Saturday, March 30, 2013

Motivation Can't Be Faked - But It Can Be Found

By Lachlan Haynes


For those who don't wake up and feel motivated by the prospect of a new day, we often wonder how to "get motivated". But motivation is not something you can just click your fingers and create. Sure, often we read something or watch something and then feel super motivated and ready to take on the world! But then a few hours or days pass by and we've pretty much forgotten how or why we ever got so motivated in the first place. The problem is that the reality of life has got hold of us again and so we just slump back into our old routines.

A true state of motivation occurs when you have a strong craving to achieve something, you can imagine exactly what it is you are trying to achieve, and you are prepared to do anything to make it happen. When in this state you will wake up each day ready to take on the world and make your dreams a reality. That is the real essence of being motivated. But how many of us really feel this way when we get up in the morning?

But let's go back a step or two. In order to find a true state of motivation it's important to understand how and why each step along the way is important. You see, if you understand why a certain task is important to complete, there is a much greater chance you will complete it. For example, if my goal is to learn to speak Indonesian (one of the easiest languages to learn by the way) and I find a CD set that teaches you how to learn Indonesian I am very likely to buy the set and go through the activities. That's simple enough to understand isn't it?

But if the task you have to complete has no benefit to you? How do you feel motivated when what you have to do is completely unrelated to what you are trying to achieve? Well, the reality is that you are likely to revolt against the task or the person asking you to do it. For example, if you want to learn Indonesian you are forced to learn Spanish, you are probably going to be pretty upset! Again, this makes perfect sense. You want to Indonesian, not Spanish. Therefore, there is no motivation to complete the activity.

Do you want to feel motivated? Then whatever you are doing needs to have relevance to you. Without relevance, there will be no motivation and no action. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't complete tasks that appear to have no relevance; you just need to understand what the relevance is and how that applies to you.

If you want to feel motivated then whatever you are being asked to complete should take you one step closer to your ultimate ambition. It's never about the task itself - it's about the overall outcome. Isn't it? Sure you can say things to yourself such as, "I want to get good grades" but the real driving force is what the good grades will result in. Getting into a great college or a great university, getting a job you really enjoy, or learning how to one day build your own business are all reasons to power your way through mundane subjects or tasks because if you are being truly honest what you are really trying to do is give yourself the best chance to live the life you want to live - aren't you?

So what is your ultimate ambition? What are you striving to achieve? Do you aspire to work for minimum wage? Is getting a good job and a nice home your grand ambition? Or would you prefer to work for 10 years and then retire and do as you please? Yes? No? Don't know? If you don't know your ultimate ambition, then you won't be able to motivate yourself to complete each individual (and often painful) task. But, once you know why you are doing something, the how becomes only a matter of course, not an immovable obstacle.

You can find true motivation by understanding what you want. Spend some time considering where you want your life to go, what will be required to get it there and why that truly inspires you. Once you know what you want, you will be amazed at how each boring task you need to complete becomes easy. If the tasks still frustrate you, the goal you are striving for is still not powerful enough - it is not compelling you to action. Find your true inspiration and the motivation will always be there. Good luck!




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