Does spirituality hinder us from being motivated and effortful?

The following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.

Acharya Prashant (AP): Are we able to actually put in efforts in anything? Is there really that we have ever given your heart and soul to something? We are talking as if we let effort freely flow through us and what I’m saying would block that flow. Your question assumes as if we effortlessly let effort flow through us and something being said here is going to block that flow. I want to first question the question itself. Are we really capable of vigorous action? Do you see that happening?

We are capable of — remember — effort but not action and these are two very different things. We put in a lot of effort while ensuring that there is very little action. What do you want, effort, or action? What if there is action without too much effort? Please tell.

Our stream of energy is blocked by our resistance, our fear, our expectations. Action does not freely happen through us.

The internal fountain is not allowed to express itself freely, so you require a lot of motivation, persuasion that which you call as effort.

To experience freely is to unblock the flow then action happens.

Then the required effort, the right effort that is needed to sustain the action is also there. What we have is mostly wasted effort, effort that doesn’t materialize into anything.

Have you not seen people thinking, planning, strategizing, striving, and doing nothing. Does that happen or not? Don’t you see how this internal mill keeps moving? Where is the action? Do you call this action? This is not action it is only a headache. In real action thought is needed only in a healthy quantity, beyond that thought is not needed at all. What we have is an excess of thoughts and very little action.

Listener (L): What is the right motivation that changes this proportion? I think this is something that everybody is facing and everybody is being disturbed.

AP: Again, if we look at the question itself, are we short of motivations? We already have a bag — full of motivations, have we not? Would it help to add another one to this bag? Kindly tell me are all of us sitting over…