“The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions.” – Claude Levi-Strauss
How long does your motivation last? Are you motivated to get up every morning and work towards your goals? And If not, how long have you felt de-motivated up until this point? Does motivation come easy to you or only in bursts?
If you’ve yet to find the answers to your questions I can understand your frustrations. I can relate to each and everyone of you, trust me. I have “those days” where I feel like a chunk of my self motivation has been sucked right out of me. For no apparent reason at all.
It’s as if some mysterious force just comes along and steals it from you when you’re not looking. And worst of all, your energy levels and the excitement of working towards your goals suddenly drops. It hurts, right?
But as with most problems there’s always a solution. Get motivated by asking these 3 powerful questions today.
1. What’s my purpose?
“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” – John F. Kennedy
You can go through your day to day life putting as much effort in as you like. And you can push yourself over the edge as much as you want to stay motivated. Because the truth is none of that will matter. None of that will have lasting effects.
If you haven’t asked yourself – “what’s my purpose” then that’s the reason you’re lacking the motivation to keep going everyday. You need to have a purpose If you expect to be constantly driven, determined and dedicated to make it happen.
You need to know what purpose you’re living for, what purpose you’re trying to fulfill, and you need to be clear about it. Don’t just ask the question – “what’s my purpose”, get a pen and paper and start writing down the answers.
And make an effort of reading that purpose everyday. Keep it on the top of your mind so you can continue to stay motivated.
2. Why am I doing this?
“There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we are born and the day we discover why.” – William Barclay
The second most powerful question you can ask yourself is why am I doing this? Most of us wake up every morning to go to work 9 – 5, part time or whatever, and we don’t even know what it is we’re working for.
If you were to knock on 100 houses and ask each person why they work, they’d give you a vague answer at best. Something similar to – “to pay my bills”, etc. The WHY we’re doing whatever it is we’re doing and striving for is so important.
Jim Rohn, who’s known as the god father of personal development once said – “reasons can change your life” and he’s right. What are your reasons? Why are you doing what you’re doing?
Why are you striving for success? Why do you want to achieve your goals so badly? Start writing down the answers and remind yourself everyday to stay motivated!
3. Who am I doing this for?
Asking “who am I doing this for” is the third powerful statement you can use to get back on track. In general, human beings are selfish and we only think of ourselves for the most part. And by the way, being selfish isn’t a bad thing. Depending on what it is.
But If you expect to have the motivation to push forward and persevere, thinking only of yourself won’t help you. Lets say your goal is to become a successful in the fashion industry, who are you doing it for? Yourself? Of course, but who else?
Are you doing it for your family, so they can reap the benefits of your success? Are you doing it for your kids so they’ll never have to live a life of poverty?
Are you doing it for your wife or husband? Are you doing for society so you can inspire and motivate them when you’re successful?
Knowing who you’re doing something for can make all the difference. Me personally, I work towards my goals everyday for my family’s sake. And I do it so I can reach more people, teach more people, and make a massive difference in people’s lives.
That’s who I’m doing it for, but the question is – who are you doing it for? Once you find that out you’ll be wondering why you ever lacked self motivation in the first place!
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Featured image source: Tom via flickr
