Why are there so many questions about motivation?

[leosmith]

We see them all the time, here and elsewhere. How can I stay motivated to learn every day? Why can’t I choose a language? How can I stick with this? Why should I learn? Etc. I normally answer these questions in the following way: You probably are not sufficiently motivated to learn a language; few people are, so there is no shame. Own this fact, and set yourself free to do something else with your time.

I sometimes get downvoted for this answer and called a gatekeeper and such, but I still feel it is the right answer, or at least an answer that should be included with all the positive answers designed to invent motivation for the learner.

I just feel that for other hobbies, like learning an instrument, you wouldn’t see so many questions about motivation, and it wouldn’t be out of place for people to suggest another hobby. So why is it so common in Language learning?

[orlandohill]

I just feel that for other hobbies, like learning an instrument, you wouldn’t see so many questions about motivation, and it wouldn’t be out of place for people to suggest another hobby.

Motivation is rarely a constant for anyone, regardless of the pursuit. There are plenty of people that struggle to maintain consistent motivation for music, drawing, painting, writing, sports training, exercise, healthy eating, learning to code, studying in school, running a business, you name it.

One way to navigate the ups and downs of motivation is to build habits that you can stick to regardless of your current level of motivation. For example, an artist that I admire, Chris Beaven, has been doing at least 30 minutes of art every day for over 4000 days. He had a big slump in motivation mid last year, but the daily habit of a 30 minute minimum kept him going.

[Khayyam]

We see them all the time, here and elsewhere. How can I stay motivated to learn every day? Why can’t I choose a language? How can I stick with this? Why should I learn? Etc. I normally answer these questions in the following way: You probably are not sufficiently motivated to learn a language; few people are, so there is no shame. Own this fact, and set yourself free to do something else with your time.

I sometimes get downvoted for this answer and called a gatekeeper and such, but I still feel it is the right answer, or at least an answer that should be included with all the positive answers designed to invent motivation for the learner.

I just feel that for other hobbies, like learning an instrument, you wouldn’t see so many questions about motivation, and it wouldn’t be out of place for people to suggest another hobby. So why is it so common in Language learning?

I think it's important to differentiate between people who have to learn a language for some reason (their spouse's family speaks it, they've immigrated, etc.) and people who do it just because they want to. If it's not a necessity, and they find that they're crying about how much it sucks every step of the way, I think it's fair to ask whether they might not be better off playing in a different sandbox.

I once watched a video where an ex-Navy SEAL asked SEAL wannabes whether they were driven by a desire to do what SEALs do, or if they just wanted to impress people. He said that if it's the latter, they might as well not even try because there's no way a mere desire for prestige could sustain anyone through such torture. OTOH, he said, if you just feel a burning urge to plant bombs on submarines, then please do sign up. Learning languages isn't SEAL training, of course, but it's still sufficiently hard that's it's bound to break a lot of people who lack internal motivation.

I try to be helpful when people complain about lacking motivation, but I don't know how helpful my answers are because I've never had that problem and don't expect I ever will.

[Khayyam]

Another thought: I'm a juggler and a unicyclist, and funny thing: I've never once seen anyone complain about lacking motivation in my juggling and unicycling groups. It's probably not a coincidence that there's no prestige to be gained by learning these skills.

[Severine]

There are many people who want to know another language, for one reason or another, but only a subset of them are enthusiastic about the process of learning a language. I once heard someone say that there's a big difference between wanting to be able to rock out an awesome guitar solo (wanting to play guitar) and wanting to spend 45 minutes a day for a year plunking away without being able to do anything cool (wanting to learn to play guitar). Same idea.

As has been pointed out, a lot of people learn a language because they have to or feel they have to. These people struggle with motivation because necessity doesn't translate into enthusiasm for most people. It's a slog, an obligation. They need to force themselves to study the same way many people need to force themselves to exercise or avoid fried foods. I think it's perfectly reasonable for these people to seek out ways to maintain momentum and regularity. I don't think asking people on the internet for tips is necessarily a good way to find said strategies, but that's where many people begin.

For others, they enjoy studying languages, but still can't make themselves do it regularly because it's challenging and the rewards are not immediate. This is a problem not limited to language. There are also people who love reading, in theory, or used to love reading, but never seem to find time to sit down and read or find themselves too easily distracted. Do a search for "Why can't I read anymore?" and you'll see that a lot of people are suffering from this. A lot of it, I think, is our overstimulated instant gratification culture making it harder to enjoy and commit to 'slow burn' hobbies like reading or language learning because the brain is all hopped up on the constant stream of novelty that is TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, et al.

I have a lot of sympathy for these people. They are experiencing genuine distress about their inability to commit to something they want to do, and they're often beset by self-doubt and self-criticism, taking a big hit to their self-esteem, which in turn makes it harder to find the focus for challenging but rewarding hobbies. It must be a profoundly unhappy thing to want to do something, to truly want to do it, and feel that you cannot succeed at making your brain engage with it.

Some people will say, "Yes, but if they really wanted to, they would, so clearly they don't really want to!"

I don't think people are that simple.

[rdearman]

I always just say that habit trumps motivation.

[Eternal Foreigner]

This question of how to stay motivated comes up in anything that involves doing something we don't particularly enjoy in order to achieve a goal. It's easy for people to imagine themselves at the finish line, but it's basically impossible for people to really put into perspective what it involves to get there. Motivation is a constant balance between how badly you want to achieve the goal, and how much you dread doing the work. Naturally, people flock to the internet to seek answers for how to tip that balance. I think it's logical. It's not just lazy people wanting it to be easier, I think many of them really just want to exercise whatever advice they can to keep that balance.

[garyb]

I don't actually remember seeing very many questions about motivation here, recently or in the longer term. I do occasionally look at other places where they're more common, for example Reddit, but it's quite a different type of community that's less focused on serious learners. Motivation does come up fairly often in people's logs, though.

Motivation comes and goes for me, but since I'm in the lucky position to be learning my languages out of interest rather than necessity, I've learnt to not worry about it too much and just go along with the ups and downs, though I do agree with the points about habit being more important. As long as I feel some motivation for something, I don't worry too much and I just focus on the things that do inspire me and try to just show up to the things that don't in order to keep up the habit. Sometimes just showing up reignites the interest; sometimes it doesn't but I can at least be happy that I've done something and kept it moving.

In the last few months, I've barely touched my guitar but I've made great progress with Japanese, while I've had long periods where music has been my main focus and languages have been on the back burner. In the longer term it all balances out. My German is still at beginner level after several years since my interest in it has come in fits and starts, but I'm okay with that since I've moved more quickly in other interests.

If I don't feel motivated for anything, or only for instant-gratification activities like gaming and social media, that's when I'll start to worry: it could be a sign of burnout or bad mental health, or just getting into unhealthy habits.

I can't speak for learning a language out of necessity, though. I am considering moving to Germany and I have to say that that's had mixed effects on my motivation for the language. Sometimes it makes me keener, but other times it feels like a duty rather than a choice and that puts me off.

[tastyonions]

It's like any other domain where there's a much-lauded, impressive goal at the end: physical fitness, wealth, fluency, pick your big dream.

As the great philosopher Ronnie Coleman once said, everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift the heavy-a** weight.

[leosmith]

I think it's important to differentiate between people who have to learn a language for some reason (their spouse's family speaks it, they've immigrated, etc.) and people who do it just because they want to.

Agreed, my bad. But in my defense, I can't remember seeing any such posts from people who HAVE to learn a language.