Let's Get Motivated

What motivates you? The answer to that is not a simple one. Every aspect of our lives has it's own set of motivators or demotivators. Every decision we make is motivated by some outside source that sparked our thought processes. We tend to think of motivation only when we are dealing with the bigger issues. Like diet, exercise, or some life-changing event that could transform us. Truth is, everything we do is motivated from something else. We have simply learned to do them without thinking about the motivation that brought us to do it in the first place. Much motivation is subconscious. Our parents had a lot to do with our motivation and decision making when we were children. Everything, from the beginning, was them trying to motivate us to learn new things. Those motivations carry over into adulthood. We just don't think about it any more. You brush your teeth every day. You don't stop and think what your motivation was for doing it.

So the exercise for today is to examine everything (yes, I said, everything) that motivated us. It's a deep thinking exercise, designed to help you better understand who you are, and how you come to the decisions you do everyday. By looking at the mundain things in our life, we are more able to observe the bigger picture of who we are and where our motivations stem from. It allows us to take a peek at how our brains work.

Here's what I want you to do. Get a pad of paper (preferably new,with enough pages for you to make lists, jott notes, etc...). First thing in the morning make a list, with as much detail as possible, of everything you have planned for that day. Leave space between entries to add in things you do that were unplanned (no day goes exactly as planned, ever). Keep it with you so you can enter everything you have done.

All the small stuff counts. That's why this is such a deep thinking exercise. So you might want to pick a day you're home from work until you feel comfortable carrying your notebook everywhere with you. The first time you do this exercise is like a training run for you to get the hang of it. I know it sounds like a big pain in the butt. Your hard work will pay off in the end. Hang in there. It's all for the sake of good. It can be fun if you want it to be. I personally love a challenge.

Here is an example of what a typical list might look like:

• made coffee
• brushed teeth
• got dressed
• read e-mail
• called mom
• sent text to daughter
• watered lawn
• read e-mail
• twittered
• skipped breakfast/made lunch
• made bed
• went to store for cigarettes
• took a walk
• etc...

On and on until your day is done. Pick a quiet time to relax before you go to bed to sit and go over your list one by one. Next to each entry write why (what made you decide)you did what you did. This may take some real thinking, and some of your answers might seem silly to you. You have to remember that you don't normally think about why you do the things you do every day. The easiest way to aproach it is not to think too hard about every little thing. Your first thoughts are usually the ones to go with. Your inner mind will work for you if you allow it.

Once you have gone through the whole list, put it away.(Do not read over it. Do not change anything.) Sleep on it. Then when you have some time for yourself the next day, read over it. You will have a pretty good look at how your mind works. You are looking at yourself (at least a snapshot of yourself in one day and time) and seeing how you processed your way through the day.

This can be helpful in a many ways. You might find how you could better manage your time. You might find you drift through your day without much direction. You might find yourself to be too ridgid, not daring to stray off the beaten path. You might wonder why you're not motivated to do more with yourself (for yourself). You might find that you spend way too much time thinking of other people, and not enough on youself. The possibilities are endless. The door to self exploration is open. You might even want to try it another day to compare one day to the other.

Tomorrow we'll talk about what you can do for yourself once you have a better idea what motivates you through most of your day. How to throw out the negitive and keep the positive influences to make you stronger and more productive. We will talk about good motivation and bad motivation in our lives. How to recognise when what motivates you could be bad for you.

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I'm a good listener and can offer life advice, perspective, motivation...it's all about you.