Episode 45 - Motivation

What actually keeps you going when things get hard?
In this episode, we get into motivation — what it really looks like and where it comes from. For some, being doubted is the fuel. Being expected to fail is the spark. But what about when nobody doubts you? What about the quiet seasons when there’s no challenge, no pressure, and you still have to find a reason to show up? That’s the real test of motivation.
Because anybody can rise to a challenge. The question is, can you stay driven when everything is still?

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

So this right here, obviously this is the Hard Reset Podcast would do steps on. I'm kind of just a spitball nutrient. I don't uh have a particular topic I want to talk about. It's something that's on my mind.

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Uh for me, um I love challenges. I love being doubted. I love being expected to fail. I love it. For me, that is uh that's what gets me going. I don't ask me. I'm like, okay, let's go, let's do this. I'm ready. Bring it. Whatever you got, throw it at me.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Let's see if I can succeed, I guess you could say. And even then when I say let's see if I can succeed, in my head, there's no less thing if I can do it. I know I can do it, I believe I can do it, I will do it. But in the context of you stuck in me to fail and me either not doing this before or me not having much experience at it, it's like, okay, so let's go for it, let's see what happens. The hard part for me is not when people doubt you, but when people have no doubts about you, then they expect you to succeed, then they expect you to do well, or when there's a lull period and there's not much going on, and just you know, basic normal stuff, mononyous stuff that isn't necessarily uh difficult, but it's uh you know, busy work, something to do to pass on. It's hard to find motivation for things like that. And for me, when I spend so much time being on and trying to doubt, not doubt people, but when I'm trying to overcome the doubts of people, once I get to the point to where I've succeeded or I've done well, and uh there's no more challenges, that is where you build your character, I guess you could say. Because you got past the hard part, you got past it out, you proved you can do it. Now it is maintaining because you're no longer fighting for survival, you're just trying to keep going at the same pace that you're at. So the hard part isn't necessarily a challenge, that's the easy part because you're motivated, you want to get this done, you want to work on it. The hard part is getting to the point to where now you need to maintain and stay consistent, and not stay consistent in something that's constantly challenging because you mastered it already. So now you're not necessarily working hard to try to beat the odds, you're trying to maintain the status quo that you have set for yourself. Like you have set this standard, just uh this degree of uh work that you've done, and now it is expected. So now you need to maintain and find that motivation to keep at that same level that keep in there.

SPEAKER_01 3:29

That's the hard part.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Um I would say this is actually something that I've always uh struggled with, I guess you could say. Because if there's not a challenge or anything for me to overcome, usually it's uh very hard for me to try to, you know, find the motivation to maintain. But I can also say, with that being said, in those situations where I've reached the mountaintop and I achieve whatever I can achieve and beat the odds, I uh well, I define a new challenge and try something different. Or I maintain at a high level. It's just that now when I maintain it at the high level, it doesn't take as much focus and energy because I've gotten into a system to where I can do it with ease and it not really boggle my mind or weigh down on me too much. Mostly that's a great spot to be in. Me personally, I don't necessarily feel it's a great spot to be in, because then at that point, I'm like, what am I doing? This isn't uh difficult for me anymore.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

This is uh I'm gonna rhythm.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

This isn't uh this isn't chaotic, this isn't uh challenging, this isn't bringing new things to me that I haven't done before that can prove to be difficult. I've pretty much done what I need to do to get to the point to where now this is just light work.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Um what I want to say. I guess the whole point of this is you gotta find that motivation.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

And you don't find that motivation, well, I mean, you don't want to find that motivation by self-sabotaging. You don't want to find that motivation by putting yourself in a hole that you have to dig out of. That new challenge necessarily needs to be okay, I've been good and done this for this amount of time. Now the challenge is maintain this status quo for an extended period of time, excellence, staying consistent, keeping up this level of work that I've done previously, and keep pushing myself forward by making it uh non-negotiable, making it uh undeniable fact that this is what's gonna happen when I'm put in the work.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

No matter whatever obstacles thrown at me.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Because obviously, for me, I love challenges, I love chaos, I love I love curveballs, all of that shit, it just activates me and makes me want to do well and puts that extra level of focus that I maybe didn't have prior. I've had at the job. I've actively noticed and took note of people going out their way to sabotage me and my progress. I absolutely notice everything. There isn't one thing that a person can do to try to alter my path that I won't notice.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

I pick up on everything.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

Do I say anything? No. What's the point? They're gonna do what they do. I can say something if they want, but in the end, when I say something, it's not gonna stop them from doing it. And even then, what it could do is just be another thing that they do to try to get me to be out of my position and be out of myself and be angry and react angry and become an angry black man. Which is what most people expect. They expect if you feel disrespected, then you're gonna lash out, yell, curse them out, or do something that gets you out your way that makes you look bad. And then at that point, it doesn't even matter what they did to you because you retaliated and responded.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

My whole life, my whole life I've dealt with people going out their way to get a reaction out of me. That's all I've ever dealt with. My cool calm demeanor. It bothers people. They wonder why I don't get rattled. They wonder why nothing affects me emotionally. And honestly, I could probably say it's just a karma response.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

I probably just learned that from trauma. Like I don't I've dealt with enough trauma to where I noticed responding angrily, it just doesn't yield any benefits. And even before I noticed that, and myself, it's just not something I wanted to be. I've never been a super angry person, so when people do stuff, was I annoyed, yes, but I also knew if I react angrily, it's gonna make the situation worse for me.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

So why? That's fine. There's no need. You need to stay focused. Plain simple. Stay focused on your goal, stay focused on your path. Any obstacle they throw your way, overcome it. Plain simple. That's all I do. And you know, it's not even just uh when people throw obstacles in your way and try to sabotage you.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

People say shit too. They talk shit. They uh they'll mask it as a joke, but it'll be a little slight jab.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Just uh get on your skin a little bit. It doesn't work. No.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

And I don't care about getting other people's respect.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

I don't. There was a point where I did.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

There was a point where I cared about getting other people's respect and cared about people trying to throw dirt on my name. There was a point in time where that happened. And honestly, whenever I cared about that, all it did was lead me to be more angry, have more pent-up anger, and uh more irritable and more unhappy because I was so worried about how I was looking to other people based off of whatever this person is saying and doing.

SPEAKER_01 10:59

But in reality, whatever they're saying and doing doesn't fucking matter. It's about the walking.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

In the end, talking's not gonna save you from actually doing a job well.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

So you can talk all you want. But if you aren't good, it shit doesn't matter, it doesn't add up.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

So people are gonna see the real you for you are. So when I'm putting in that context, I'm talking about people talking shit about me or you, you know, trying to talk that on you. What they say doesn't matter, because in the end, when you're put in a situation where you gotta perform, you perform well.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

So anything they say doesn't fucking matter.

SPEAKER_00 12:04

I've been put in situations where I need to complete a task and I have not done it before. I have not been trained on it before.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Just never done it. And I knocked them out. I did them effortlessly.

SPEAKER_00 12:27

And honestly, it was because I was confident in myself and I was confident in my ability and I wasn't intimidated by the task. Was the task important? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Was there a lot of writing on the task? Yes. But did it scare me? No. And that's the thing about me. I don't think people truly, you know, uh know me. I don't think they truly understand me. I think people expect me to respond a certain way. And be intimidated and be scared. Scared to make a mistake, things of that nature. None of that shit bothers me. None of that shit scares me. Matter of fact, nothing scares me. I don't care. Not only do I not care. I love being thrown in the chaos. I reach a different level of Zen. I reach a different level of focus. What is it that they say now? That flow state. I be that. That's where I am. I'm just waiting for the opportunity to bring it out. In the end, I think um what I'm basically trying to say is you need to find motivation in everything that you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

And if you've gotten to a point to where you don't feel challenged anymore, and it is uh it isn't pushing you to want to do well every time that you're doing whatever it is that you're doing, throw a new wrinkle in there, throw a little wrinkle, make it harder, challenge yourself.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

See what you can do to widen your skill, expand your skill set, you know.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

And if you're at a point or at a job where you can't necessarily, you know, play around with it a little bit and see what you can do, because you know, there's a set rules for everything that you do, and you need to do it a certain way, that's fine too. That means you can just shift your goals. Your goal now is to maintain excellence and be consistent and do it over and over and over and over and over again.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

Got your new goal. You just gotta shift your mindset. I'm Juice Castle. This is our reset.