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Do you feel like slapping the energizer bunny or stealing it’s batteries today? When on the verge of depletion we are often desperate for a way to get and stay motivated…

When we relate intangible concepts, like motivation, to tangible objects it makes the topic seem more real making it more understandable.  This is my goal every time I put my fingers on the keyboard…

Motivation is an illusive word. You know when you don’t have it.  Some days you’d do anything to get it.  But what is motivation?  How do you get and stay motivated? 

To me motivation is like a generator.  A generator is something used to provide power/electricity to something else, be it a house, a car, a business etc.  In the human mind motivation is the electricity that helps you to keep going.

When you are worn down how do you build and operate our own self-motivation generator to keep going instead of attacking the cute pink energizer bunny?  Below are a few tips just for you:

1. Start with where you’re at:  Take note of how you feel.  Ask yourself, honestly, where are you at? Don’t judge your answer.  This will tell you if you need to turn the generator on today or if you can function off of your motivational reserves.

2.  Based on where you’re at, do you give today or do you need today? Now that you’ve been honest about where you’re at the next step is to decide if you need to turn the generator on and what type of fuel goes into your tank or if you can lend someone else fuel by being a good listener; performing a random act of kindness etc.  So how do you fill your tank if it’s empty? Did you really need to go to bed early when you get home?  Do you need a half hour of alone time?  If you don’t speak up about your needs no one will know.  It’s not selfish to fill your tank – in some ways its selfish not to.  It’s like your driving with your family and you say “We’re okay we have plenty of gas” and then you’re stuck on I-75 without a way to get home.  Not meeting your own needs is the same thing.  When we run out of gas what is the end result?  Isolation, anger, loss of passion, loss of focus etc.  Remember the whole airplane thing; we have to put our own oxygen mask on to help other people.  You can’t give what you don’t have.

3.  Just Do It: This is the last step.  Decide to take action.  No one else but you is responsible for your happiness and motivational level.  You know your baseline, if you should turn your generator on, you know if it needs gas, you know that it’s you that has to put gas in the tank.  Now you have to let it run to get you up that hill!

You need to believe that you can do it, remind yourself that you’ve done it before, that yes it may have been tough but you know what?  As tough as it is remember that time you went through that get really, really, really hard trial and you didn’t die you slowly came back to yourself?

Will you chose to believe in yourself today? Your belief in self is what helps you to take action.

Copyright 2014 – 2015, Mary R. Miller Author of “The Birth of a Dream Catalyst: Unlocking the Dream from Within”