Today’s message is especially dedicated to Nate Kunnen and Dan Beedle in Michigan.
How soon ‘not now’ becomes ‘never’.
-MARTIN LUTHER, German priest
By request, I was asked to blog about how to sustain motivation and how to persist and have inner strength. Two separate requests which are actually related.
It’s that time of year where people are looking to become more fit, get better grades, be a better romantic partner or save more money. I don’t know if I am a fan of New Year’s Resolutions, but I do know that most people don’t stick with them.
Do you want to be like most people?
Today, one of my students told me that in school they were making New Year’s Resolutions. The teacher said that most people don’t stick with their resolutions, so this year they were going to make resolutions they definitely couldn’t break, like:
1. Ice skate with the Queen of England.
2. Eat a live frog.
3. Date a Sports Illustrated model.
When I heard this assignment, I said to myself, “NO! This teacher doesn’t get it.”
It’s not about just keeping your resolution, is it?
To me, resolutions are made to better yourself, to kick-start a new you. And to lead by example so that everyone around you wants to become better as well.
It’s January 3rd…Everyone is motivated right now. But by the last week of January, most resolutions will be broken.
So how do you sustain motivation?
How do you persist and gain inner strength?
1. Understand that motivation is not a feeling, it is an ACTION. Do what you need to do, when you need to do it, whether you feel like it or not.
2. Understand that you already have inner strength, but you have to make your goals important enough. Think of it this way, if someone knew that if they smoked a cigarette today, they would get lung cancer tomorrow, would they still do it? Of course not. So we have the will-power, we just have to exercise it.
3. Use my 15-minute rule when you don’t “feel” like persisting. Whatever it is you have to do (work out, study, make calls, clean the house), just do it for 15 minutes and then you can stop. But you won’t. Once you start you get into it and you will keep going. But most people don’t even begin.
I planned on going to the gym tonight after work at 9pm, but I didn’t feel like it.
I did it anyway.
Why?
Because anyone can do something when they feel like it. I like doing things when I DON’T feel like it.
So tonight, I not only worked out my body, I worked out my mind.
You can too.
Final words:
Don’t quit, can’t fail.
