Mismotivated and Other Fun with Prefixes

Today in class, we learned two new prefixes—mis and mid. I was actually pretty pleased with how well they caught on to them, and it was fun to watch them figure out what words mean when a root word is placed with a definition-changing prefix. Before we left for recess they had to tell me one prefixed word that they knew, along with the definition; some students chose to create their own word, so I’m following suite and declaring that I am officially ‘mismotivated’.

And, before anyone points out that mis actually means bad, wrong or incorrect, and that my new word doesn’t precisely define my lack of motivation for exercising, let me just declare that my new wordsmithing skills are unmisguided. Yes, I am what is more commonly referred to as ‘unmotivated’ to exercise right now, but I am also ‘mismotivated’; meaning I have motivation, but it is being exerted incorrectly, and it is all focused on antitime-worthy, debrain-enstrengthening activities (okay, so maybe I got a little carried away with ‘debrain-enstrengthening’). If I were to write a newspaper caption for my current state of mind it would say, “Underachieving Semiathlete in Need of Athletic Superintervention.”

Quite simply, I have no desire to exert myself. Am falling victim to atrophy. If you have any supermotivating words, you should invoke some verbal charity and throw them my way.