Theories on Life: The Power of Action
An entire industry of self-help gurus has emerged over the last few decades. Self-professed master motivators who deal in platitudes to pay for lavish lifestyles. You too can have this success if you just listen to me!
The truth is, much of what they say, and when I say they, I mean all of them, is true. All those same platitudes that get sold and resold to waiting ears. Told in different ways with different styles. They are all true. You’re great! You’re powerful! You can be successful too, just buy my $10,000 program. Positive mental attitude. Experience your emotions. Believe in yourself. Focus your energy. Yes, it’s great to feel good. Fantastic to feel motivated. But usually, it’s just for a while.
Sadly, the whole “positive mental attitude” sector has become like the crack of the drug scene. Attend a conference, drop a bunch of cash, and presto, you're high for a while, but then it quickly fades when reality sets in. So off to another conference you go. Then maybe it’s the DVD set, or subscription, yes, a subscription, those are very profitable. The DVD gathers dust and the subscription keeps on keeping on while you tell yourself you’re going to watch that, or do this. And what really happens? Nothing. Status quo. You felt good for a while, then either you buy more crack, or different crack, and the cycle begins again.
Ok, so let’s start with the obvious. Nothing truly worthwhile comes without some level of hard work and self-motivation. That’s what all those soothsayers are preaching more than anything, is self-motivation. They are motivating you to be self-motivated! But here’s the thing, they are pushing on the relationship between how you feel and what you do. If you can think this way, or feel this way, it impacts what you can do. Think positive, positive things will happen.
I couldn’t agree more, but let’s face it, it’s hard, if not impossible to simply change the way you think. If you struggle with mental health like anxiety or depression, go through difficult times, or just generally are not a self-motivated person for one reason or another, spending a couple of hours getting pumped up by a motivational speaker isn’t going to change you in a meaningful way. It may for a while, but like everything else worthwhile, change only comes through hard work.
And that is where it is. The way out. The way up. It’s the work. Yes, there is a relationship between how you feel, and how you perform. A positive mental attitude is certainly the way forward to better success in business and in life in general, but the real question is, how do I get it? How do I find it? It’s hard work, literally. The self-help industry peddles a quick fix to a problem that cannot be quickly fixed.
It’s not just the relationship between how you feel, and how that impacts what you achieve; the opposite is much more important. It is the relationship between your actions and how they make you feel that is the secret to motivation, the true path to positive feelings and emotions. The effect is cumulative. Do something nice for someone. Feel good about it. Show up early for work every day. Feel good about that. Clean your home, your room, feel good about that too. Get some exercise, go for a walk, and feel even better.
Here’s the thing, you can’t just snap your fingers and say, I now have a positive attitude. And no amount of someone telling you to have a positive attitude or outlook is going to change that. It only comes from within. But it can be done. It can be built from within with a thousand tiny steps of habitual activity that you do every day, every week, every month. Building one upon the other. I get up at this time, no matter how I feel. I clean up after myself. I don’t miss work. When I’m at work, I work. I try to eat well. I exercise on a schedule, even if it’s just a walk. I commit to these things and others regardless of how I feel, knowing that over time they will make me better. I do the things that make me feel good, that make me feel like I’ve done something worthwhile, however insignificant they may seem on their own. You don’t have to build a real-estate empire overnight to feel good, you just have to go for a walk, paint a picture, or make a nice meal. It’s all the little things.
If you’re in sales, all those little things add up to increased success, because you feel better. So, when you’re not feeling your best, or not feeling overly motivated, stay focused on the small tasks you do every day, whether it’s at work, or away from work and you will feel better and begin to build a foundation of life and work habits that can lead to a powerful sense of self-worth and motivation. Good luck.
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