Mastering Motivation

How long do you spend each day getting ready for work? 30 minutes? An hour? And how much time do you spend each day grooming your emotional and spiritual health? If you're like me, your outer appearance may be getting a disproportionate amount of attention.

In my recent quest to discover what really motivates me so that I might try to focus my energies on goal setting, I have made some rather simple but important discoveries. First of all, I think motivation and thereafter goal setting is not an event that should be completed once or even once in a while, but rather a daily exercise to focus your mental energies & activities on the things that are most important to you.

I had some trouble lately figuring out what those things were - particularly in relation to my business goals. Not wanting to simply set an empty financial goal that had no meaning behind it, I sought a method to find true meaning in my work & life pursuits beyond what I have done in the past. I wasn't sure where to turn so, as mentioned in my previous blog, I just decided to "sit and wait at that crossroad and see what would come to me." Wow was I surprised! Things started to arrive in many different forms. Messages from friends and associates who were either sharing the same kind of experience (thank goodness I am not alone in this quandary!) or messages with words of wisdom or advice. I drank it in and thought about all that was generously given and about the network of friends that bolster us through tougher times and make the good times so much more enjoyable.

I checked into the suggested reading they offered and also found a few resources on my own as well. Some of those which have been immensely helpful include:

The Bible (good stuff!)

The Secret (watched the DVD again with two people who had never experienced it & with my daughter - we all had a lively and wonderful discussion about it)

Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill (really puts money in perspective particularly if you have a limited mindset about it)

Smart Talk by Lou Tice - always a favorite for positive thinking techniques

Prayer...that stuff works! Who knew! ;-)

Additionally, there have been many other interesting sources on the Internet for goal setting and motivation. Because of all this, I have ended up accidentally forming something of a daily ritual of working on my "inner self" more than the time spent in front of the mirror each day. The investment has been worthwhile.

While I haven't found the absolute meaning to life yet I have found that there is much joy in the daily exercise of pursuing higher goals and bettering yourself. The more information you gain, the more your motivations and goals become clear. Being open-minded to the discoveries you make is important.

Last Monday & Tuesday I attended a Turning Point Retreat with my business coaching company (Buffini & Company). I knew from past experience that there would be a section of one day dedicated to goal setting. I was dreading it with the the fear that I wouldn't be able to come up with any goals. To make matters worse, they added a section wherein you are to list rewards and celebrations for accomplishing those goals. At first glance, I was not feeling too skilled at this exercise.

But the messages, the books, the prayer, the study and the time spent each day just thinking about what motivates me & what's important in life culminated in a very productive experience with the goal setting and rewards exercise! I have some new goals now and subsequent rewards that make the work that's required to get there seem worthwhile. Thanks to Debra, my good friend, I am also going to take the items from the rewards list and build a vision board - a daily visual reminder of what it is I am working towards.

But the biggest gem from the whole exercise is the realization that the daily habit of working on your inner well being is the key. Having a positive mindset, keeping things in perspective, reflecting on your goals and motivations daily and having an attitude of gratitude & expressing it to those around you is a powerful collective experience when done in daily bite-sized pieces. Not every day is great but you can much more quickly pull yourself out from the rubble of a bad day with strength of these tools and exercises. I also realized that I don't have to figure it all out right now.

So in the spirit of gratitude, I want to thank all of you who responded privately and openly to the last blog entry and shared your thoughts and experiences with me. I am thankful for you and your insights and especially for your friendship. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!


P.S. I have sprinkled just a few of my vision board pieces in this blog just for fun. These are some of my "less profound" goals. It's fun to dream!