Fuel for Success

“What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.” – Buddha

That’s a powerful realization and a great responsibility. What you think, what you feel, and what you imagine determine your outcomes. Each and every day we are faced with nearly countless decisions, although some studies suggest that the average adult makes more than 35,000 decisions per day. Your life today is the result of the decisions you’ve made up to this point. Your future will be made up of the decisions you make going forward. If you want a particular future, then you must make the best decisions possible to get you there.

The decisions you make today shape your life tomorrow. No pressure. All you have to do is first figure out what you want your future to look like. Find what drives you, what motivates you, and what excites you, then do that. I understand that this is not necessarily easy. It takes some conscious decisions and you might not know the answers to all of these questions. You may not know what that path looks like.

You might feel like you are barely getting by as it is, and you don’t have time to do the things you really want. You have responsibilities, like work, family, your personal life, etc.

Motivation is the fuel to your decisions and actions. With the right motivation, you will excel. Finding what motivates and drives you is key.

Finding and Maintaining Motivation

Finding motivation is one thing. Maintaining that motivation is another. Let’s break these down and look at how you can both find and maintain motivation in your life.

Finding motivation:

1. First, realize that anything you set your mind to is possible. Any future you can imagine, you can achieve. All you have to do is start taking action now, and staying consistent over time.
2. Develop an abundance mindset. The world is full of opportunities just waiting for you to take advantage of. There is no shortage of opportunity, money, happiness. Whatever you want, you can have.
3. Live now and live for the future. Do the things today that your future self will thank you for.
4. Think about things bigger than yourself. Look for ways that you can help others, impact the world in a positive way, and do things for the greater good.

These are just a few things that help motivate me when I’m feeling like I don’t want to or can’t accomplish things I know I should. Motivation is something that requires constant attention. Zig Ziglar said “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily”.

Here are a few ways to help keep you motivated when you’re lacking that drive and energy.

1. Understand that you have unique value to provide to the world. Someone has to invent that new piece of technology, or start that charity, or provide that investment opportunity to someone who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity, or be a great friend or family member. If not you, then who?
2. There are only so many people who are wired to pursue high levels of success.  You are obviously one of them. It’s your duty to do so, so that you can help others.
3. You don’t have to be the best person on the planet. You don’t even have to be better than anyone else. You just have to be better than you were yesterday, in the slightest sense. If you can improve just a little bit each and every day, imagine where you’ll be in 5, 10, or even 50 years.

What Else?

If you find yourself lacking motivation, simply take action. You’ll find clarity in your actions even if they aren’t the exact right ones. Don’t sit around and wait for “someday” to accomplish what you want. That “someday” will come and go faster than you think.  Take inspiration from your childhood days. Be the person that your 5-year-old self though you would be. After all, what else do you have to do than try for your best? At the end of your life, you’ll regret more the things you didn’t do or try rather than the things you did and failed at. So set your sights high. Give it all you’ve got. Try to be the best version of yourself each and every day. You’ll probably surprise yourself at all you can and will accomplish.

Resources

Visit Audible for a free trial and free audiobook download!