
One day you’re up and smashing Coursera assignments, getting involved in social media discussions about AI and/or working on that project, be it from Kaggle or your own, that you said you was going to put on your CV… You wake up the next day and all of a sudden the motivation of yesterday is lost, and you really can not find it.
I don’t know if everyone learning Data Science goes through a slump in motivation. Nonetheless, I definitely did.
It was terrible. I was so down and concerned, wondering "Would my reality ever align with the image in my head". It got so bad that I didn’t even want to see anyone talking about anything to do with Data Science so I deactivated my Twitter account, I stopped listening to the Podcast, All of the books I had bought collected dust whilst I stropped.
WAIT!!
I am not encouraging you to do the same. Had I foreknowledge of what it was that I was lacking and what the missing drive was that pushed the leaders in our industry to go after their dreams, then it is possible that I wouldn’t of had that little phase – although, if I never had that phase I may not be writing this today. What I have learnt through my experiences is what I hope to share with you as it’s currently the basis I wake up everyday eager to face life.

Understanding Motivation
To go deep into what motivation is enough information to fill average sized self-help book, however if I was asked to summarize what motivation is to m then I would describe it as "the force or lack of, that continually drives us to overcome challenges and obstacles when attempting to reach our goals". When we are lacking motivation, giving up after a few failed attempts or when faced with a tough challenge is almost, if not inevitable.
Often we do not give motivation the respect it deserves in proportion to the impact it has in our lives. The truth is that if we are not harnessing our motivation it will be extremely difficult to excel and genuinely enjoy what it is we are doing each day.
"Motivation isn’t like a light switch, Motivation is a flow" -Unknown.
We can read all of the Eric Thomas quotes we want without a clear understanding of where motivation comes from, and how it operates, we would constantly be in a deficit to what it is we truly want.
Conceptualizing Motivation
The most logical question to now ask is ‘Where does motivation come from?’ Think of the Sun – self-sustaining and long-lasting. This is the motivation we hope to achieve when we listen to podcast, or reach out to a top Kaggler. This is not long-lasting, it’s more of a shot of alcohol – I’ve never had alcohol so I don’t know the name of any shots – rather than a paradigm shift.

The Sun is consist of 3 main parts to its interior; the core, the radiative zone and the convective zone. In this example
The Core: The core is at the center of the Sun and it is the hottest region of the Sun. In this place, there are nuclear fusion reactions that occur which power Sun.
The Radiative Zone: The name radiative is significant to describe the manner in which energy is carried outward through this layer, by photons and as thermal energy.
The Convection Zone: The name convection also describes the dominant mode of energy flow. The hot material near the radiative zone rises and cools the Suns surface then plunges back down towards the radiative zone creating what is called a convection current. We refer to the Suns surface (technically the Sun doesn’t have a surface) as the Photosphere and this is where light escapes.
Note: View the video below for a more in-depth intuition. As I am not a qualified astronomer, I just learn about it out of curiosity.
So how does this relate to our motivation system?
"It is inside the core that the electromagnetic radiation that eventually becomes light is forged."
We can relate the interior make up of the Sun to our motivation system as follows:
- Core – Purpose
- Radiative Layer— Drivers
- Convective Layer – Recognition
Our motivation system has layers that spread to the surface. We can see the surface, although where the real energy comes from is the core.
"Start with why" – Simon Sinek
The Motivation System
Core: Purpose

Like the Sun, within our core is where massive energy is conjured up and flows to the outer layers, hence why earlier I described motivation as a flow – it flows through layers from in to out. We can define our core as our "why" or better yet "purpose".
Clarity of our why intensifies the energy that is amassed in our core, the hottest region of our motivation system – Energy diminishes as it flows out to the outer layers. However, in order to gain clarity we must ask ourselves definitive questions. Yes, that’s right, answering the right questions would give us a clearer purpose that will differentiate us from those that are demotivated.
Why do I want to be a Data Scientist?
Why do I want to become a Kaggle Grandmaster?
Why do I want to start blogging regularly about Artificial Intelligence?
These questions require some level of self-awareness since the answer to them should bring about meaning and progression, as these are the sustaining factors of motivation or "what keeps the fire burning". When something is meaningful, it adds value to something or someone that matters to us, and progression is what creates momentum for us to continue.
"While energy is released from purpose, It ought to be directed towards something"
Radiative Layer: Drivers

Constantly seeing problems? These are the drivers in our motivation system. They magnify the core, the purpose we have. For instance, seeing all of the people that are struggling to break into Data Science, not having any Data Science projects on your portfolio, or wanting to improve your Data Science skills to get a better paid job (and maybe even start your own company eventually) could all be drivers.
Drivers are important because they create favorable circumstances for you to excel. You can see what needs to be fixed and you go in. The significance of your driver could also be what creates a sense of urgency within you, i.e. you may be on the verge of losing your job due to the pandemic, but you have a family that depend on you. These are drivers!
Convective Layer – Recognition

Here is where the astronomers that have transitioned into Data Science may get me because convection describes the movement caused within a fluid by the tendency of hotter and therefore less dense material to rise, and colder, denser material to sink under the influence of gravity, which consequently results in transfer of heat – Sourced from the Oxford dictionary. However, when I describe the convection zone as part of the motivation system, I mainly speak of the surface of the convection zone where light is created – known as the Photosphere.
This is the outermost layer of our motivation system and encompasses any form of external recognition that may be a form of motivation to us. For example, we may want respect in the Data Science community, praise, compliments, a pay rise, encouragement, feedback, etc. These are all at the surface of the convective layer where light is created.
If you remember that earlier I mentioned convective current – when the material near the radiative zone rises to the Suns surface and then plunges back down. The recognition we get plunges back down, towards the drivers which allows us to see more difficult problems, providing us with room for more improvement.
When we look at people that inspire us, this is what we see. To often, we try to base our motivation on this point and work inwards, which by now you may see is not how it works!
Conclusion
If we are to create motivation that is long-lasting and self-sustaining for our Data Science career, we must be able to derive meaning from what we are doing. Not only that, but it must be fun and dissociated from work as much as possible. A happy Data Scientist is not working, she’s doing her bit to make the world a better place to live.
If there is anything that you think I have missed, something that you’d like to point out to me, or if you are still unsure about something, your feedback is valuable. Send a response!
However, If you’d like to get in contact with me, I am most active on LinkedIn and I’d love to connect with you also.
Some other stories that you may be interested in:
How to Learn Faster for Data Scientist
The Reason You’re Frustrated when Trying to Become a Data Scientist