How to simulate a break-up to get the motivation arc?

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Welcome back Nathan fielder

Motivation is temporary and fleeting. To use motivation for long-term growth is like filling a tank with a quarter of the gas and burning through it to see how far your car drives. It will evently run dry in a month or two. 

The reason why people recognize their shortcomings after a breakup is because they are forced to reconcile who they are with who they wish they'd become. Extrinsic aspects such as exercising or increasing their discipline and intrinsic aspects such as their attentiveness and compassion.  

I really think for long-term growth, you need a grounding technique. Something to remind you what your habits are and to answer why you're pursuing your long-term goals until they becoem second nature. The ground technique can begin from a motivation, but then far exceeds that. The greatest and easiest example is working out. The reason people workout can sometimes be self-serving and shallow, but anyone who's developed the willingness to workout regularly often forgets the reason he or she began and does it like clock work thereafter. 

Now for the practical aspects... if you're lacking motivation, ask yourself why not rather than why. Why not work out? You invest at most 3 -5 hours a week and the results are so tremendous that if a drug had performed what exercise does, it'd be illegal. Ask yourself why not eat healthy? It only benefits you to have greater energy levels, less foggy mind, less drowsiness, greater mental focus and better digestion. The more you remind yourself of why not, the more you'll strengthen your habits and reignite the discipline to continue. 

The old quote I'm reminded... "To be motivated is to work out on a good day. To exercise discipline is to work out on a bad day. Even when the world burns, you will find me at the gym."