How to become and stay motivated

To become and stay motivated, you need a new start. Life is a lot like a raging storm. In the distance, we see it coming, it builds and strengthens. But, by the time we can feel the rain on our face — from the moment we begin to experience the vicissitudes of life — our path is virtually decided. It requires all our powers of thoughtfulness and action to change what appears to be our predetermined path. Usually, we awake overly late to our personal quest — life circumstances having already pushed us excessively far in one direction. There is a belief that maintains it is never too late to get on your life track, always possible to find your meaning. I subscribe to this view. However, it is certainly much harder at 40 than it is at 20. By 40, you are normally married with children, have some debt, and have a certain type of employment.

Recently, after one of my presentations, I spoke to a man with the above-mentioned set of circumstances — he was married with children and employed in a government job. All of this would be fine if he were happy, but he wasn’t. He desperately wanted to live a life of spiritual freedom and economic possibilities. I was asked, “What is the secret to life, what is its key?” As we know, there is no universal solution to an individual problem. That said, there are accepted truths that aid people when they want to change. The first and most compelling occurrence when seeking a new path, and, ultimately, your life mission is trauma. Trauma shocks and destabilizes your perception of the world. It alters your way of thinking and requires that you seek a new beginning.

After a truly traumatic experience, you can never go back to your old way of living and continue to respect yourself — you are altered. This could be a serious illness, losing your job, the death of a loved one, or the fact that you are just nauseated by your life. Much like Cortes burned the ships (1) so the Spaniards could not go home, your fleet is also in tatters and there is only a way forward. The next thing that must develop is a desire to self-study, to honestly learn, “Who am I and what do I want out of my piece of life?” Spend the moments, reflect and write down the answers: document who you are. These are private — show no one.

Then develop a routine: do the same thing every morning for 21 days, to reinforce your learning pattern, and it will become embedded in your psyche. It will be a part of you — this could be exercise, meditation, or writing in your notebook — whatever you desire, anything that moves you forward. Finally, act — just begin! Osho, (2) the great philosopher tells us that there are no brave heroes or fearful cowards, there is only action. Any measure always entails risk. This produces a new set of options. There is something exciting about this novel way of looking at life. Therefore, if you really want to change, get traumatized — shocked by something in your life — develop a new set of learning criteria, and remember how tedious the past was and how dynamic the future portends to be.

A closing thought: Nothing happens without action. We all know people who grumble excessively about their work but are still in the same position some twenty-five years later. You may think, “What was accomplished here?” The answer is that complaining is actually a salve on the wound of inaction. It contains the queasiness long enough “to stomach” another day. But, this kind of negativity is deleterious to your health, (3) and it limits your social circle. No one wants to know a negative person. So, put your mind into a positive framework and find the lifestyle that you truly want. This, of course, requires planning and preparation. But, you live only once in this reality. You deserve to be happy, why not?

To sum up: This week we spoke about getting motivated and moving forward in life.

To be noted: From Aristotle (4) — The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.

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