Post

Most founders treat motivation as a feeling: do I feel like doing this today? Clinical psychologist Dr. Sherry Walling says it runs deeper. It's the drive that keeps you doing the reps regardless of how you feel. Here's how she breaks it down 🧵

She splits it in two. Micro motivation is the push to get in the chair and start the day. (Rob Walling's is Eye of the Tiger, loudly, through their shared office wall.) Macro motivation keeps you going for years. When it gets wonky, micro can carry you short term.

The catch: your business needs different motivators as it grows. Ben Chestnut started as a craftsperson, but it would have been hard to stay one all the way to Mailchimp's $12B exit. When your daily work stops matching what drives you, that's where burnout takes seed.