Two speakers compare fear-based motivation with creative tension, a method that combines accepting your current reality with vividly imagining a desired future. Fear tactics like visualizing failure or homelessness feel unsustainable. Creative tension generates motivation from possibility instead of dread.
I intentionally run to work through the homeless section of San Francisco so that I could see where I would end up if I didn't do a good job, and I would keep putting that on myself.
Most of us motivate ourselves based on lack or fear. We create tension through lack.
I'm not where I should be. I'm not good enough. Or fear. If we don't hit this milestone, we're going to run out of money or fail.
It works. That's why we do it, but it's not sustainable and has this Toxic residue. One of the core models I teach is creative tension, which is generated when you're present to current reality without wishing things were already different, and at the same time imagining your desired future state. And when you have those 2 things present, it generates creative tension.
You're saying I should have just gotten a desired future state in my mind that would have motivated me again instead of, watch out, you're going to be homeless?
Yeah, you can either motivate yourself by being really dissatisfied with how things are or really inspired by how you want them to be in the future.
