Staying behind on tech trends can be a career killer.

But let’s face it, no one has hours to spare every week trying to stay updated.

That’s why over 200,000 engineers at companies like Google, Meta, and Apple read The Code twice a week.

Here’s why it works:

Join 200,000+ engineers who read The Code to stay ahead of the curve.

What’s up, my friend? I came to Noida for a friend’s wedding. The couple looked amazing. I’m attaching their photo below.

It was a long journey for me, from Kolkata to Noida, then from Noida to Khatauli, 121 km away.

Well, it was worth it. The people were amazing.

Anyways, in today’s newsletter, I’m talking about why motivation is overrated.

Motivation gets sold as the only way to make something happen. Books, videos, and speeches promise that if you just feel the spark, everything else will fall into place. That idea is convenient and very marketable. It is also misleading.

Motivation is a psychological process. It energises behaviour and directs it toward a goal. But if you rely on motivation as the primary driver of action, then you’re doing it wrong. Motivation doesn’t come from a blood-boiling video, it comes from doing the actual work, it comes from discipline, and it comes from willpower.

According to research across psychology and education, motivation is not a stable trait that people either have or lack. It shifts based on context, beliefs, and perceived outcomes. Studies categorise motivation into content theories, which focus on internal needs, and process theories, which explain how decisions to act are made.

This means motivation depends on variables that are constantly changing. Energy, environment, perceived difficulty, and expected reward all influence whether action happens in a given moment.

Self-determination theory identifies three psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. When these are supported, engagement tends to increase. When they are not, motivation drops.

Expectancy value theory shows that behaviour depends on two judgments. One is whether success feels possible. The other is whether the outcome feels worth the effort. If either is low, motivation weakens.

Achievement goal theory distinguishes between mastery goals and performance goals. People focused on mastery tend to persist longer, while those focused on performance are more sensitive to failure and comparison.

Attribution theory explains how people interpret outcomes. When success or failure is linked to effort, future action is more likely. When it is linked to luck or fixed ability, engagement declines.

Across these frameworks, motivation emerges as a response to interpretation.

Neuroscience research highlights that the brain continuously evaluates cost and benefit. Effort, time, and risk are weighed against potential reward.

Dopamine activity increases during anticipation, not only after achievement. This suggests that engagement grows as progress becomes visible.

The brain also contains a seeking system that drives curiosity and exploration. This system can initiate behaviour even without external rewards.

These findings support a pattern where action generates feedback, and feedback strengthens engagement. Waiting for motivation before starting interrupts this cycle.

Intrinsic motivation comes from interest or enjoyment in the task itself. Extrinsic motivation comes from rewards, recognition, or pressure.

Research shows that intrinsic motivation is linked to deeper learning and long-term persistence. Extrinsic factors can still be effective, particularly in structured settings like workplaces or teams.

Neither type remains stable over time. Interest can fade. Rewards can lose their effect. This variability reinforces that motivation cannot be treated as a consistent driver of behaviour.

In education, intrinsic motivation predicts deeper learning strategies and higher academic performance. Students who engage out of curiosity tend to retain information longer and think more critically.

In workplaces, sustained performance is associated with environments that support autonomy and clear goals. Employees respond to a combination of internal satisfaction and external structure.

In sports, long-term commitment is often tied to intrinsic interest, while external reinforcement, such as recognition, plays a role in team dynamics.

Across these areas, outcomes improve when systems and environments support action, not when individuals rely on fluctuating internal states.

Research does not support the idea that motivation is a dependable starting point for action. It behaves more like an outcome of interaction between belief, environment, and progress.

When action is delayed until motivation appears, engagement becomes less likely. When action begins first, motivation often follows through feedback and perceived progress.

This pattern suggests that behaviour is more effectively driven by structure and repetition than by waiting for a particular mental state.

People keep chasing motivation, but people don’t really focus on what they need to do instead of chasing motivation! In this edition, I’ve discussed the actual science behind motivation! Hope you liked it, and your friends will love it too, only if you share 🙂

Thanks for reading G! See ya!

— Anirban

The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel. It teaches you how to use money to enhance life satisfaction rather than just accumulating it.

The world's largest Hindu temple is actually Angkor Wat in Cambodia, not India.