trying to make the perfect plan. Make a general plan, sure, but what makes the method effective is your ability to take action and adjust accordingly. So, before you tap on another motivational video, consider if another activity will provide more value.
Discipline Beats Motivation In Any Realm Of Endeavour
What is discipline?
It is accepting that you may not feel compelled to do an action but doing it anyways. So, how does it differ from motivation? Reflect upon your own life; how many of your behaviours are determined by your feelings?
Motivation is one of those feelings that makes it easier to take action. You feel a jolting force that makes you happy to do something. Yet, think also of the times you had no drive or were too comfortable. Do you let your feelings get the better of you and dictate how you take action?
With any action comes an opposite reaction. Nearly everything you do has cause and effect. Ray Dalio, a successful billionaire hedge fund manager, explains in Principles that action can be described by their first, second and third-order consequences. He highlights the importance of using his own success and failure to focus more on the second and third-order consequences than the first. Why? Most beneficial habits, habits being the repetition of specific actions, suck in first-order consequences. Going to the gym has the first-order effect of pain and discomfort. Its second-order effect is your body grows and becomes stronger from working out. Thus creating the third-order consequence of improving your longevity and health.
The barrier to entry for most people is that first-order consequence: feel good now rather than later. How discipline plays a role is there is no emotion when considering action taking. You may feel sad one day and happy the next. The impermanence of emotion will aid your belief that what must be done will be done. You still feel these emotions, but you still act. This will eventually turn into a habit regardless of feelings: you will do it out of habit, keeping in mind the second and third-order consequences. You might think watching a motivational video will help your endeavour for your own betterment. It is simply putting a band-aid on a large wound. The problem is not having enough motivation: it’s not having the discipline to go, “I may not feel like doing it. But I’m doing it anyways.”
Take Action
To summarise, action is the solution to your problems. Not these motivational videos. The real issue is not your lack of motivation but not having developed the discipline to act.
They give the illusion of satisfying your desire for action by making it easier to sit, watch and feed the analysis paralysis. What can beat this only raw action, which can later be turned into a continued discipline regardless of emotions and feelings.
There will be days when you don’t want to work or do anything. But start developing discipline by acting despite how you feel in small increments. Here’s this for an assignment.
That’s it. You will benefit more from taking action and developing the discipline to keep taking action than watching these motivational videos.