At some point, we’ve all heard “Don’t worry about motivation. Just do it!” While that advice is well-meaning, it misses the mark, and here’s why:

You’re motivated to do something whether you realize it or not.

If you’re procrastinating, that action is motivated by something, even if you don’t know what it is. If you spend three evenings working late to refine a project that few people care about, it’s motivated by something, even if you can’t identify it. By better understanding what it is that truly drives us, we can unlock ways of approaching our work in a more meaningful way.

That brings me to my point: you can’t wait for your tasks to motivate you, you need to bring motivation to your tasks. Searching for the perfect job is like chasing vapor. We all have to do work that we may not enjoy. However, once you begin to better understand the themes that drive deep engagement and fulfillment in your life, you can learn to structure your work so that you are bringing that motivational energy to your tasks more consistently. That’s when things really unlock for you.

On this episode, I share a few key insights from the beginning of my new book The Motivation Code to help unlock why motivation is critical, and how to begin to leverage it daily.

This episode is sponsored by Skillshare. The first 1,000 people to use our link will get a free trial of Skillshare Premium at Skillshare.com/accidental.

The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.