Motivation is literally the desire to do things. It’s the difference
between waking up before dawn to pound the pavement and lazing around
the house all day. It’s the crucial element in setting and attaining
goals—and research shows you can influence your own levels of motivation
and self-control. So figure out what you want, power through the pain
period, and start being who you want to be…

This Definition from Psychology Today is at best, misleading, at it’s worst, quite damaging.

You could see it in the eyes of Peyton Manning tonight…all the waking up before dawn, goal setting, study, practice, learning and overcoming insurmountable obstacles,
did not allow him to attain his goal…A few days earlier I could see it on the face of my wife, who after nine years of dedication to task, pride swallowing support, 60 hour work weeks and
never missing a day of work or a deadline saw her goal of gainful employment until retirement, disappear.  I felt it in the texts and emails of this past week describing the condition of my 47 year old brother-in-law, whose body has now caught up with a mind and spirit that failed to achieve the artistic life he sought.

One can not blame them for losing the desire to do things.  For not seeing the value in picking yourself up, “powering through the pain and being who you want to be”.
I have lost the big game, lost more than one job, and  failed to achieve what I wanted, oh so many times.
There is a line in the 1st Christopher Reeve Superman movie when Clark is lamenting not being a football player…and his “dad” says to him…”I don’t know why you were put on this earth…but I do know…it was not just to score touchdowns”.

I believe that each loss teaches us one more lesson in who we are and allows us to adjust our path toward what we are MEANT to be.

Yes, pick yourself up.  Yes, work thru the pain.  But don’t just try, try again…adapt, adjust and seek your destiny.
Remember despite the cliché, by definition, NO ONE is in control of their destiny.