What’s your motivation? And where do you get an extra dose when you’re running low?

There are some questions that I simply just don’t have an answer to. This is one of them. However, it’s one that people expect to get an answer from. They want to hear your deepest secrets, your tips & tricks. Ultimately, they’re hoping that you’ll let them know the secret to success. Or at least, your success.

The truth is, I don’t have a secret. Motivation to me is something that’s ingrained in my being. Maybe I was born with it (cue: Maybelline) or maybe it was something I’ve learned along the path to adulthood. I really don’t know.

Unfortunately, “I don’t know” isn’t the answer anyone is looking for.

Recently a friend asked me why I chose now to start writing my novel and what motivates me to sit down and write after I’ve finished a long day at my 9-to-5 job. (A little background: she’s been wanting to change her career but is having a hard time finding the drive to do so after draining away her energy at the office.)

Well, for starters, I love to write. I suppose you could say that passion partly fuels my motivation. Although, I’m not always motivated no matter how much I love to do something. We all have moments of momentous motivation and then in the blink of an eye it can… just be gone.

Why does this happen? Perhaps our ever shortening attentions spans have something to do with it. (Thanks, social media.) Or maybe we’re trying to draw motivation for a task that doesn’t interest us at all.

If I really had to think about my motivation, I’d say it comes down to three things: determination for a better life, a love for challenging myself, and the excitement of seeing my dreams come to fruition.

I mean, hello! Seeing a novel I wrote on the New York Times Best Sellers list is something I’ve wanted my whole life.

Even if that might be a bit of a stretch right now—since I currently have no novels completely written, let alone one up for being a best seller—it doesn't matter. Just dreaming about these types of things helps get my incentive in check.

I may not have a lot of motivation for, let’s say, vacuuming my zebra print rug as often as I should, but when it comes to my writing my iMac can count on me sitting down and typing my heart out for at least a few hours per week. (It’s more like a few hours per day but not all of that is working on my book.)

One day when my debut novel is completed and is, of course, a smashing success, I’m sure I’ll look back and be proud of the countless hours I put into perfecting each chapter. Whether my motivation will continue to flow or I’ll decide that one book was enough, I’m not sure.

Ultimately, my most crucial piece of advice is to find something that you truly love; motivation will follow shortly after. And if that fails, pour yourself a glass of your favourite wine, sit back and wait for the warmth of alcohol and the tingle of motivation to consume you. It’s worth it.

So now for the million dollar question: Where do you get your motivation from?

—ᴍᴍᴍ