When Motivation Disappears

I got my first hate comment on social media and it arrived during a week when I was already feeling low and demotivated. Perfect timing, right?

But that experience taught me something important about motivation, discipline, and people’s kindness. So let’s get into it.

Where Demotivation Actually Comes From

Honestly? I don’t know.

Sometimes something specific triggers it. Other times, you just wake up feeling off. No explanation, just an unmotivated version of yourself.

I think this is simply part of being human. We all experience highs and lows, and pretending we can feel motivated every single day is unrealistic. The real question becomes:

What do we do when motivation disappears?

Before I answer that, let me tell you what pushed me even deeper into that spiral this week.

The Hate Comment That Pushed Me Over the Edge

My recent video, “Nobody Cares About You,” wasn’t performing as well as I hoped. My excitement turned into frustration when barely anyone saw it. Social media is such a mental game, editing feels exciting and publishing feels humbling.

So I boosted the video. As expected, the reach got better… and then came a message. A suspicious, slightly annoyed comment about “recycled content.” I responded politely, explaining that I wasn’t copying anyone, I was literally talking about something personal.

I thought that was the end of it.

Three days later, she returned to my post, leaving hateful, false comments. Not just one but multiple. She replied to me and my friends comments, made up stories about me deleting comments, called me insecure… it was unhinged.

My first instinct?

“This woman is not well.”

No normal person behaves like that toward a stranger. Still, it stung especially because she was spreading lies to people I know.

I blocked her, of course. But I couldn’t help but wonder:

Is any of this even worth it?

Social Media and the Loudest 1%

Social media can be a dark place. Some strangers feel invincible behind a screen and project their insecurities onto anyone who appears on their feed.

Ironically, the video she attacked was meant to help people care less about judgment. And most of the time, that message is true, people are too busy living their lives to think about you.

But that applies to people you know.

Online?

You’re exposed to millions of strangers.

99% nice.

1% unpredictable.

And it’s always the 1% that sticks.

You can receive nine supportive comments and one hateful one… and guess which one your brain chooses to replay on loop? It’s not logical, but it’s human.

And as a small creator, I didn’t expect to deal with hate this early. But reaching non-followers means reaching that 1% too.

How to Keep Going When You Want to Quit

I have a long history of getting excited about something, diving in, then losing motivation and abandoning it.

Right now, I’m posting:

– weekly newsletters

– bi-weekly videos

– weekly marathon-training updates

…all on top of a full-time job. It’s a lot. And I’m not organized. Everything is last minute. Every week feels like a race.

This week especially, I questioned everything.

The hate comment didn’t help.

But here’s the weird part:

Discipline showed up when motivation didn’t.

I wanted to stop. I wanted to disappear for a week. But something pushed me to keep going… and that something was accountability.

Just knowing that even one person reads my newsletter keeps me from disappearing. Even if they wouldn’t care if I skipped a week, I would care because I made a promise to show up.

For me, the formula is simple:

Promise → Accountability → Discipline → Action

Without that, I would’ve quit already.

When People’s Kindness Saves Your Week

Spending a demotivated week alone at home is dangerous, you get trapped in your head, spiraling with thoughts that don’t deserve that much attention.

But then the weekend came.

At a Lebanese social event, three girls I know complimented my videos. They told me how much they love them, how meaningful they are, how relatable they feel.

I didn’t give them context, I didn’t explain the hate comments. I just said:

“Thank you. I really needed to hear that.”

It was the exact reminder I needed. Proof that what I’m doing is impactful. That it is reaching the right people. That the hateful 1% isn’t the whole story.

And that’s why I wrote this newsletter because we all go through seasons of demotivation. We all want to stop. But if we act despite it, the phase eventually passes and we find our rhythm again.

A Final Reminder

This week taught me two things:

1. Kind words matter more than we think.

   A single compliment can erase a week of self-doubt.

2. We shouldn’t let our own insecurities dim someone else’s light.

   We never know how fragile someone’s motivation is.

So let’s choose kindness. Always.

And let’s remember, demotivation is temporary. Discipline is what carries us through.