The past decade of my life has been more satisfying and rewarding than the previous decades combined and I have finally figured out why. I did not know what I wanted for many years and thus, did not receive what I wanted. If you want to get what you want in your life, start out by deciding what that is and what that would look like in your life experience. Sound too simple? It is simple, and easy and it works every time.
Knowing what you want in life applies to all areas – relationships, business, material possessions, and more. And it comes down to lifestyle design, where you put together a composite of the life you wish to live and then work towards it every single day. Stay motivated each day by reminding yourself of the reason you want what you say you do – your “why” for desiring thing change in you life experience. This could be for a person or people in your life, or for some other reason entirely. Expect that what you want will happen and commit to doing whatever you need to do to make it your reality.
Find Your Motivation
Motivation, the word, comes from the root – motive, which means a reason for action or our “why” for choosing to do a particular thing. Motive comes from the Latin word motivus which means “to move.” So, basically, motivation is why we move. It’s why we do something, anything at any time. If we want to sustain and enhance our motivation, we need to get clear on the choices we’re making and the underlying process of sparking and sustaining our motivation.
To develop a motive for action, our mind, with or without conscious guidance, filters through various thoughts, feelings, and experiences, and chooses from them a set of reasons to do or not do something. Our mind’s clarity on and commitment to that choice dictates our level of motivation. If we are clear and committed, we will feel high levels of motivation. If we are unclear or uncommitted, motivation will be low. From this process comes a simple precept: The mother of motivation is choice. Our mind chose a reason for action, and it either committed to that choice or it did not, and thus we experience a high level of motivation or a low one. In this truth we find our greatest personal power, which is the ability to take over our brain’s impulses and to direct our minds to choices and commitments that will serve us in moving closer to our goals and dreams. Simply, we can choose our aim, and our reason for that aim, and a continued focus on the aim will arouse a desire for action, which we sense as energy—a motivating power within.
Give your constant attention and fully committed effort to your dreams, and your motivation will perpetuate itself. Demonstrate a positive “can-do” attitude as you strive for great things and take care to create a supportive environment of people and circumstances around you that amplifies your motivation. This will have the effect of increasing your effort a hundred times or more.
Get Clear About Your Priorities
You can’t change everything in every area of your life overnight, or even in a few weeks or months. How do I know this? I attempted to do this after making some bold resolutions one year around New Year’s Eve. My results were less than stellar. I was running myself ragged attempting to do everything I said I would do and finally I gave up. Then I felt like a failure for months before getting my bearings and starting over. It was the spring by then and I decided that eating healthier, eliminating sugar, and losing weight would become my priority. It was amazing to feel and see the difference as I succeeded with my goal.
Now I choose three areas of my life to focus on as a priority each year. For 2020 it will be my health, relationships, and my business. Within those wide areas I will choose aspects of each and focus on growth and change. For example, in the relationships area I will be working on my relationships with two family members who are important to me.
Climb Your Mountain One Small Step at a Time
Just as I found out after attempting to change everything I wasn’t happy with about myself and in my life in one fell swoop, the only strategy that works is to take it one small step at a time. I wanted to write; instead of starting yet another book and giving up a week later, I began blogging and writing two hundred-fifty word articles every day. Now I have authored more than twenty full length books and published over 1.8 million words.
I learned about tiny or small habits several years ago. It turns out that Aristotle was correct when he stated that “we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore is not an act, but a habit.”
And I am so thankful Aristotle used the word excellence, rather than perfection. Something in nature can be perfect, but our lives thrive on the pursuit of excellence in order for us to learn and grow.
If your life feels like a struggle on most days, remember that you are destined to success. It’s as if the cards are stacked in your favor when you must push through the debris and past the naysayers to arrive at the door of opportunity. Keep the faith during times of uncertainty and know that vision and clarity come faster with the blinders off, which may feel counterintuitive but will be revealed over time. And something else I have learned over and over again and which seems to not make common sense is that the people and situations we believe are holding us back can be the very ones that move us forward in leaps and bounds.
The Takeaway
Patience has a become a virtue I am very proud to have embraced. No matter what it is I wish to achieve in my life I know I can do it if I break it down into doable chunks that can be accomplished over time. It’s like the story of the tortoise and the hare, where dashing towards the finish line is not always the smartest strategy. Slow and steady wins this internal race we have with ourselves. Be accountable to yourself first and proud of what you create and build on always. Build upon yourself and know that with time you will be able to do more and more on your own.
You are exactly who you must be at this very moment. Believe the angels are conspiring in your favor and walk towards the light. There are few guarantees in life but this I know for sure; when you meet the universe at least halfway you are destined for greatness and all things great and small you have as your heart’s desire. Reach for the feelings rather than the objects and see if this is true for you as it is for me and the people I work closely with in my life and business. Following these precepts will move you forward at warp speed so that you will get what you want in life.
The new year has arrived and with it a clean slate for achieving our goals and creating the life we desire. Keep your planner or notebook with you every day to make some notes and to daydream on paper. Like anything else, it takes time to get into the habit of writing down what we want and how we will take inspired action to make it happen.
It’s important for you to stay in close communication with a mentor to make sure you are on track and moving in the right direction. With every step and action we take we are either moving closer to or further away from our goals. A mentor will listen and to guide you to the greatness you have inside of you.
I’m Connie Ragen Green, dancing through the universe and sliding into one great situation after another on my magic carpet of gems and sunshine.
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