Stop Trying to Motivate People. Start Inspiring Them Instead.

 Stop Trying to Motivate People. Start Inspiring Them Instead.

If words truly motivated everyone, then reading a motivational book or listening to a rousing speech would be all it takes to succeed. If motivation were that easy to sustain, every runner on the track would win a gold medal, and every businessman would appear on the cover of Forbes. I know—it’s a wild statement. But think about it.

I’ve met parents who say, “I keep motivating my child, but he’s still lazy and glued to his phone.” I’ve spoken to managers and entrepreneurs who invest heavily in employee motivational training, only to see little change in results at the end of the day.

In the name of motivation, we’ve forgotten an old saying: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Here’s a deeper question—how sure are you that the horse is even thirsty? How sure are you that your child is motivated to learn? How sure are you that words, games, or activities truly motivate your employees?

Let’s be honest: listening to motivational speeches or attending sessions feels good. It gives a temporary emotional lift. Some people act on it. Most just say, “That was a great speech,” and go back to their old habits. Whether it’s a parent telling the story of the Wright brothers or a speaker declaring, “You are a champion by birth—out of millions of sperm, the strongest one was you,” those moments give us goosebumps. But reality outside the hall is often very different.

Whether at home or in the workplace, what we truly need is not more motivation—but more inspiration. An inspiring place is where people don’t just feel pumped up for an hour; they find motivation from within. And that internal drive is far more powerful than any external push.

In a family, inspiration looks like this: love that is felt, not just spoken. Failures and mistakes are encouraged, not punished. Parents who walk the talk. Children who are listened to and given the freedom to experiment. That kind of environment inspires children to define their own careers—not follow a forced path.

In a workplace, inspiration means a culture of learning. Psychological safety. Genuine concern for well-being. KPIs and KRAs are used as tools for growth, not as final verdicts on a person’s worth. Opportunities to try, fail, and try again. Respect for individual purpose and goals. Such a workplace inspires people across every generation—without needing a constant stream of cheerleading sessions.

So here’s my advice to parents: before giving another motivational lecture, find out what your child actually needs. And to organisations: before booking another motivational speaker, understand your employees’ real needs—then work on meeting them. Relying on motivational talks is like putting a clove on an aching tooth. It offers temporary relief, but it’s not a cure.

We have three choices with that horse:

·       Force it to drink (and get kicked),

·       Bring a thirsty horse to the water, or

·       Make the horse run a few intense rounds, create genuine thirst, and then let it find the pond on its own.

Motivation is deeply personal. But creating an inspiring environment—that’s the need of the hour

M.L. Narendra Kumar