Why Have I Lost My Spark And Feel Demotivated?

In this talk, Sadhguru answers a student’s question about feeling demotivated, and how one can regain a joyful way of life. This talk is inspiring, reassuring, and fascinating, and encourages us to take our lives in our own hands and strive for a life of positivity. Note: This practice finishes with spoken word instead of music.

Transcript

My question is I have lost my spark,

Okay?

And I'm not a very much like you know,

Continuous… consistently motivated person.

I have lost my motivation how to regain that,

To live my life and lead in a… in a… like a joyful way,

To regain your inner peace.

Thank you,

Sir.

The nature of life is such… listen,

If you… if you go outside in the garden and try to catch an ant,

The BHU ant,

Who is born here,

Who's grown up here and probably he'll die here,

That BHU ant.

If you try to catch him,

He'll say,

Okay,

To hell with my life,

Okay,

Crush me if you want.

Is it so?

He'll do everything to protect himself.

He values his life,

Isn't it?

Very much or no?

Tiny little creature that we may not even notice,

We may step on him without even seeing him,

Unfortunately.

But he values his life immensely.

Does he or no?

He's got spark.

But you,

A human being,

At least on this planet,

You're the peak of evolution,

Physiologically at least.

Yes?

If other behavioral aspects,

If we may have questions.

But physiologically at least,

The most evolved creature on the planet.

What the most evolved creature on the planet means is,

It has the most complex neurological system and it has the highest level of cerebral capability.

That means you can think,

You can remember,

You have memory,

You have a very vivid sense of memory and a fantastic sense of imagination.

An ant doesn't have such a vivid sense of memory,

Nor does he have any great imagination.

He has some.

But he has a presence of mind about the life that he is living.

Because the education systems that you're going through right from kindergarten level is such that it is about everything except you.

It's about everything else.

Somebody's PhD in tourism,

Somebody's PhD in biotechnology,

Somebody's PhD in something,

Nothing about this.

How does this function?

There is no attention at all.

A human being functions.

You know,

You have a Kalabhairava temple here.

What this means is,

A human being exists in three times.

He lives because of the richness of his memory.

How rich is your memory determines what you will do and what you will not do right now,

Isn't it so?

So memory is important,

The present experience is important and how vivid is your imagination for tomorrow is very important.

Right now the problem is,

These things have all gotten mixed up because discipline of faculty has simply not come.

Everything has been taught to our children that there needs to be… discipline means people think English kind of discipline walking like this,

Like idiots.

Discipline of faculty is not there.

Because of this,

Your own mind turns against you.

What happened ten years ago,

You still suffer?

Hello?

What may happen day after tomorrow,

You already suffer?

Because there's no discipline of faculty.

You don't know how to use your memory,

You don't know how to use your imagination.

Your memory makes you suffer,

Your imagination makes you suffer and you think you're suffering your life.

You are not suffering your life.

You are only suffering the two greatest faculties of being human – vivid sense of memory and a fantastic sense of imagination,

Isn't it so?

If you suffer the greatest faculties that you have,

What can we do with you?

If you suffer a ailment,

Understandable.

If you suffer a disability,

Understandable.

If you suffer your ability,

Hopeless case.

Yes or no?

You're suffering your capabilities.

If you're suffering your disability,

It's all right.

You're suffering your capabilities.

I must tell you this,

About four,

Five months ago,

I think,

You might have seen it on the news,

A young lady,

Thirty-four-year-old lady,

Who was a television anchor in Hyderabad,

Jumped off the fifth floor window,

Killed herself,

Left a note,

Nobody is responsible for my death,

My brain is my enemy.

How many million years it took to get this brain to this size and now it becomes your enemy?

She articulated this,

But this is true with almost ninety percent of the human beings.

They are suffering their own intelligence,

Isn't it?

If you take away half their brain… If you take away half their brain,

They will be peaceful.

Yes.

And that is why a whole bunch of idiots are going about saying that the ultimate goal of life is peace of mind,

Such people will only rest in peace.

Now you,

Young man,

University life,

If somebody is not keying you up all the time,

It could become too easy,

You know?

Even I remember,

When I went to the university,

Most of the time we were in the canteen,

Not in the garden.

The easiest part of my life was university.

I think… I know nobody is going to like it and… but I think this university time must be shortened.

Unless somebody is producing something brilliant,

They must be chucked out within three to four years' time,

Everybody.

If they're doing something very focused and very intense,

They must stay.

Otherwise… see,

This is all I'm telling all of you young people,

Do whatever the hell you want in your life,

But you must be intensely focused on something.

If you're not investing in anything,

Your life,

It will just go waste.

Because as I told you in the very beginning,

One basic ingredient of your life is time and this is just going away.

Already you're two hours closer to your grave since I came here.

Yes or no?

Two hours closer to Manikarnika.

Yes or no?

Yes.

Yes,

You are not immortal.

It's just a limited amount of time.

Are you a precious life,

I'm asking you?

Is your life precious to you?

Then you must decide where you want to invest this life.

If this is precious,

If this is worthless,

Throw it somewhere.

If this is precious,

Invest in something worthwhile,

Isn't it?

So if you invest this in something worthwhile,

Not spark,

You will be aflame all the time.

Reviews

Excellent talk

Love Sadhguru’s way with words! Gentle yet inspiring

I always get so much out of Sudguru’s wisdom, thank you!

Always lays out the facts in a stimulating and thought provoking manner.

Excellent advice

I always feel a bit wiser after listening to you speak. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom

So inspiring and real. Such simple concepts to guide me. Love “do what ever you want in life, but focus on something ”.

Can I give 10 stars? This was a gut-wrenching wake up call. I’m in tears of truth. Wow. A mere Thank You is not enough gratitude for your “timely” words

A special message that can help explain how the experience of trauma, hardship, and/or negativity lives in the mind of the past but the body and mind of the present. A beautiful reminder of our capacity to influence our own story if we remember that we can.

Sensible and sane! I love it! www.gratefulness.org, ahimsa

Very motivating! Grateful to have it to start my day😊

Like the man who asked the question, I too feel I have lost my spark, &, my only motivation to keep going has become: to avoid causing more pain to those I love. The answer given to the questioner in this talk, “to find, & do, something worthwhile”, is a good answer & definitely a solution to this lack of motivation (or, as I have put it many times: the complete loss of a conscious WILL to live). My difficulty with that answer, the reason I find it frustrating, & why it has yet to work for me, despite already knowing it, is that I do not know HOW to find that worthwhile something to do. Something that is possible for me to do, something I am capable of, & something that- even though it is of beneficial- truly ignites that flame within me.
The more difficult question to answer, in my experience, is: ‘without motivation, how do I even begin, let alone continue, to search for that worthwhile thing to put my energy towards?’ How does one find something they need, when they are lacking, & in need of the exact thing necessary for them to search for it?
(& yes, my own brain has obviously become my enemy, too.)
Thank you to both the audience member who had the courage to ask that question; & a great thank you for the sincere- albeit personally frustrating- answer to it, & the helpful wisdom in his many other talks.

Inspiring reminders, thank you 🙏🏻

What can be said about this guru? He speaks truth from the heart. Just what I needed to start My Monday. 🙏❤️

This has me really reflecting ... thank you

Practical and heartwarming

Essential wisdom!

Excellent......truth......awakening

Simple reminder and a great lesson to refocus and start a day. Thank you

Having a purpose and a sense of duty is vital to keeping the spark; that is what I heard.