Step by Step Guide to Staying Motivated
Motivation: A cocktail of meaning, purpose, and ego-strength
– Tiffany Shelton, M.A. is a conscious lifestyle blogger and training to become a neuropsychologist in Los Angeles, CA. Her passion to elevate consciousness incorporates brain science, psychology, and spiritual philosophies and goes beyond the message of self-care or wellness, but instead consciously adds to these movements by demanding awakening and insight. Learn more about Tiffany Shelton by clicking here.
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“Think like a Queen. A Queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
You likely agree with me that motivation is a key element to success. And as a conscious go-getter you may have wondered how to create sustainable motivation to go after your dreams. Many proclaim to know the secrets to motivation, but sometimes it can be hard to translate corny motivational quotes into specific action.
What’s the real story behind motivation?
There are many techniques and strategies to stay motivated, but at it’s core motivation is made up of meaning, purpose, and ego-strength. 1) The meaning we give to outcomes, 2) the meaning we make of ourselves and 3) the meaning we make of the world around us affects what we are motivated to do and achieve. The meaning we give to things speaks to our purpose in life and the two go together hand in hand. Lastly, meaning and purpose ignite together to create a third: ego-strength which gives you the fire to take action towards your goals.
Bottom Line?
Motivation truly IS a fire inside! The meaning you place on yourself and the world is the wood, the purpose you inhale from the most High is the air, and self-determined actions are the much needed movement which all come together to light a fire within your soul.
That’s not all, the key reason meaning and purpose fuel motivation is because they help to define your true Self. Meaning and purpose are the tools that allow your True Self to stand up inside of yourself, no matter how you feel, and control your behavior and actions in ways that bring you closer to your goals.
What are the specifics?
Although I would love to exclusively use this fire metaphor to explain my point, I will get to the specifics. Staying motivated is truly about creating a space where your True Self can stand up and take control. It involves:
- executive functioning,
- self-esteem,
- and a willingness to fail and learn.
It also involves fueling your inner fire, not just with heat (drive), but with action (behaving in ways that align with your drive) and air (inspiration from the God/Universe/Your Higher Calling). When I discuss the third chakra below, I will explain this metaphor in more detail.
But my point is this: Motivation is made up of many elements and has nothing to do with laziness or weakness. Hopefully by learning about some of the elements that comprise the fire of motivation you can see where you may have weaknesses and learn to overcome them with your strengths.
Why Does this Matter?
You can live a life where motivation is constantly refueling itself! Imagine not worrying about your passion fizzing out. Let go of those days that you don’t “feel like” working.
In this article, I will break down the components of motivation to help you do exactly that.
Here are three elements to know about yourself that will help you increase your motivation and get things done!
Know Your Purpose (AIR)
Victor Frankl’s work offered us many gems that help us understand how meaning and purpose fuel motivation. In his teachings and books like Man’s Search for Meaning, he discusses how the primary motivational force in life is to find meaning. This is something that he theorized as an inherent drive for mankind. Just like we are driven to find food, shelter, and safety, we are also driven to find meaning in life. So whatever arena you are trying to find motivation in, it is important to explicitly align it with your purpose in life. For more information on how to specifically align your goals with your purpose, read my blog on manifestation here.
Essentially man has a burning desire to find meaning in life, and that force can be used to our advantage.
Use your inherent desire to find your life’s purpose, as it is the AIR that breathes purpose into your goals. Let this inspirational force fuel your will power.
If you are finding it difficult to just figure out your purpose, “This is your immediate work”, as our fairy Godmother Oprah states. A great way to work on finding your purpose is to connect with your Higher Power, or a something outside of yourself. Prayer and meditation on the meaning of life are useful in evaluating your purpose. Another way to unlock your purpose is to get into a flow state. Get out in nature, be creative, and take note of what inspires and motivates you.
Finally, Lululemon offers a great tool on goal setting that can help you delineate your purpose more specifically.
Inspiration is the feeling that makes work no longer feel like work. When we are inspired work turns to play, and we are highly motivated beings when it comes to play. Find inspiration in your work and life. Beyond keeping an inspirational life full of nature and art, also be sure to find ways to bring these elements into your work life. Much of what keeps me motivated to write and research is because I am so inspired by the human spirit. I stay motivated to market because I love creating aesthetically appealing visuals that align with my message.
Reference: Molden, D. C., & Dweck, C. S. (2000). Meaning and motivation: A Volume in the Educational Psychology Series. In C. Sansome, & J. M. Harackiewicz (Eds.), Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: The search for optimal motivation and performance: A Volume in the Educational Psychology Series (pp. 131-153). San Diego: Academic Press.
Know Your Worth (Wood)
Achievement motivation is largely based on the meaning we place on failures. Do you view failures as opportunities to learn or confirmations of low self-worth? In an article dissecting achievement motivation, researcher Scott T. Rabideau, beautifully explains how our own self-worth and self-perception affects what we are motivated to do and achieve. Viewing failure as a confirmation of your incompetence can:
- Lead to fear of situations and tasks that can expose your inherent flaws
- Affect the goals we set
- Easily turn to self-helplessness
- Lead to acceptance of mediocre performance and outcomes.
There is a specific type of motivation called achievement motivation that scientists have researched heavily trying to understand what increases our motivation to achieve. The article discussed above defines achievement motivation as “the need for success or the attainment of excellence. Individuals will satisfy their needs through different means, and are driven to succeed for varying reasons both internal and external”.
Reference: Rabideau, S. (2005, October). Effects of Achievement Motivation on Behavior. Retrieved from http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/rabideau.htm
Those internal reasons are largely about self perception and knowing your worth. A summary of the existing data on achievement motivation makes it clear that cultivating positive self-esteem and confidence is key to sustaining high levels of motivation. Also, many times what we are motivated to do is stifled by fears of revealing our greatest insecurities.
I can’t emphasize this enough…
Rejoice in your failures! They are only there to give you gems. Like my favorite Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh explained, a lilly needs mud to grow. Your failures are your mud. The lessons from them are your lillies. So don’t let fear of failure stop you from achieving. Rejoice in failures and stay motivated to challenge yourself and grow.
Know Your Third Chakra (Action)
Action, confidence, and willpower come together in the third chakra with wood and air to produce fire! If you think about starting a fire, nothing will happen with just blowing air (inspiration) on wood (meaning); however, when we add external energy, kinetic energy, we begin to see sparks. Keep blowing (being inspired) and adding wood (gaining value and meaning), and a fire ignites.
That external force, only comes from reaching down inside of yourself and willing yourself to act out of pure self-determination. This means controlling your watery emotions of the second chakra that could douse your fire, and using executive functioning skills like attention and perseverance to move yourself to purposeful action.
Which brings me to the most important point about self-determined action: FOCUS!
Action without focus is NOT third chakra motivational action. In order to start this fire inside, a fire aligned with your true purpose, you need focus. TD Jakes has a powerful sermon on focus, where he uses the metaphor of using a magnifying glass to focus the heat from the The Great Sun to start a fire. Focusing your efforts will help you stay motivated to continue to hustle each and every day.
Here’s the deal:
There are couple different reasons focus helps you stay motivated. First, if you have a focused and clear plan, when it’s time to work you will be able to jump into tasks quickly without the chaotic confusion of trying to figure out what to do. This means prioritizing your time, money, and energy.
Another reason focus helps to keep your motivation in check is because it allows you to channel your energies into your greater purpose. In turn, this will help you reach success in the most conscious way.
The Best Part:
When you begin to focus your energies to align with your purpose, you will see your motivational fire go up in flames, blazing through any obstacles in their way. BUT because no fire is eternal, it will eventually dim. The secret is: It will rise again as you allow yourself to go through the process again.
So….
- Staying inspired is key. Stay in nature, read inspiring literature, create art and poetry. This is the air that naturally starts the process over again.
- Also, simultaneously stay involved in actions that fuel a healthy development of your self-esteem. Take risks and be willing to learn from your failures, and give yourself credit for surviving them and learning new insights.
- And you will see, with the combination of these two you will be propelled to movement. You will be eager to do what it takes to confidently share your passion with the world.
- Focus this energy to align with your purpose and soar!
I’ll end with this affirmation:
You are Divinely Motivated
If you truly want honor your divinity, then you have to let Her take the wheel. That means staying motivated on your unique journey to success. Light a fire inside of you, and let’s get these blessings!
– Tiffany Shelton, M.A. is a conscious lifestyle blogger and training to become a neuropsychologist in Los Angeles, CA. Her passion to elevate consciousness incorporates brain science, psychology, and spiritual philosophies. This passion goes beyond the message of self-care or wellness, but instead consciously adds to these movements by demanding awakening and insight. Learn more about Tiffany Shelton by clicking here.
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Good luck staying motivated! Namaste.
