Love as a source of motivation

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Do you reckon it's the most powerful? I literally lost all my motivation for anything except films, anime and video games after I lost the one I had. Well, I suppose actual depression would remove even those... but for anything else... a career? I find it a laughable thought without love. Just no point to it... not that I usually think they do, but at the very least I felt sufficiently interested in going to university... without love it's like Sisyphus... a high mountain to climb with barely any rational advantages. And no, finding love itself coudn't be the purpose, as some people suggested to me... because, of course, it's unlikely anyway.

If you're not interesting in dating/love at this time, it's not like you can be FORCED to date/fall in love against your will. Play your videogames, read your manga, etc.

also, how old are you? Your existential angst suggests you're about 15-16.

I am zero years old. If you're serious, though, do you mean to say only teenagers are motivated by love...?

That is !

Yes, absolutely, without a doubt - with fear as a close second.

Love for others (my God kids, my best friend since high school, my closest friend & his family, my family etc.) has motivated me to carry on and work hard and get through some really tough times & work. There have been times I've worked long hard days outside in some somewhat nasty weather conditions that the thought of quitting crossed my mind for a split second, but then I just picture the faces of those I love and I can endure anything for them. I know I don't have to work for them because they're, for the most part, all taken care of by themselves and others - but when I put myself in the mindset that they need me to accomplish this task, my love for them enables me to carry on with a second wind of energy & get whatever I need to done.

Over the last couple years I've also become a bit more self loving, too, and while I still have a long way to go on that, my love for my present and future self & my goals motivates me to carry on. Sometimes when I'm tired and don't feel like going for a run I think of the goals I have that are so much bigger than myself, and then of myself, and remind myself that I should love myself every bit as much as I love others & should treat myself just as well as I do others - and so I gain the motivation to push myself harder in order to give myself the gifts of fitness & a clear mind that I know I'll need in order to do other things in life, love, and business. I'm better at doing things for me than always thinking of others than I used to be, but I still think of others in my life more than myself. Perhaps I'll always be a bit of a selfless person that way, but perhaps not. Maybe I'll gradually become more and more self loving & in turn self serving and my accomplishments and successes will compound for it? Time will tell.

As for fear, I think it was fear of failure and not wanting to give up and be in debt for nothing that got me to push through business school back in the day. There was no way I was going to be paying back student loans for something I didn't complete lol and so while it was a bit more fear than love motivated, I was motivated to complete my program and did it.

Love for another human is the worst kind of motivation and it is the path of the last man. One must look in words towards oneself and live life for only yourself as that is the true way to live life.

Riiight, because if we all did that the species would surely continue to perpetuate... not.

Unless of course you consider it self serving & self loving to procreate in order to perpetuate the species.

*shrug* IMO love for others is strongly motivating & a healthy positive thing to embrace.

It's actually much more likely than you think. And believing this will make it more likely. The fact that you already found love shows you that it will probably happen again in your life (you're only 25)

No, love does not motivate me in the least. I don't think it's healthy for love to be someone's primary motivator.

I figure that you mean sexual/romantic love though, because this is in the dating section. Yes, I think that it is possible to live a happy fulfilling life without a romantic partner/mate. Plenty of people do it.

Being in love is a great feeling, but it is possible to live a good life and feel complete without romance, but you don't find that out until you've lived a while in your own skin and find things you enjoy in life. It comes with time and experience.

But that doesn't mean that love won't happen, but you can enjoy your life in it's abscence.

Love as the most powerful emotion and/or source of motivation?

No. Plenty of examples throughout history in favor of hatred, and on a societal level its quite obvious that love is not the most powerful emotion or source of motivation. Not to say that love isn't powerful, also, what is said to be love is usually not love but in one way or another - desire.

Should love be?
Motivation based on love needs constant reinforcement and if the object of love is lost then life becomes... well, you'll be in a bad way, to put it politely.
Ideally, you wouldn't have an emotion as a primary motivator, particularly for long-term projects such as life or your career.

What about finding love?
Finding love is a powerful motivator, but, usually its not love that we want, we just lump a number of desires together into one word. Finding romantic love can put you into awkward situations, places where you aren't comfortable, it can force you to push through anxieties and trust issues, to name a few things.