Candle & Fire:

Tom was tired when he went to see his mentor Dwyer.  They sat quietly in Dwyer’s old cabin, whittling wood with their knives in front of the fireplace when Tom finally spoke up.

“I don’t know how you do it,” he said.  “Do what?” asked Dwyer.  “I don’t know how you stay motivated to help people after so many years.  I feel like giving up and I’ve hardly started.”   Dwyer smiled wryly and replied, “Can you blow out that candle for me?”  Tom did as he was asked.  “Now, can you blow out this fire?  Dwyer asked.  “Don’t be silly,” Tom replied, “Of course I can’t.”

Dwyer put down his knife and his piece of wood and looked his protegé in the eye.  “When your motivation is as small as the candle’s flame, it’s easy to extinguish, but when it rages like the fire you see before you, nothing can blow it out.”

My challenge to you is to find a reason for doing what you do that can’t be extinguished when you feel tired, when you come up against obstacles and when you don’t feel as though you are making any progress.  If you don’t have a compelling reason to press on, it’s too easy to give up.

So let me ask you, is your motivation level like a candle or a fire?

And what are you going to do to keep it from dying down?

MOTIVATION IS IMPORTANT !!!

A feeling of motivation isn’t just nice, it is very powerful and important. The difference between someone motivated and someone unmotivated is like night and day. A motivated person can do far more and is far more capable...

IF YOU want to feel better and get more done, first you need at least one goal. You need something to aim at.  Human beings are goal-achieving at their best. This is one of the most basic principles of success, sanity, and mental health.

Once you have something to aim for, you have two things to concern yourself with: Motivation and demoralization. You already know what to do about demoralization: Use the antivirus for your mind. That will prevent setbacks from taking away your motivation.  When you first create a goal, you are already motivated. The moment you choose it, you’re highly motivated.  You chose the goal in the first place because you’re motivated to accomplish it.

“How can motivation be refreshed?” How can you enhance your own motivation? How can you boost it when it’s sagging?

Here you are now, with a goal and somewhat motivated. Let’s see what we can do to cultivate your motivation. Let’s see what we can do to make your motivation healthy and robust. What is motivation’s water and fertilizer?

Here are seven of the most potent ways of growing and maintaining a lasting, energizing feeling motivation.

Prune your goals.
Make a list, put it in order.
Keep the level of challenge just right.
Measure your progress.
Read and listen to motivational material.
Take the time to think.
Refresh your goals.
I once heard a phrase that has stuck with me ever since. When you make a list or chart your progress or put a motivational slogan on your bathroom mirror, you are creating “a structure of fulfillment.” You’re making your progress easier. You’re making it easier for your goals to be accomplished. You’re making the fulfillment of your desires more likely.

If you make structures to help you, you can fulfill more of your potential. A good part of cultivating a feeling of motivation is creating structures of fulfillment that make success easier or faster. Success is motivating. Focus is motivating.

The seven principles above give you structures of fulfillment. They will help you keep your motivation high. And your high motivation will help you accomplish your most heartfelt goals.

Whether or not you achieve your goals depends almost entirely on your motivation. Think about that. Let it sink in. It is entirely possible that you will never achieve your goals. But if you do, it was because you were motivated. If you don’t, it was because you weren’t motivated enough.