Self-Motivation: You Knew It Before You Knew It
Motivational speaking and publishing is a multi-billion dollar industry. It seems like every other week I see a new “best seller” proclaiming to hold precious secrets that will change my life. I’ve read a lot of these books and you know what I’ve learned?
That I could have drawn the same conclusions, developed the same goals, on my own had I just given it some thought and looked introspectively. I didn’t need the book.
Self-Motivation: You Knew It Before You Knew It
A motivational speaker or author is successful because they’ve figured out how to awaken and confirm what we already know. Have you ever had one of those moments after you’ve read or heard something that seems to be profoundly life changing and you say to yourself, “That’s so simple! I should have realized this on my own!”
I do this all the time!
Why is that? Well, it’s because it was there all along. Quite simply, you knew it before you knew it. These ideas aren’t really new to us because they are a part of our human nature, built right in, and we connect with them without question.
People fork over mega wads of cashola to have ideas awakened in them that were there all along. They simply never thought to ask themselves the questions that mattered.
I’m not saying the motivational industry is pointless or bogus. I owe a lot of my present thinking and ideals to a number of prolific authors whose books have awakened and inspired me. But I have to wonder why we need someone else to open our eyes and see the obvious.
One of my MANY goals lately is to become a better self-motivator. Have you ever seen a self-motivator in action? It’s always easy to spot one because they tend to stand out.
They have a sparkle in their eye and aren’t afraid to challenge themselves and seek out new ways to develop and improve their character and grow as a person. They identify their own weaknesses and define goals that will help them counter those weaknesses with strengths.
Wouldn’t it be great to be that kind of person?!
So, let’s do this together! I challenge you to identify a personal weakness and then tap into your instinct for the answer. Motivate yourself to resolve it. Open you own eyes. Do it daily. You have the ability to become a better person on your own by asking yourself the questions that matter.
Can you think of some other helpful ideas for becoming a a self-motivator?
This is a big challenge for me. I'm an idea guy. Lots of good ideas for things I'd like to do, but very little follow through to actually accomplish them. If I completed half the things I started or had the idea for… I'd have a lot more accomplished. So I really have no tips for self-motivation because I am horrible at it.
So you've identified a weakness. What are you going to do to resolve it? I have this weakness as well. I'm an idea guy to the core, but I'll never be successful unless I take action and DO something with those ideas. Thinkers are capable of being doers, it just takes a lot more motivation. I'm dealing with motivation issues constantly. It takes a tremendous amount of will power just to write down my ideas. But I;m far from hopeless.
I think you already have that something, you're right. Motivational books are good to remind us what we already know. I think we need that because the lifestyles we live can make you forget that sometimes. It's easy to slip back and conform to what everyone else is doing. But the more years that pass, the more I realize, the time is now to do those things you know you're capable of, it's always now!