♦Or, pick the chapters where you believe you’re having difficulty and work through those first. The book is written in a way that each chapter is an entity on its own and doesn’t require the previous chapter in order to be understood.
On that note: when you work on a chapter, complete the work from the beginning to the end. This is especially true of the journal work. When you get to a journal exercise, do it right away before reading the rest of the chapter. This is because some exercises work better when you do them fresh, before reading the theory behind it. To give yourself the best chance of success, do the journal exercises as you come across them.
As with life, the theory is useful, but change only comes about when you take action. This includes not only physical action, like making a telephone call, but includes mind action like changing your thought patterns and beliefs.
Mind changes are possible because you can consciously focus your mind on something. For instance, if I suggest that you spend two minutes listing the things you are grateful for in life, you’ll find that you are quite capable of doing this. Many of your beliefs are unconscious but once you become aware of them (through journaling or other exercises) you can consciously let go of that belief and replace it with a more affirming belief. My understanding of action includes this kind of practice and exercise.
The most important consideration to changing your motivation levels therefore is that you must take action. The first action you are going to take is to pick up this book and decide how to work with it. Secondly, you will begin reading. Yes, action gets things moving – and your journey has begun.
Take on all the journal work – this is an important part of the journey of discovery for you. Complete all the exercises as this is part of creating change. Small changes every day make for a lifetime of success.
Commit to working though this book. Take your time (don’t even try to do it all at once!). If you read the whole book and try to implement the changes in one go, you’ll lose motivation and be back at square one.
Try spending a whole week on a chapter. Get those changes under your belt before you embark on something new. You may find one or two chapters make all the difference for you anyway. You can end each day flipping through all the key ideas to make the knowledge part of you. Working through the book means that, in time, you’ll shift your motivation levels.
NEVER, EVER GIVE UP!
Introduction
Reasons for lack of motivation
There are many reasons you may lack motivation. The most common ones are:
♦Low self-esteem
♦Lack of purpose and direction
♦Bad health
♦Depression and anxiety
♦Addiction
This book is based on the premise that you’re a reasonably self-regulating person and that you have the ability to take some steps forwards. Now is a good time to ask: “Can I help myself with the help of this book?” Or, “Do I need to see a professional?” This book will NOT cure depression or stop addictions.
Take care of yourself
If the majority of your days are spent feeling overwhelmed, abandoned, unworthy, directionless or numb, you may need to get professional help. Using this book or other ‘self-help’ material may leave you feeling worse off. Start with a general health checkup and follow your doctor’s advice going forward.
Consequences of lack of motivation
Lacking motivation can have devastating effects in your life. As you read on, you’ll discover that you DON’T have to be motivated to achieve BUT it helps! Most of us suffer from the consequences of being unmotivated in many different ways:
♦You struggle to get things done.
♦You feel like you can do more with your life but you don’t know how.
♦Your heart sinks when you look at your to-do list.
♦You sometimes dread getting up to face the day.
♦You enter a vicious cycle – the more unmotivated you feel, the less work you do and the worse you feel.
♦You feel dissatisfied with yourself and your life.
If you feel like this every now and again – and everyone does at some point – that’s okay. When you feel this way every day for most of the day, your happiness levels plummet. The wonderful news is that you can change. Starting right now!
Can motivation be negative?
Yes! A drug addict is highly motivated to get his next fix; a criminal, to surprise his next victim. The question is not how to get motivated but rather, what to do with it.
What is motivation?
There are as many definitions for motivation as there are lights in the city. Most people have a pretty good understanding of it.
Motivation is:
♦A general desire to do something.
♦A willingness to act.
♦An inner power that pushes you to action.
♦An inner energy needed to accomplish something.
♦A desire to achieve a goal.
The best description? Motivation is the inner driving force that gets you going. It’s usually seen in a positive light – when you feel motivated, you feel good. Unmotivated, you feel bad.
Being motivated does not mean YOU are good or bad. In South Africa, where we have a high crime rate, you will find that the criminal mind is highly motivated. A criminal sets a goal to rob a house and has the inner energy and motivation to reach that goal.
Motivation is part of your human conditioning and it is possible to affect your motivation levels. This is good news, because it means you can empower yourself to achieve your dreams. In this book you’ll learn and practice different ways to up your motivation levels. The more you practice, the better you will get!
One of the quickest and easiest ways to get motivated is to socialise with achievers and people with similar interests or goals. Drive and positive attitudes are contagious. Mix with people who are negative and miserable and it won’t be long before you feel the same. You do have the power to choose with whom you socialise – use that power!
Be grateful when you feel motivated. Be even more grateful when you learn how to change from an unresourceful, unmotivated state to an energetic, motivated state. Now you hold the key to success.
“We
