The art of motivation

Because you are afraid of the unknown? Or worried about change?

The answer is probably a lack of motivation. You are not motivated to quit so you stuck with a horribly demanding job whilst complaining about it at home. Your excuses would be 'I need the income' or 'I can't find another job'. Sure, you may protest that it is not an excuse but a legitimate reason. Well, that is because you are not motivated to quit.

You are not motivated to move on, to find a better job or a better opportunity. You feel comfortable in your rut so you stay. In the process, you get more stressed out each day and more bitter as you watch others move on and succeed in other things. All this bitterness will only result bad health and bad relations with everyone around you.

So, how do you motivate yourself to move on, make the change for the better, to quit your job, to change your career or even to change your life's path? It is not easy but the main secret to it is to focus.

Yep, the secret key to motivation is to focus. Focus on your specific goals, your dreams, your achievements, your needs and your wants. How? Let's take a first look at the goals.

What is you goal in life? Is it to become a millionaire in five years? Or to become a famous artist in ten years? Or merely to live a peaceful quiet life in a beautiful countryside with little pollution, war or crimes?

Whatever your goal is, write it down in BIG BOLD LETTERS and paste it up somewhere you can see everyday. This is to remind you each and every day of your goal, so that you will never lose sight of it.

Then, look at your dreams. Is it the same with your goal? If it is, then forget this paragraph and move on to the next focus. If it is different, dissect it. Does your goal lead to the achievement of your dreams? If it does, all the better! If it is something completely different, then write it down too. Then ponder over it. How long have you had this dream? Why do you want to fulfill it? What does it mean to you?

Will you feel as if a part of you is missing if you found out that you will never achieve this dream? If yes, are you working towards your dream? If not, why not? What is in your way? What will you give up to achieve your dreams? Answer all these questions and write it down. If possible print out the whole list and again, paste it somewhere you could see and read it on a daily basis to remind yourself of your dreams.

Then, there is your achievements. What have you achieved so far in your life? Do you feel that you have not achieved enough? If so, why not? Is it because you were held back by insecurities? Or do you think you did not achieve anything at all. If you think that way, you are wrong. EVERYONE have achieved something in their life, regardless of who they are or what their professions are. You just need to reach far back into your memories to find the achievements. In fact, you do not have to reach far. You just need to think of the moment you felt accomplished or completed something to your satisfaction or even did something you normally do not know how to do.

An example, you have never been on a diet before and recently, due to health problems, your doctor advised you to go on one. So, you cut down on your food intake. You lost a few pounds and though, still not at your desired weight, you continue trying to eat as healthily as possible. However, sometimes you still indulged which affects your weight. Despite the lapse, you should still consider this as an achievement because you went on a diet. You tried something you had never done before. That is an achievement.

So you see, every single tiny positive thing that could imrpove your self esteem, is an achievement. It could be finally learning to ride a bike or taking up skydiving or just learning to cook. Anything that you accomplished on your own for yourself is an achievement.

After counting your achievements (which by now should be in the hundreds!!), go through each and every one again. Revel in the glow of satisfaction you felt during those times when you managed to accomplish something. This will not fail to raise your self esteem and put a spring in your step to gear you up towards motivating yourself to do something.

Finally, learn to differentiate between your wants and needs. Food, water, clothes, roof over head, love and money are your needs. Everything else are your wants. If one of your needs is in trouble, then be careful. Never outweigh your needs with your wants.

Now, armed with a focus on your goals, dreams, achievements, wants and needs, what do you get? You get motivation. Why? Because after reminding yourself of what you can do (achievements), you will realise that you could reach your goals and dreams. The doubts are gone.

On a last note, motivation is purely a mind over brain matter. If you intend on demotivating yourself, no advice or secret tips in this world will pull you out of the funk other than yourself.

So, stay motivated. Change if it means a step closer to your goals and dreams.