Motivation is one of the stepping-stones, to a higher quality life. When you decide what you want to do this day, this week, this year, this life, you must be motivated or you will not get where you want to go.
We’ll talk about perseverance and meaning in later posts, part 2 and part 3, but for now let’s talk about motivation.
What is it that motivates you?
Motivation needs to be personal, specific, and compelling.
Personal
My motivation is not yours. Good thing, because it wouldn’t work for you anyway. For a motivator to work, it must be truly your own.
Don’t let others determine what your motivation “should be,” or worse, push their own motivations on you. That just doesn’t work. We’ve seen it time and time again.
Specific
Generic motivations are generally not solid enough either. Wanting world peace, to feed the hungry, make more money, have a happier marriage, or be healthy are all lofty motivations, but they’re not specific enough.
To be successful motivation needs to be specific. The more specific the better. I want to avoid another heart attack or I can’t stand this stinking job and I need to get out of here, are much more solid and specific.
Compelling
Is your motivation important enough, strong enough, or compelling enough, to motivate you to successfully achieve what you want? Weak, ambiguous motivators aren’t going to cut it.
If you look again at the specific motivations mentioned above, they are also probably important enough and compelling enough to keep you moving in the right direction. Avoiding a heart attack, or leaving a job that is causing you a tremendous amount of stress, are very strong motivators.
Let me give you a quick example, from my own life:
I go out for my morning run. I have good intentions. I usually have a specific goal in mind. But good intentions only go so far. If I don’t keep my motivation in front of me, I often fall short.
Think motivation. Keep it in front of me. Get results I want.
In my case, the motivation is more about improving my strength, endurance and energy in the immediate future. The quality of my long-term health and longevity are affected as well, but they are not compelling enough by themselves.
In addition, I have a very real and compelling desire to make the most of opportunities that others do not have. I feel almost a personal duty to move, because I have the ability to do so. This odd rationalization works for me.
I have legs, and I will darn well use them. I have health, and I will darn well guard it. I have the opportunity and the ability to run, and I will darn well grab it.
For me this is personal enough, specific enough, and important enough to get out there, and keep going.
Your turn
Think of a personal or work situation in your own life where you are not getting results.
What is your motivation?
Ask if that motivation meets these three requirements.
Is it personal, specific, and compelling?
Spin it around, tweak it and turn it on its head until you own it, it’s real, and it pulls at you.
How can you make motivation work for you?
Your guide to living well in every area of life. Freelance writer, Life Fulfillment Guide, Idea Curator, Life balance mentor, Productivity junkie, Book Addict. 
