Motivation Is Not Out There: Start Looking Within

Motivation comes from within. True motivation is stored deep inside each of us and it is waiting for us to ignite its fires and to spark life into it. The only thing standing in between you and that motivation is, well, yourself.

Motivation is not out there. It’s not something we go looking for and suddenly stumble upon; I don’t know about you but I believe this because I have done a lot of looking and very little stumbling. It is not something that we find. It is something we awaken within us, and that is both terrifying and comforting at the same time.

Let’s take the terrifying bit out for a second and focus on the comforting part. Shall we?

If you have struggled with motivation – like yours truly – then this is good to know. The power lies within you, although there is a monster in the way that we will talk about in a minute, but first things first: all the power to motivate the living daylights out of yourself lies within yourself.

YOU are your own true source of motivation. You control it. You decide to turn it on or off. You choose to give it life or to sentence it to prison. You make those changes, without the help of experts or the knowledge of professionals or even the regular participation in motivational speeches and programs.

The Antidote For No Motivation

Sure, those things help you feel good and even motivate you to decision and action temporarily but soon, the effect wears off and you are back where you were. Soon, you are by yourself again, working at your desk on an idle Tuesday afternoon, and you have absolutely no motivation. Where did it all go when you need it the most? Where did that energized motivated person disappear to and what do you do now when you need some practical immediate boost of motivation to get through the afternoon?

What if you are motivated for the big picture of your life but still need to be pumped up from the start to finish of the week or from beginning to end of the day?

Well, you return to your “home” source. You feed yourself doses of day-to-day, minute-to-minute motivation. You do it by understanding your real motives for doing things, your real values in life, your true purpose and the ways that you want to make a difference in the world. Those are the questions to ask yourself, every day if need be, until you get to the answers and the answers will feed your motivation.

What are your real values?

What is your true purpose?

How do you intend to make a difference?

The answers to these questions will become your constant source of motivation. And the answers don’t come overnight. Be patient and keep asking the questions every day. Think hard about what it really means to you, because when you lock in to the right answers, you will start to awaken your motivation.

The Motivation Is Found In The Answers

Then keep repeating the answers to yourself daily. When you are at peace with your answers, when they feel right to you, that’s when your motivation bubbles up to the surface when you need it, because you have clarity and your motivation will act as a reminder for that clarity.

But what about that monster that I mentioned, the one that we all have to battle at one level or another?

Well, that would be your mindset. That would be the way you choose to take it all in. That would be your perspective, your take on life, and your lens into the world.

Your mindset is beyond powerful and it can make or break all this for you.

It is the difference between you deciding whether you are indeed your own source of motivation or not. It is between you believing in yourself or doubting yourself. It is between you taking charge of your life or allowing it to be swayed every which way by outside forces and influences.

Your mindset is the difference between you choosing a path of scarcity or a path of abundance.

So, I would say answer the questions, tame the monster, choose carefully, and awaken that inner motivation to keep you company in all your minutes and hours and days ahead.

What do you think and how have you awakened your inner motivation lately?