I stumbled on this and thought I would add my two cents. I've decided that there are moments in life, good and bad, that motivate me. There are goals that are really important to me that motivate me. I need that motivation to get started and keep focused. There is another factor however that is not motivation that is just as important: will power (strength). When I first began lc'iing in January, my will power was low, but I became very motivated. It wasn't easy at first to give up carbs. But every time I was tempted and said no to something I was exercising my mental muscle. I am considerably stronger now than I was then. I think that motivation and will power are like two oars for the row boat to success. You need them both or you're just going to spin in circles and give up.

I've been motivated without will power and when I was weak it just killed the motivation. I've had will power, i.e. the strength to make good decisions, without motivation. (Just because you have strong muscles doesn't mean you're going to go and repeatedly lift a heavy stone just because you can.) When you have both, they support each other, grow each other, and you get where you want to go.