DECEMBER 8, 2021
You’ve watched a motivational video. You are all pumped to take action and turn your whole life around, You have a fire burning within you, and you’re thinking, “This is it! I just needed this pump of motivation, and now I will become successful!”
How many days do that pump and motivation last, though? Be honest. Not more than a few days, right? While you are in that moment thinking, “Yes! I am going to smash through all my goals!” you don’t even persist long enough to pass through a few days of toil and then just give up again.
You don’t want that, right?
You truly desire to achieve that magical state that all motivational videos on YouTube talk about. They say, “Put in the hustle. Keep working. Find your passion. Be inspired. Have a burning desire. Push through. Persist. Face challenges and fears head-on. Keep improving. Don’t settle.” While these words sound good in the videos and seem magical on-screen, you find the reality when you have to implement them.
They say, “Keep pushing. Put in the hustle, and don’t give up.” What does this really mean? What does the word hustle even mean?
Can you see the problem now? Listening to all motivational speeches on YouTube gives you the push, but you don’t understand the true essence of what the videos talk about.
Let’s just pick up the phrase, “Put in the hustle.” It just doesn’t mean that you’ve to hustle. It means that when it is 1 AM, and you still have some things left to do, you push through, and you do that and sleep at 3 AM to wake up at 8 AM again and start over. That’s the true meaning of hustle. It is not just the words but the action that matters.
And I know what you’re thinking right now, “Are these motivational videos, quotes, and even books just empty words?” Well, the answer is no. They aren’t empty words just because you might not have understood what’s being said and how you can implement it in your life.
I can tell you one thing: if you pick up one motivational video and apply it entirely in your life, your life will start changing. That’s when you will realize that these are not empty words. These are magical words.
The real problem isn’t really in the videos or the books. It is in how we understand and implement these words; otherwise, they’ll just remain empty words.
We can get motivated for a few days, but without the persistence of understanding and applying what the words truly say, the motivation won’t bring any change or success.
What’s the solution, then?
Simple. You need to build persistence and sustained motivation that comes from within and pushes you to take action.
Being dependent on external motivation is like taking painkillers after spraining your ankle. When you take one pill, it goes inside of you and releases certain chemicals that immediately affect the pain you’re feeling. But after a few hours, the effect of the pain killer starts to wear off, and the pain comes back again. It doesn’t solve the problem. It just makes you feel better.
If just painkillers won’t solve the problem and heal your ankle, then what will? Getting the proper physiotherapy, massaging, and icing the ankle will heal it. These processes might not be as instant as painkillers, but they solve the problem.
Similarly, external motivation, like watching videos and reading a few quotes, is like taking a painkiller. And being persistent and internally motivated to take action will push you through all challenges and get you to real success.
What we’ve to figure out is how to build that persistence.
And that too is simple! Persistence comes from being internally motivated because, in the face of challenges, all you need to push through is motivation, and it must come from within.
Just imagine this scenario. You are doing a course and learning a complicated skill. You are feeling bored and demotivated to do it. And so you say, “Let’s watch a motivational biopic, and then I will get back to my course.” Does it make sense? Instead of just pushing through and going through the course, you spend a few hours getting motivated. Then after a few hours, you might feel a little demotivated, so would you go and watch another movie or a YouTube video to motivate yourself. No, right?
That’s why internal motivation is critical. When you are pumped up to do something, you’ll get things done, and you’ll start getting into the magical state all motivational videos talk about.
And building internal motivation isn’t as difficult as memorizing physics formulas in school! It is much easier!
Here’s how:
- Know why you’re doing what you’re doing. When you’re exhausted and feel you can’t take another step or stay awake for 30 more minutes, but you need to get things done too, it can be a pretty confusing situation, but it doesn’t have to be!
In these moments, you must be internally motivated so that you push through, and the best way to do that is to remind yourself of why you started in the first place.
Purpose is powerful. And when you take a few moments to clarify precisely why you’re doing what you’re doing before you start, it can act as a great motivating factor that pushes you further. And when you face the roadblocks in between like challenges, exhaustion, etc., you’ll remind yourself of your purpose, your destination, and how far you’ve already come. And you’ll naturally say to yourself, “I won’t give up now. Let’s do it!” - Keep track of your progress. When we get too caught up in a problem, we can forget about the distance we’ve covered and lose view of the bigger vision. And in those moments, we think, “Let’s just let it go. Nothing can happen now.”
But when we see that we’ve already come so far and that there’s no turning back, then the internal motivation rises, and we push through with persistence.
Keep a schedule of weekly, monthly, or quarterly progress and review. Sit down for a few hours and reflect. How have I improved? What distance have I covered? What can I do better?
With this reflection, you’ll be motivated by seeing the progress you’ve made and how much you’ve grown, and when you reflect on how you can improve, you channelize that motivation and grow even further. And the persistence grows in you. - Keep a positive and motivating environment. The kind of people you surround yourself with and the environment you live in affect your motivation and inner drive a lot!
When you surround yourself with positive, helpful, uplifting people who are on a level a little higher than you, you have an example to look forward to. When you feel negative, upset, and confused, that community will be there to uplift you and show you that you can do more!
And when you create a positive environment and surround yourself with your goals and vision, you are always in touch with the bigger picture, and you can see where you’re headed, which gives you a lot of motivation!
I have made a vision board for myself, and each morning, I take about 15 minutes and write down everything I’ve mentioned on the vision board. Through this exercise, I connect with my vision right before starting my day, which motivates me a lot.
Experiment and try new things. Something might work for you while something might not. You will find a way that keeps you motivated and persistent!
You are made for great things. You can do so much more than what you’re doing right now. And you don’t have to go through the cycle of watching something motivational and then falling back again. From now on, you are on the path to success, glory, and abundance because you are persistent!
Ready. Set. Go! It’s time to go get your dreams now!
Partnering in your success, happiness, and growth,
Prabhsimrat