In this motivational monologue, the speaker explains that motivation is fundamentally driven by a pleasure‑pain spectrum: we move toward what we associate with pleasure and away from what we associate with pain. He argues that we can consciously choose these associations through our self‑image and the brain’s pattern‑recognition systems. The reticular activating system (RAS) reinforces repeated choices, creating momentum that makes desired actions feel natural. By linking a clear purpose—or "why"—to our goals, we engage the limbic brain, which strengthens decision‑making and habit formation. The speaker illustrates these ideas with examples such as New Year’s resolutions, gym attendance, healthy eating, and his own experience of becoming comfortable on camera. He emphasizes that associating strong pleasure with the desired behavior, repeatedly acting on it, and understanding the deeper why can turn fleeting resolutions into lasting habits. The video concludes with a call to start taking action now, not waiting for a future date, and invites viewers to like, subscribe, and continue the journey.
Chapters
So today I want to talk about the powerful part of understanding how motivation really works. So the idea behind motivation is understanding one of the most core simple products of what motivation is. Now what this is, is the idea of pleasure on one side of the spectrum and the idea of pain on the other side of the spectrum. The idea is that whatever we associate a lot of pleasure with, we will always move in the direction of. We will always make decisions consistently and we will always look in that direction. Now, whatever the idea that we associate pain with, we will always move away from and we will always repel away from it. Now, the best part about this is the idea that we choose what that is. We choose what brings us pleasure. We choose what brings us pain based upon the filter inside of our brain and how we think. Now, one of the other reasons I wanted to do this video is because I understand that we have New Year's coming up, and when we have New Year's, everyone has New Year's resolutions, and people are going to be going to the gym. They're going to be eating healthier. Now, what I want to do is relate that to the idea of how can we make it something that we can keep up and how can we really ingrain it into our self-image so that we consistently take those actions and we don't fall off, because as a lot of people know, when it comes to New Year's resolutions, and I know it too because the gym I go to, or the gym really anyone goes to, you'll notice that in January there'll be a shitload of people there, but then in February, March-ish, there'll be a lot less. So those people start to die out after a while, but this is the main idea. So whatever we view ourselves, however our self-image is, our self-image of ourself is, we will consistently take action according to how we define ourselves. Now Let's look at this and let's intertwine it a little bit into the idea of how the brain works. So we have what is called inside our brain, it's called the RAS, the reticular activating system. It's the part of the brain that looks for patterns and continues to make similar choices and similar patterns based upon prior decisions. Now the way that we can use this is we can understand that it takes a certain level of momentum to really associate so much pleasure with the idea of whatever we're really trying to get towards. So the idea, for example, is if you have your New Year's resolution is to go to the gym consistently, what you would do is you would begin to associate so much pleasure with the idea of going to the gym and the idea of being that perfect version of yourself, of looking however you want to look, whether it's like you're having these, you know, washboard abs or you're having this, you know, amazing physique. The idea is that you associate so much pleasure with that image of yourself that you then begin to relate to the world in a way to where you do those similar actions. So the idea is that you start going to the gym. You may find that you end up loving going to the gym because you consistently do it, and the more that you do it, the better you feel. Now, I went through the same thing when I started going to the gym consistently and also when I started to eat healthier. When I used to eat, I used to eat very unhealthy foods. I associated so much pleasure with the idea of eating consistently the same type of foods. And once I flipped that switch, I began associating so much pleasure— I talked about this in prior videos a little bit too— but the idea is I associated so much pleasure with then eating healthy foods, nutrient-rich foods, envisioning myself with all this vitality and all this energy, which I really do have now. And then I associate so much pain with the idea of, with the idea of taking and eating foods that are unhealthy, that then it makes it easier for me to really just do these because I've done it so consistently that I ended up activating, using my reticular activating system in a way to where then it's very natural because I have a lot of momentum that really just cuts through and moves through that. So the other part of this video I want to talk about is not just the idea of motivation, but the idea of having a purpose for what you're doing. Because if you have that self-image of what you want to do and you look at why you want to do what you do, it actually appeals to a part of the brain that's called the limbic brain. Now, Simon Sinek talks about this in one of his lectures where he talks about how people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do what you do. So it's the idea of why is Apple such a monopoly when it comes to dominating the computer industry? Well, one of the reasons is because when they market who they are, they market a culture, an idea. You buy it because it is buying— you're buying an innovative product that's about convenience, it's about style, it's about beauty. And because of that, people buy into it more and more. It's one of the reasons I have a Mac. Well, what Apple understands is that if they appeal to that part of you, the limbic brain, they actually appeal to the decision part of the brain, which helps you make the decision that says, hey, I want to buy a Mac. Now it's the same idea that we can use on ourselves. Now, why are you doing what you're doing? Well, if you're doing what your goal is, you're doing it because you want to become the best version of yourself so that you can maybe help other people or you can, uh, be the best version of yourself, then you're going straight to the decision part of your brain and you're actually making it easier for you to give more and more momentum towards taking that action. Now the other part of this is also understanding that the more that we readily do it, the easier it's going to get. So at first it may seem a little bit hard in a way, but after a period of time it does get easier. Easier and easier. So the other message that I wanted to give with this video today is that you can take action right now. You don't need to wait for a New Year's resolution to really begin to do these type of things. You can do it right now. All you have to do is decide what you want to do, and then you have to take action. Associate so much pleasure with taking that action that eventually over time it gets easier and easier. The idea behind me even doing these videos is that at first it was outside of my comfort zone. I began doing it. I didn't feel very comfortable in front of the camera. And if you look at some of my videos from like 6 months ago, you'll begin to see and you'll begin to really notice that there's a big difference between how I started to how I am now. One of the reasons is because I have associated so much pleasure with the idea of me taking action, doing what I love doing, uh, and being in front of the camera and expressing myself that now I get like a high when I'm in front of the camera. Like when I'm in front of you right now and you see me through, uh, through YouTube while I'm filming this video, I feel really good while doing it. It's because I associate so much pleasure with the idea of doing it that it makes it easier and easier for me to take action. So part of motivation is understanding that the more that you take action doing what you want to do, the more that you associate pleasure with doing it, and the more that you find your why, the more powerful impact you will have. So I hope this video maybe inspired you today to maybe start your resolution now instead of your New Year's resolution on January 1st, and that you can take action. You can begin to associate so much pleasure with doing those things that make you the perfect version of who you are, that you can actually begin to feel different. You can understand that not only is it about the end destination, but it's also about the journey, and that when you begin to associate pleasure with the journey itself, you then actually begin to enjoy what you're doing. It's one of the reasons I love doing these videos. So I hope you guys enjoyed. Feel free to like or subscribe below if you like the video, and other than that, I'll see you guys on the next video. Have a good day. Bye.
