“You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.”― Henry Ford
Motivation is a word used quite a bit when it comes to personal and professional development. From, losing weight, exercising more or quitting smoking on the personal side of our life.... to closing a sale, going for the promotion or creating that new product or service or company on the professional side of our life, there is something inside all of us that gets us up in the morning, and readies us up for our days activities, whatever they may be.
Of course those days turn into weeks, months and years...ultimately leading us down the path we have selected in our lives.
So, given the same level of needs or desires among different individuals, why are some more effective at achieving their goals in life than others?
Before we explore the answer, let's look at the definition of"Motivation".
Motivation is defined as "the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal, and elicits, controls and sustains certain goal-directed behaviors. It can be a driving force that compels or reinforces an action toward a desired goal, with roots in behavioral, cognitive and social areas". (Source: Wikipedia)
Simply put - If you have a need or a want, you take action to get or achieve it.
"Action" is the key difference between those that do and those that want to do but don't commit to the "action" part of the equation. I'm referring to "Thinkers" or "Wanters" versus "Doers" or "Executors"....one can be a thinker-- we all have to do that part-- however if a thought has no action behind it, it's just a thought.
Add "action" to the equation, and things start happening. We all have heard the term," every action creates a reaction" and that is so true in everything we do in life.
We exercise and the result is we initially become sore but ultimately our body starts reacting by firming up, we get more energy, we get stronger, feel better about ourselves, etc....
We close the sale, we get rewarded monetarily, get recognized, and confirm to our self and others that we have what it takes to consistently contribute to the revenue of our company......
We commit to invest, we start receiving income from our investments, which augments our salary and assists us financially throughout our working lives and retirement......
It's a cause and effect scenario. It's really that simple.
Of course motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on a regular basis.”― Zig Ziglar,
Have you ever tried to motivate others? I'm sure you know it is darn near impossible.. why is that?
It's because all we can do as bosses, parents, friends and authority figures in someone else's life is give them the tools to motivate them...offer the bonus when a sale occurs, time off once a project is completed, a treat when homework is done....but human nature is that we are all self-motivated individuals. WE have to want or need something in order to create that mindset that we are willing to put forth our own personal plan (thought and action) to achieve it. Otherwise guess what....it doesn't happen. It's just a dream, just another idea with no effort behind it. I truly believe in life we all mean to do it, but something comes up, we don't get around to it, we are tired, drained, stressed, too busy, etc.......that mindset my friends is exactly what separates the doers and the successful from the dreamers and the slackers.
Nobody can do that for us, how can we expect to do it for others? There is an old saying "you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink it". It rings true with individuals as well.