Motivation is something that we feel we need from time to time. You can feel like you need motivation not just for big things but also for the smaller things in life. Some need motivation just to get out of bed in the morning. Others need motivation to finish up that project deadline they keep putting off. Whatever the case, at one point or another in our life we will or have felt that we needed motivation.
Now, after reading the title, I don’t want you to think that this blog post is about how motivation is bad. Wanting to be motivated isn’t bad in itself. In fact, it’s good. So what is the focus for today’s blog post then? We’re going to be talking about the danger of always looking for motivation to get stuff done.
Why is seeking motivation considered a danger? Well, motivation is very temporary; it’s a feeling. Most of the time when we think we need motivation, what we actually need is drive. Drive is continuous. It’s not temporary. Drive isn’t a feeling either; it involves action.
So, if it’s motivation that you need and it is in fact, drive, how do you attain it? Drive needs a ‘why’ factor. And that ‘why’ factor needs to be so strong, that there’s no doubt about whatever it is you want. Once you figure out your why and that why becomes the ‘driving force’ to what it is you want, the ‘how’ you will attain it becomes clearer to you. And honestly, at that point, you may not even need to seek out that external motivation. Your drive will be so strong that it becomes your motivation. You will be your own motivation.
Now, we’re not perfect, so sometimes we can demotivate ourselves. A lot of the times that we feel we’ve lost motivation, we get so worked up about the thousand other things we need to do in order to finish a task or goal and not focusing on what we can right now to get one step closer to our goal.
Another way that we demotivate ourselves is not putting a sense of urgency on the steps to get to our goal. There’s more “I should’s” than “I must”. There is nothing wrong with saying “I should” get this task done. But, it doesn’t really create a sense of urgency on the task. “I should” only moves you to get whatever needs to be done when it is convenient for you. And here’s a little secret that I’ve learned, convenience does not create consistency. It’s hard to be consistent when life is so unpredictable. So with that being said, if you’re waiting for life to become convenient for you, you’re wasting valuable time to grow. So instead of saying “I should” get this thing done, say “I must” get this done. One more thing, “I MUST” means there’s no doubts. There should be no doubts in what you need to get done. That’s why your “why” factor must be strong.
With that being said, remember that when your “why factor” is strong, you will have drive. Your why makes your how become more clear and you won’t need to look for external motivation. Remember motivation is temporary; it comes and goes. Drive is continuous. And with continuity comes consistency. Most importantly, consistency has no room for doubt. So, drop that I should and turn it into I must and let’s grow and take the next step closer to our goals.
ShineBrightWithTee
Shine Bright 