When Motivation Strikes

Can you depend on what motivates you? 

Motivation is like drinking coffee in the morning. After that first cup I feel so good. I’m buzzing. There’s nothing I can’t do. I’m so energized I’m sure I can accomplish anything and everything I want to. Then that initial jolt of that coffee wears off and I have to find a way to keep going. 

This year in January I set a handful of giant goals. Initially, I was so amped to get out and make it happen. For the first 90 days or so I attacked these goals with all of the enthusiasm and energy that I could muster. Then business slowed down, life started happening and things became more difficult. The motivation, the excitement, the enthusiasm wore off. Now I’m left with a mountain of work that I have to clear in order to hit the goals I’ve set for myself. The truth is I am not motivated. I’m not driven. I am an artist. I believe an artist is responsible for creating the art, opportunities and direction of their mission. Just like a surgeon is responsible to answer the call of patients in need. I have developed the understanding that I am responsible for delivering the artwork that the world needs. This mindset keeps me consistent and honest about what I’m working on and why I need to complete it. 

This wasn’t always my mentality.

I’m not sure when I made this shift, I do remember my old thought process though. I really believed that I needed to be connected to and inspired by all of the work that I produced. I would focus my energy and talents on things that I felt “moved” by and “connected” too. I can truly say I was limiting myself. I thought I needed to feel that motivation all the time to move forward. If I didn’t feel it, I didn’t do it. For most people, that’s how motivation works.

The truth is; motivation is a feeling. To be motivated is to feel motivated and feelings come and go. I’m sure we’ve all had instances where we’ve jumped from one feeling to another in a split second. Going from scared to laughing after realizing that a friend was just playing a prank or from so excited to devastated after dropping the food you’ve waited 20 minutes in line for. Motivation follows this same curve, from motivated to {insert verb}. I realized that by making a choice to become an artist, I took on the responsibility of what an artist does. So in came responsibility and out went motivation.

Motivation and responsibility cannot fully exist together.

It’s as simple as that. I would love to say something up beat and feel good about this statement. I believe when you absolutely need to do the work, whatever it is that motivates you doesn’t matter. Sure it’s amazing to have things that motivate you and serve as a clear “Why” behind whatever it is you decided to do. Motivation and responsibility can work together but they cannot fully exist at the same time. Above all, what you’re responsible for is your duty, you have control over it, you are accountable to it and you have the ability to act independently and make decisions without anyone’s permission.

I’m in the process of building. For the past 6 years I have put all of my time and energy into my art business. I’ve molded it and shaped it into what I wanted it to be and now I can clearly see the great potential it has. For me seeing the plan on paper and being able to look back at a huge checklist with all of the boxes checked is extremely motivating to me. It does a lot for my confidence and helps me to put my goals into perspective. It shows me the reality of my past and current situation which is; all of the goals you set, you accomplish. This is a great feeling. It’s validating and for me it pushes me to continue to write my goals down. It’s interesting because the motivation that I feel comes before and after my responsibility. So I feel motivated to make a series of artwork. I am now responsible for completing that series and once complete I feel empowered and motivated to do it again.

-Von