The Inner Monologue

Ah, motivation. That ever-elusive, deeply personal, and yet somehow extremely public phenomenon. We love to talk about it, brag about it, and—most importantly—perform it for an audience. Because what’s the point of grinding in silence when you could be grinding with a hashtag?

But here’s the uncomfortable question: If nobody saw it, nobody knew you did it, and nobody would ever find out… would you still do it?

Would you still wake up at 5 AM to meditate/journal/cold plunge if Instagram didn’t exist? Would you still read dense philosophy if you couldn’t humble-brag about it in a tweet thread? Would you still work on that passion project if it never got you clout, money, or even a single impressed nod from your judgy cousin at Thanksgiving?

Be honest. The answer might sting.

We like to tell ourselves we’re driven by intrinsic motivation—pure passion, undiluted purpose!—but let’s be real: a lot of us are just extrinsically motivated little gremlins who thrive on validation. And hey, that’s fine. Humans are social creatures. We like gold stars. The problem isn’t that we care what others think—it’s that we pretend we don’t while obsessively checking our like counts.

So here’s a challenge: Do something today that nobody will ever know about. No humble-bragging, no subtle flexing, no performative suffering. Just you, the thing, and the quiet satisfaction of knowing you did it for yourself.

Then ask: Was that harder than I thought?

If the answer is yes… well, maybe it’s time to recalibrate. Because the most impressive person you should be trying to impress is the one staring back at you in the mirror.

(But, like, if you do post about this epiphany online, tag me. I’d love to engage.)