FBC – 410 – Should you watch motivational videos? The answer might surprise you

Should you watch motivational videos? The answer might surprise you.

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Do you like watching motivational videos?

If yes, do you think that they are healthy for you? or on the contrary, they are dangerous?

What if, these motivational videos could, in some circumstances, do more damage than good?

In today's episode we are going to explore the whole concept of motivational videos (including their dark side)

If you love motivational videos then you need to hear this

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I want to talk to you about motivational videos and motivation. OK, so motivation is very important, right? So you need to be motivated. It's is the key to everything, because motivation will build your mind-set.

Motivation will give you the discipline, will give you the work ethic and it will give you the resilience. It will give you everything. And this is how you succeed. So motivation is very, very important.

This is where motivational videos come into play. OK, so motivational videos are actually very good. I haven't seen all of them, but what they do is voice some stuff that maybe have in you and stuff, but you can put some words on it.

And it also shows you kind of like experiences of other people. So it's usually in the form of a story. OK, as you know, stories are super powerful. So you hear stories of other people who've been able to do it. And this is what their motivation was and it's an example for you of how this can be done, because it shows you that it's already been done by someone else and very often.

So these people will basically make sure that you understand that they're not different from you, it’s just that they were motivated enough and give you a boost.

So the reason why I'm telling you this is just to tell you a story actually. I was talking to my girlfriend and she was telling me that she spent a few hours watching motivational videos.

And, you know, as good as motivational videos are, they can be very, very dangerous. So let me explain.

Should you watch motivational videos? The answer might surprise you

So let's say that you were five, you got a bike and you fell a few times and then you finally learned how to cycle. And now you're twenty five and you've been cycling for the last twenty years. What good is it to go and take cycling lessons again? You've been doing that for 20 years. Isn't that a complete waste of time for you to spend your time learning how to cycle?

So what I'm saying here is if you are already motivated, there is a point where, look, you're like, well, that's it. I know I want to change my life. I start working on my stuff and then you're working on it. You're working hard on it. At this point, it is already established that you are motivated. Right.

So if you spend your time watching more motivational videos, what exactly does that bring to you? OK, so if you're in the very early stages and you're in the beginner stage and you don't know, oh, should I do it or not?

Well, yes, they will help. But once you're motivated like me, for example, I'm not going to watch motivational videos. I don't need them. I'm motivating enough. I’m driven as hell. All right. So I don't actually need to go and watch those videos.

What matters is the intent. Once you know something, you don't need to practice it again and stuff. What I'm saying is that your time might be better spent trying to learn something that you don't know yet and that you're striving for than something that’s already established.

OK, so you can disagree with what I'm saying, but do you know how many motivational videos there are out there? If you keep watching all these videos, then I think you're not going to make much progress because you're just redoing something that you've already mastered.

You need the next level of skills. OK, so, yeah, that’s one of those things that I see. A lot of people who spend way too much time watching motivational videos I think it can be detrimental after a certain point.

My Honest Take On Motivational Videos After 20 Years In Business

Here is the thing about motivational videos that almost nobody says out loud. They feel like progress, but feeling ready and being ready are two completely different states, and a lot of people spend years in the first one because it is warm and safe and asks nothing of them. A good clip can genuinely light a match. The danger is when watching becomes the activity itself, a comfortable loop of inspiration with no shipping attached, so you end each day feeling fired up and end each year exactly where you started.

The way I use motivation is as fuel for a decision I have already made, never as a substitute for making one. Motivation gets me to the desk. It does not do the work once I am there, and after 20+ years and four businesses built from Bali, I can tell you the results came from boring repeated action on quiet unmotivated days, not from the high of a great video. I talk about that gap between feeling ready and being ready across the Freedom by Choice podcast and in my story. For the science on why action beats inspiration, Harvard Business Review has solid work on habit and follow-through, and McKinsey Digital covers turning intent into execution. Watch the video if it helps. Then close the tab and go do one real thing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do motivational videos actually change behavior or just produce a temporary high?

For most viewers they produce a short emotional spike that fades within hours. The fix is to immediately convert the spike into one small action. Pause the video, do the thing it pointed at for ten minutes, and the lift becomes a tiny piece of momentum instead of a forgotten dopamine hit.

How can someone tell if their motivation habit has become a distraction?

If you have watched motivation content three days in a row without taking action on what it pointed at, you are using it as a sedative. The signal: you feel busy without producing anything. Cut the input for a week and watch how much actual output rises in that quiet space.

What is a healthier alternative to scrolling motivational content?

Read one short interview with an operator in your field. Operators teach mechanics. Motivational speakers teach feeling. Both have value, but mechanics compound while feeling fades. Trade ninety percent of your motivation time for ninety percent operator content and the curve bends fast.

When does motivational content help and when does it hurt?

It helps in the first ten minutes of a hard day when you need a spark to start. It hurts when it becomes the activity you do instead of starting. The rule is short doses before action, never as a replacement for action.

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