Learn about the unique things that motivate you and keep you on track towards your goals. Within all of us is an energy source that we have been using since the day we were born, these techniques are unique to each of us and most times are forgotten about as we grow into adults, our minds are conditioned by the way those who influence us respond to our need for support, love and acceptance so lets's start with a walk down memory lane and rediscover some of the hidden talents in you.
I want you to look back at your past to when you were a child and what motivated you? without even realizing it you have already accomplished a lot in your life. As a baby you were amazing you learned to walk, speak your first language, went to school, got involved in a sport, held a job, and maybe you have even raised a family of your very own. See how amazing you already are? Take the things you have accomplished thus far and you will see you already have it in you. You've always had the skills that motivate you to swing into action and get things done. Let's draw on these skills and use them to create a life you love. Did you notice I said life and not self? No improvement is needed on yourself just on the way your mind has been conditioned over the years. Forget everything you have ever absorbed about what motivates the rich and famous, superstar athletes or other captain's of industry, instead let's take it back to your roots. We're going to start from scratch and create a life you will love, not the life you were conditioned to live.
Something is wrong with the messages you were given. Most self help guru's claim to have the answers to it all. A tough coach yelling at you telling you that you're the worst player on the team or a soothing guru telling you to fill your soul with all things positive believe their methods will help everybody but don't realize when a program is designed to fit the average human being the most important aspect is forgotten what works for YOU.
Watch this short video, before you read on..
Click to watch video; Ready to Quit Now? Scene from the film "An officer and a gentleman" (1982)
Let's take a scene from the film An officer and a Gentleman where the Sergeant yells at one of the recruits scolding at him "you ready to quit now Mayo?" he puts him through hardcore negative training and does every thing he can to break this recruit, Now maybe that's what's required in the military but what about those of us in the non military world? Our culture often equates the ability to endure punishment with excellence we believe that if you don't have the guts to suffer then you don't deserve to win. Which leaves us to wonder how many people are out there thinking they don't have what it takes because they flunked school, failed gym class, or some other endurance based change model. This is standard for men but it also affects women too. Take for example a woman who has raised children she will apply the military standard to herself and if she comes up short she feels like a failure. We're trained to measure ourselves against the best no matter how little they apply to us. We're all taught that winners can take abuse. Funny how when the shoe doesn't fit we're expected to wear it anyway.
Sometime during your childhood you were conditioned to take on the role of both sergeant and recruit, we set the goal and take on the challenge to accomplish it. We take over our own boot camp and do it on our own, when you think about it taking on both roles can be a great thing for us instead of having to depend on external modes of motivation. In this lesson I am going to teach you how to discover just what it takes to make you unstoppable. When it comes to your dreams and potential there is no one better to coax out the hustler in you. Let's get started and find what motivates you, and you'll soon know the secret to your success. Let's get started.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU
EXERCISE 1A:
EXAMPLE; Chris has a job interview and tells a few friends about it he mentions that he's unsure of himself and feels nervous, his confidence is low and he's worried that he will fail.
*In your notebook use the examples below and write down your own answers.
Maria instantly pipes up reminding you of how awesome you are and that you shouldn't worry too much, you've got this in the bag!
Lisa tells you that if that's how you feel then maybe you shouldn't go, why waste your time if your going to fail what a loser.
Netta asks you why you feel the way you do and offers to spend time with you to help you get over your fears.
Julia suggests to just get over it, you're overthinking the situation just go and see what happens.
EXERCISE 1B;
EXAMPLE; Diane wants to write a novel more than anything in the world, but she thinks that what she writes is boring, and that nobody will like her stories.
What would you say to Diane?
*In your notebook write your answer down before you continue so that you catch your reaction.
How do these responses make you feel?
Susan suggests to take up a writers course and learn from the experts, you need someone to show you the ropes.
Piripi has an idea to start your own writer's club and collaborate ideas with other passionate writers to gain inspiration
Mahara says "Just forget it, If you can't think of anything to write then maybe you're not supposed to be a writer".
EXERCISE 1C;
EXAMPLE; David wants to find a job working with animals, but he doesn't want to be a veterinarian. He can't imagine doing anything else and he's about to give up.
What advice would you give him?
Wayne; I'd introduce him to a friend of mine who has a rescue shelter for endangered wildlife, she enjoys the diversity and challenges that with the sick and injured.
Ken; I'd share ideas with him like working at the zoo, or a pet store, maybe dog walking, then I'd tell him to contact these places and speak to someone about the industry to see if it's something he wants to do.
Piripi; I'd just tell him to believe in himself and that he will find something soon.
Take a look at your answers and the answers of the others. What do they tell us? We might not know what motivates others to go after their dreams but we now know something about the answers in the questions. Each person who shared an answer in the examples gave the kind of help they would like to receive. Now look closer at your answers, what about you? Does part of you need the help or advice you would've given Chris Diane and David? If it does you are starting to uncover clues about what you need to motivate yourself.
EXERCISE 2 - ALL ABOUT YOU
Think back to a time in your childhood when you had a goal you wanted to accomplish but you didn't know how to make it happen, Do you remember asking for help and getting unhelpful responses, ?
*In your notebook write down your story and tell us your goal and what happened? Did you ask for help? give all of your reasons and tell us why or why not..
EXERCISE 2A;
EXAMPLE; Jordon was afraid to try out for the basket ball team in college, he was shy and didn't know much about the rules of the game. He thought he'd never get picked anyway so didn't bother to try out.
EXAMPLE; Angel use to write for her school newsletter and had a really tough math teacher who liked reading her work, one day she told Angel that she was disappointed in her work, it was below what she expected of Angel. She got her point across loud and clear because Angel has never written an article since.
What did you write? Look at your story, what happened? using your story what advice would you give yourself? Imagine as an adult you just witnessed "your story" how would you approach it?
What would you say?
*In your notebook write down your answer.
There is both a right and a wrong way to motivate each of us and so much talent is wasted because to the misplacement of self blame. Look back at your answer and notice how it made you feel, it should be clear to you what type of support works best for you. For most of us without support you probably feel like something is wrong with you or that your dreams and ideas are foolish. Are you seeing now how much of your own self-blame is misplaced?
*In your notebook write down a time when you got the help you needed, describe the kind of help you got and what were the results.
Go over the last two exercises, are you beginning to see the best ways to motivate you? Let's do some grading and write up your report card.
-REPORT CARD-
In this exercise you will design a tailor-made motivational package that suits you. On the report card are listings of methods that are supposed to help you stay focused on your goals, you should be familiar with these methods maybe you have tried a few and have realized already that these methods do not work for you. I want you to rate them for their effectiveness using a score of "A" = pass "F" = fail. Here are some examples of words to list and rate.
Shaming
Scolding
Fear
Guilt
Lecturing
Competition
Revenge
Taking a class
Dares
Positive thinking
Praise
Affirmations
Creating your own reality
Getting help
Add your own methods to the list and rate them.
By now you should start to see where most of the blame lies for most of your past defeats, nothing is wrong with you, the methods of motivation you are using were wrong. You're the expert of what you need, listen to yourself. I hope this lesson has been a revelation, You've learned well if you can now see the many motivational methods that exist. Well done.
-MEMORY DECK-
Using the 3x5 cards you will create a memory deck, In it you will write whatever is important that you need to remember. Whenever you get a chance pull it out and thumb through it at random this easy task will help to reinforce what you have learned in each lesson.
Take a white card and write a one word heading "YES" under it write down the things you rated an "A" in your report card, on the other side write "NO" and write down all of the methods you graded an "F" get creative, add stickers and more be unique with everything you do after all this is your life we are working on here, now put the cards away but keep them close while you continue through the next lessons.
"Passion ignites once you catch a glimpse of your potential, In life don't aim for average you were born to be extraordinary"
S.Cullen Tini-Mathews
Congratulations!
You have completed lesson one: What motivates you.
