But what if this resolve to always be stronger gets one to be overstrained, and end up in depression? Is there not an upper limit to motivation? Or is depression just manifested by doing it the wrong way?
I think it depends on the motivation. If you’re trying to become stronger by following shoulds/oughts (ie: external motivation), you’ll most likely burnout and may (incorrectly) assign the blame to yourself.
Example: let’s say you’re trying to lose weight. If the motivation for doing so is because you feel you ought to be healthy or to try to gain the approval of others, then you’ll most likely fail. Try to remember previous times in which you attempted to achieve something with the use of external motivation. Did you succeed then? If not, why not?
Let’s compare that example with being internally motivated to lose weight. What first has to be asked genuinely is: why exactly do you want to lose weight? Let’s say you love the taste of food and believe only unhealthy food tastes great. Then exposure to a healthy-eating cooking class may help you realize that eating healthy is not a substitute for eating great-tasting food. Finding the right motivation is dependent upon being exposed to the right information that is unique to your situation. If the desire to change is not genuine, then you’ll never become stronger. So yes, I agree with you that “depression [is] manifested by doing it the wrong way.”
But what if this resolve to always be stronger gets one to be overstrained, and end up in depression? Is there not an upper limit to motivation? Or is depression just manifested by doing it the wrong way?
I think it depends on the motivation. If you’re trying to become stronger by following shoulds/oughts (ie: external motivation), you’ll most likely burnout and may (incorrectly) assign the blame to yourself.
Example: let’s say you’re trying to lose weight. If the motivation for doing so is because you feel you ought to be healthy or to try to gain the approval of others, then you’ll most likely fail. Try to remember previous times in which you attempted to achieve something with the use of external motivation. Did you succeed then? If not, why not?
Let’s compare that example with being internally motivated to lose weight. What first has to be asked genuinely is: why exactly do you want to lose weight? Let’s say you love the taste of food and believe only unhealthy food tastes great. Then exposure to a healthy-eating cooking class may help you realize that eating healthy is not a substitute for eating great-tasting food. Finding the right motivation is dependent upon being exposed to the right information that is unique to your situation. If the desire to change is not genuine, then you’ll never become stronger. So yes, I agree with you that “depression [is] manifested by doing it the wrong way.”