Sunday 6 October 2013

Motivation Vs Inspiration: Why Both Are Needed To Achieve Your Goals

By Lachlan Haynes


You're likely already aware that action is the key to achieving your goals. However, there is a more rarely considered - and much more important aspect of action, and that is training yourself to sustain this action-oriented mindset in order to direct your energy to sustain long-term action.

So how do we achieve long term action? Two qualities rank high on the list, consistency and persistence. Not everyone is born with these traits but you do have the ability to learn them. A key tip that can help you learn persistence is to set aside your emotion. We are all very emotional creatures at our core. We experience our ups and downs, sometimes more downs than ups, and it is important to try to set the negative emotions aside to learn persistence. Some other key tips that are worth including are becoming accustomed to succeeding which can be done by setting small goals and meeting them, make small changes which means changing one bad habit at a time, and remember to reward yourself for every accomplishment.

We all know what it's like to feel a burst of motivation and then take that energy and translate it into work. But the problem that arises is we don't always feel motivated. Motivation ebbs and flows, often decreasing when we don't feel happy, or when we face setbacks. Our physiological state also impacts our motivation, as do our results.

Whether or not we are going through a rough patch, if our bodies are in good shape (plenty of sleep, physical activity, good nutrition, healthy relationships, etc.), we tend to feel pretty resilient overall. And, when we enjoy a good return on our investments - whether we are invested in school and are earning good grades, getting praise from our bosses, or whatever the case may be, our energy toward these activities remain consistent overall.

If however the opposite occurs and you're feeling stressed, hungry, tired, unhealthy and socially outcast then you're likely to feel pretty low. Worse still, if you start getting poor grades or negative feedback, it's likely that your emotional state will depress and you'll feel like giving up. That's only natural isn't it? It's pretty hard to feel good about these things!

This is the point where you must focus on turning short term action into sustainable long term action. In order to achieve big, you need to think big. This applies in not just your schooling but your future career and the rest of your life. You must envision your future. Where do you want to be and how will you get there? When you know where you want to go, you can start to plan the way to get there. This is an important step that should never be ignored. You must map out the success in your life. Once you have that road map in your hands, you may be wondering, but how do I get there? The answer of course is one step at a time. It may seem minuscule or daunting but it works! Those continued short term actions, or steps, will move you closer and closer to your dreams. Celebrate each step you take in the right direction and before you know it, all of those little steps have turned into big leaps - and you have achieved your goal with long term sustained action.

Enter inspiration, your spiritual guide. While motivation can come in bursts, be harnessed, and become sustained, inspiration comes from some place deeper inside of you. It is something greater and more powerful than you; and it lives inside of each one of us. You can find your inspiration with your desire for change. While motivation is a very powerful tool, it is often tied to a time frame or certain circumstances. It is more of a physical presence rather than an internal entity.

It's the difference between going to school each day because you want to get your high school diploma, versus an unwavering desire to get into the College course of your dreams because you want to learn how to start and run a business that will change the world. These are both ambitions - but they are on very different levels. It's pretty easy to see which desire would last longer. Being inspired carries you through the ups and downs. It gives you the power to stay the course even when it's ridiculously hard.

Now is the time to really consider everything; to see yourself as a powerful piece in an even more powerful game. It's time to think about things like higher education, never needing a job that you despise, even the possibility of becoming a billionaire via the creation of something new that impacts people - even the entire world in a positive way! All of these outcomes can be possible for you; however, they require an ability to prolong your motivation long enough for it to transform into inspiration. Outcomes like these require that you can keep your eye on the big picture, while stepping evenly toward your goals every single day. Regardless of our circumstances, we can all direct our inspiration into unlimited potential - it is what you truly believe is possible that matters in the end. So, what is it that you are capable of - and how will you begin energizing your capacity to achieve it today?




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