Motivation vs Inspiration

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Motivation – the act or an instance of motivating, or providing with a reason to act in a certain way

Inspiration – an inspiring or animating action or influence

People post in these forums all the time looking for motivation or friends who can motivate them or sources of motivation. When they do that, I’m not really sure that they understand what they are asking. As you can see in the definition above, motivation is a REASON to act in a certain way. So, basically, people are asking a bunch of strangers on the internet for a reason to go to the gym or make better choices with their eating or whatever.

Here’s the problem with that as I see it. No one can give you a reason. You have to find your own reason. Maybe it’s to be able to run around the yard with your kids. Maybe it’s to fit in the jeans you wore in high school. Maybe it’s to be able to bench your body weight and see your abs. We all have reasons but they are OUR reasons. No one can provide us with one. So, instead of asking for motivation from friends and posters, ask for a little bit of extra inspiration.

We can absolutely be inspired by others and there are a TON of inspirational people on MFP. The dedicated people who have lost 100+ pounds. The single parents who find time to work out despite a full-time job and responsibility to their kids. The ones who patiently give their time and advice to new people on MFP (even answering the same question day after day after day). Even the ones who never had much weight to lose but still work on improving themselves.

Quotes. Pictures. Friends. Inspiration is plentiful on this site, but please remember that not one of us is going to drag you out of bed in the morning or drive you to the gym. We should all try to find inspiration at every nook and cranny that we can; however, motivation can only be found one place. Within ourselves. And it’s there. We just have to look for it.

So, I’m curious. What or who is your motivation and what or who inspires you?