Every now and then, I come across motivational content, whether from social media or self-help books, about subjects as diverse as entrepreneurship and working out. Producing such content is a lucrative business with implications at a time when toxic success culture has resulted in behaviours such as jouhatsu and hikikomori in Japan and elsewhere. These involve people disappearing from society to escape its judgmental attitudes.
As motivational content is almost everywhere, it’s practically ineffective. Over time, we become less sensitive to those stimuli which are too frequent. The worst thing about this type of content is that it’s addictive as it involves adrenaline and dopamine. Most of it tries to make us release some “feel-good” hormones for the time being to feel “pumped up”. The exhilaration ceases after some time and it makes us seek that experience again and again.
The problem begins with the stereotypical definition of “success”. According to many motivators, success lies in money, power, prestige and such attributes. But for others, success may be the peace of heart or anything else they prefer. Success is subjective. We could be successful in one thing and a loser in another. Life is not so simple to be defined in a binary of success and failure. We make trade-offs — win some, lose some. We sacrifice dreams to pursue other dreams. If we win according to our priorities and lose things that do not matter, then we are successful. Success is about winning in the most important aspects of life.
Most of the motivational content comes uncustomised. Everybody is capable in his or her own way, but motivators often reinforce the stereotypical success norms. Consequently, most people are only extrinsically motivated. In the long run, it becomes burdensome to carry a load of extrinsic motivation because the things that excite us today may not move us tomorrow.
Biases and stereotypes are rampant in such content. Motivators often present their personal opinions as “facts”. Especially, in muscle building, I have frequently encountered unscientific platitudes. This results in an unhealthy obsession which has mentally affected many. The “never give up” attitude should not blindly instigate us, as sometimes, we have to take a step back to make a longer leap. The difference between motivation and instigation is that the former gives us reasons to act but the latter is just a stimulation of our temptations within. Few motivators exploit this and behave like the rabbit who tricked the lion into jumping into the well.
It has been a time-tested trick to first create the problems and then provide solutions. So, motivators will create problems and make money. Then, therapists and spiritual gurus will provide solutions and make money. Motivational content surprisingly ignores the role of probabilities and privileges in anybody’s success. The focus on individual heroism deviates us from the discourse on systemic barriers to development, which are often a result of the policies. What we need is a society based on acceptance and care, not a crowd of people judging based on materials. Perhaps we do not need somebody to push us across the cliff; rather we need somebody to catch us when we fall.
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