The Myth that you Need Motivation or Inspiration to Be Successful

Rev. Dr. Kitty Boitnott, NBCT, RScP

Heart-Centered Career Transition and Job Search Coach | Life Strategies Coach

One of the biggest mistakes most people make when seeking to achieve a goal is to wait to feel inspired and motivated. Imagine if everyone on the planet waited to feel motivated before getting any work done! Productivity would drop to nothing, and our economy would collapse.

Since productivity has improved over the years, it's not likely that it has anything to do with motivation other than people doing what they have to do to achieve a goal. 

They--or their employer--may set that goal. It doesn't matter who set it -- it's set, and someone will get it done. How sad that, in some cases, people fail at so many things simply by ignoring the fact that motivation isn't essential; only doing is. They sit around waiting for inspiration, wondering why everyone else is doing better than they are, and they're waiting for some spark of motivation that never arrives. You can avoid this issue by realizing the truth.

You may have heard of the myth of the "starving artist" who can't paint or the writer with "writer's block." Interestingly, these creative professions have the same tale. Like weight loss, there is some secret motivation that has to come before you can achieve success --some mysterious spark of inspiration that will get you off the couch and doing what you need to get it done. However, nothing could be further from the truth. 

Doing, Not Thinking, Gets Results

 Time and again, the people who are successful in their own lives are not people who wait for sparks of inspiration. They get out of bed every day, rain or shine, and do things that lead to their success. Successful painters paint daily, for example; if they hate marketing, they hire someone to do that for them. The successful writer writes every day; the successful doctor treats patients. If you want to be successful at something, do it. Live it. As you do, you will succeed.

Successful People Are Not Smarter Than You

Many people get blocked by thinking that successful people are better than or more intelligent than they are. The truth is, however, that successful people aren't any more intelligent. They are just more determined to meet their goals, and they act on that determination every day.

Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Learn about the acronym S.M.A.R.T which stands for specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timely. Every goal you set should meet this standard. After all, if you cannot be precise enough about what you want so that it can be measured and you can act on it realistically in a particular time frame, it's not a goal. Instead, it's a dream - -perhaps a pipe dream.

Envision Your Success

Some people think vision boards are a bunch of hocus pocus (I am not among those), but the truth is, being able to truly visualize yourself experiencing success will go far in helping you create success in your life. Some people are good at seeing it in their mind and believing it, but others need a more visual reminder of their goals.. So, try making a vision board to help you see your dream so you can decide how to make your S.M.A.R.T. goals.

Follow a Schedule

It can't be stated enough. Doers do. Successful people act. A to-do list won't cut it; you need to make a schedule and stick to it. For example, I recently joined a Club Pilates program. But joining wasn't enough. I had to start scheduling myself for classes and making myself go--even when I didn't feel like it. And that's just an example.

If you want to become an author,  start writing. Make a realistic schedule that you will follow to get the work done. Then let nothing stop you. 

Some authors decide to write a certain number of words every day. They don't monitor what they write. They don't edit themselves while they are writing. They just write!

Experience Success

Set some smaller goals so that you can feel what success is like. If you've never stuck to anything before, you can't know what success feels like, and you have nothing to push you forward. People who experience success like to share it again, and the more success you experience, the more you will realize that you can. It's self-fulfilling.

Repeat Everything

Once you have a plan that works for you, keep doing it again and again. With everything, you want to achieve, set a goal, and track your success. Then, do something daily toward achieving that goal. Do it again and again. It's that simple!

Motivation is a figment of the imagination and not something most people feel all that often. Most people get up in the morning after hitting the snooze button a few times, and many do not feel happy about doing certain things. Instead, they are happy about the result of their work, the "deliverable." Place your focus on that, and you will not need to rely on the myth of motivation. Instead, you will be successful because you did what needed to be done. 

What goal are you putting off because it feels daunting or even overwhelming? Are you interested in finding a new job or career next year? Are you avoiding getting started because you don't know where or how to start?

If so, the first step may be to make an appointment to chat with me about your specific situation to determine the next steps. For an appointment for a complimentary DiscoverySessionn, click here:  https://teachersintransition.com.

Let's get started.

Until next time.