That Motivation Stuff Doesn't Work!

“We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” - Marcel Proust

I ran into an old acquaintance of mine awhile back and in the course of our conversation we got around to asking what each of us was doing. When I told him about SuccessNet, he said, “Oh, you’re in the motivation business.”

I acknowledged that motivation was part of what we did, even though that’s not quite the way I would have described it.

But then he said something interesting. He said, “I’ve tried that stuff before—went to hear one of those motivational speakers—but it didn’t last more than a day or so.”

I’d heard it before from others and I still don’t get it. Why would someone think that being motivated or inspired is something you should do once and never have to do again?

It reminded me of Zig Ziglar’s famous line, “Motivation doesn’t last, but neither does taking a bath. That’s why we recommend it daily.”

The process of getting and staying motivated is just that—a process. You are never done. Just as you feed your body every day, you need to feed your mind every day.

The problem is that most people’s mental diet is negative. It serves to de-motivate rather than motivate. Certainly one seminar or limited exposure to good information cannot be expected to overcome a lifetime of mental malnutrition.

We must stand guard at the doorway of our minds. If we don’t choose and control what goes into our mind, there’s no telling what will get in there.

I believe this is one of the reasons why we’re experiencing such rapid growth in our membership. Many people are realizing they need constant reminders and regular infusions of positive, stimulating and inspiring ideas.

To operate at our best we need support. There’s no need to try and go it alone. Anyone who has achieved great success did so with the help of many others. Why should we be any different?

The truth is, no one can really motivate us. Nor can we truly motivate others. All we can do is plant seeds and shape the environment that’s most conducive to growth and vigor.

We’re either self-motivated or self-defeated. But by taking control over what we read, listen to, see and experience, we position ourselves for success. We are motivated to do the things we need to do in order to achieve what we desire.

It’s been said that our lives will be the same in five years as it is today except for the books we read, the people we meet and the tapes we listen to.

By maintaining our exposure to the good, the clean, the powerful, the inspiring and the uplifting, we’re nourishing our minds and positively affecting our attitudes. It’s all about what we think about. And by creating the right environment and feeding our minds healthy things, our thinking will be the kind of thinking that keeps us motivated and inspired.

That “motivational stuff” may not last, but it does work.

What are the support systems you’ve put in place—or could put in place—to help you stay motivated? What are the actions you take regularly to help you operate at your best?