

Ask HN: How do you keep yourself motivated in "motivation gap"? - dottedmag

This problem recently hit me: I can cover my bills and necessities working ~1.5 months a year, and I can supply myself with all gadgets and other nice stuff I _want_ working ~3 months a year: I am frugal person, and I live in quite cheap part of the world.<p>I've built some wealth last years and now I lost all my motivation: it looks like the situation is in permanent libmbo, as it can't become much worse (it is too easy to keep things from falling apart) and it just can't become much better -- it seems impossible to qualitatively change my income level, so really expensive toys feel like in another world: why should you need to work hard 6 years to buy something if you may keep slacking and get the same stuff in 10 years?<p>Did anyone here fell into this trap? How did you recover?
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JangoSteve
I'm not sure it's possible to help given the information provided. You're
asking how to stay motivated, but you haven't told us what it is that
motivated you in the first place. If your only motivation all along was money
and gadgets, then perhaps that's the root of the problem.

You live in a cheap part of the world? What about spending some of that money
to travel to not-so-cheap parts of the world? My best suggestion would be to
take some time off to figure things out. And I mean real time off. Leave town,
don't take your computer with you.

Also, given your frugality and the inexpensive standard of living in your part
of the world, I'd say your experience is similar to those who have gotten FU
money. I'd highly recommend reading this thread: "Ask PG & other successful
folks: how did your life change after FU money?" [1] Especially read ttol's
comment about mentally preparing yourself and the frame of mind required to
handle FU money [2].

[1] <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1511104>

[2] <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1511232>

~~~
dottedmag
I think you nailed it: I was motivated by the need for living decently. Now I
climbed out of poverty and feel I have potential for much more, but don't have
any particular challenge in mind to tackle, and have no idea how to find one:
reached the Esteem step of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and stuck on it :)

PS: thanks for FU money links, very interesting.

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jacquesm
When I'm like that I tend to turn to learning new skills. It's always
interesting, I meet new people because of it and you never know when it comes
in handy. Also, it isn't rare that during the learning of a new skill I see a
way to improve on things and that might motivate me enough to go and do
something about it.

~~~
dottedmag
I learn a lot already, and it helped until ~5 years ago, when I started seeing
familiar patterns in new stuff (especially one having big "hype count"). I can
count new interesting ideas with my fingers on one hand.

Hmm... Execution model of Erlang. Systematical approach to computing in
Haskell community. Deployment model of GAE. That's all. The rest is just an
rehearsal of old ideas (those mentioned are also rehearsals, but the previous
iterations did not get significant traction).

~~~
kranner
'New skills' can mean more than just stuff in programming!

To paraphrase Robert Heinlein, learn to "change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give
orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch
manure..."

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famousactress
Have you tried throwing yourself at a project that's philanthropic? Go do
something for other people... I think you'll find it a lot more re-energizing
than sorting out how to be excited about keeping the salary-hamster-wheel
spinning.

~~~
dottedmag
I'm doing lot of work in free software (paid and unpaid, just for fun). Does
it count?

~~~
famousactress
It counts if it turns you on.. but I was talking about something socially
bigger. Make the world a better place. I dunno. Build a community site for
Ugandan refugees, find a non-profit that needs better tools, put together an
app for struggling small business owners to find and patronize one-another
(patronize definition #2, not #1). It sounded like maybe your motivation has
faltered because you've discovered the salary/lifestyle recursion (lifestyle-
because-money-because-lifestyle-because-money). Maybe ignoring yourself and
your circumstances for a while would help break the cycle and give you some
perspective and enthusiasm. It's hard to bust your ass for new iPads
indefinitely... maybe knowing that you're lowering the overhead of a non-
profit which means more hungry people get fed or clothed would get you excited
to work hard again.

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javery
It really depends on what your motivation is, if your motivation is just money
and you have reached a comfortable level then why try to push yourself more?
Enjoy life!

I know that money is only one of my motivations, the other is to build
something great to prove that I can do it. Like climbing a mountain or running
a marathon, it's not about making tons of money but proving that I can
accomplish one of the more difficult things in life (building a wildly
successful business). Even if I had all the money I needed I would keep trying
to do what I am doing, and eventually hope to do it over and over again.

~~~
dottedmag
How do you find the stuff that worth doing? Every time I try to do something I
figure out it is already done by somebody else with a great mastership.

~~~
javery
My current project competes with Google, AOL, Microsoft, and about 20 other
companies... but I think there is a great niche they are under-serving that I
am working on targeting.

In existing markets you can almost always improve on the existing technology,
target a niche, or offer a lower priced offering. Or go create your own market
with a new type of product or service.

I don't think anyone is untouchable nowadays, look at DuckDuckGo taking on
Google!

~~~
jacquesm
> My current project competes with Google, AOL, Microsoft, and about 20 other
> companies...

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you then, makes me wonder why you
have time to post here ;) With that sort of competition I figure you'll be the
most overworked person on the planet by years end!

~~~
javery
I'm definitely busy, but its all about who you are targeting. Most web apps
now are competing with most of the big companies in some way or another.

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harscoat
I dare say imho the desire to get laid is a power motivator to get out of this
situation... cool chicks like status (and it often come with the finance or at
least exciting achievements)

~~~
jacquesm
If you think 'cool chicks that like status' are the ones to desire you still
have a lot to learn. I know that sounds paternalistic but really, 'cool chicks
that like status' are the ones to avoid if my experience is any guide.

Better find a not-so-cool chick that you really love and that really loves
you, or a cool one that doesn't care about status.

~~~
harscoat
Sure I tend to agree. Still cool chicks does not mean she only likes expensive
cars, cool chicks can be a violonist, a girl with taste, who want you to bring
her to the Opera or to Paris on a date. Not-so-cool chicks maybe what you want
for yourself (comfort trust etc.) but most of us have a reproductive bias: we
also want children and inconsciously you want (for them) good genetic material
hence... "cool chicks". Just trying to help, no judgement in this.

~~~
jacquesm
I think I should rest my case.

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gexla
I think you forgot about the part where he mentions he is in a country where
he can live so cheap that he only has to work 2 - 3 months out of the year. He
likely has all the status he needs for the cool chicks in his neighborhood. ;)

~~~
jacquesm
Thread starter is not the same as topic starter.

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Tichy
Spend the money, or get children. Or I guess invest the money in something
where you can't get to it on short notice, so that again you have to earn
something to cover immediate living expenses.

Of course there should be better ways to overcome the motivation problem, but
at least for me, I also have experienced it several times that I only kicked
into productive mode when my bank account was nearing zero.

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messel
Your facing a psychological self hack. You want something but you can't bring
yourself to achieve it because you have enough. Maybe what you desire isn't a
strong enough motivator.

Try to find a more potent carrot. "Impact" appears to drive even the most
successful people to work even harder.

Or you can find absolute peace in your lack of need.

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joeld42
I wish I had your problem.

But seriously, change your goal. Income is obviously not a good motivator
anymore. Looking for a way to do what you used to enjoy doing do competitively
can be motivating, or perhaps doing it as a way of artistic expression.

~~~
dottedmag
It isn't hard to have this problem :) I am going to move to Prague soon where
life is only marginally more expensive than in my current location, and you
still may live pretty decent life on 1k$/month.

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ehosca
its simple. donate all of your money to charities. donate all your gadgets to
the local Salvation Army. you will soon be motivated.

~~~
dottedmag
You know, it's like suggesting someone who got out of ghetto after spending
lot of time and work to make it possible to go there again and to try again
escaping it. Sure it gives a _lot_ of motivation, but the _wrong_ kind of
motivation.

~~~
gasull
You're right, donating your money is not a solution. But this gave me an idea:
What about trying to earn more money so you can donate this extra money or do
something philanthropic with it? Maybe something for your community?

