Jump Into Action With Motivational Quotes
The Good, Bad, and The Ugly.
When was the last time you came across motivational quotes like the ones below?
“The key to success is action, and the essential in action is perseverance.” Sun Yat-sen
“Action is the foundational key to all success.” —Pablo Picasso
“Success doesn’t necessarily come from breakthrough innovation but from flawless execution. A great strategy alone won’t win a game or a battle; the win comes from basic blocking and tackling.”—Naveen Jain
“It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there will be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” —Mahatma Gandhi
The statement, “Action is the key to success,” as been touted by probably every motivational speaker who tries to get his audience fired up enough to act on their inspirations. The subject of taking action is so important that quotes can be found all over the Internet.
The importance of action to the accomplishment of any task is such common knowledge that you would think it goes without saying. Everyone who undertakes their chosen goals should have no problem accomplishing them, if all they needed was a little motivation. When times get tough, just repeat your favorite motivator, and you are on your way.
The Disconnect
Why is it that we have the desire, but we can’t seem to act on it? In fact, an article in Inc. states that science says 92 percent of people don’t achieve their goals. That means only 8 percent actually achieve their goals. That’s a very high percentage of failures.
All the New Years resolutions to loose weight, exercise more, save more money, ask for a raise, start your own business, learn to play the guitar, learn a new language, start off with good intentions, but never seem to go anywhere.
Certainly the desire is there, and can even be strong. Some people even go to great lengths to get something started, but something happens to bring us back to the original state of inactivity.
Why is it so hard to stay on track. If the desire is there, and we have plenty of motivators to fill a book, why are the failure percentages so high? What are we missing?
Motivation: the Good, the Bad, and the Reality
Let’s take a closer look at this issue from a more scientific standpoint.
Newton’s First Law of Motion states that an object will remain at rest or move at a constant speed in a straight line unless it is acted on by an unbalanced force.
Inertia is the tendency of an object to remain at rest or in motion. This tendency is not only applicable to animate objects, but can also apply to our habitual routines. When those routines get ingrained over long periods of time, they become very difficult to change.
According to Newton’s law, to change something that has remained in place for a long time will require a greater force to change it’s state. So, to have the desire to make a change in our lives to accomplish a new goal needs quite a force to make that change a reality.
When we set out to meet a new goal, or make any change in our lives, having a strong desire could be there, and the motivation could be there, but something is still missing.
The Deception of Motivation
The desire to accomplish anything in life requires motivation for sure. That’s why we tend to surround ourselves with images and quotes that keep your adrenalin pumping. But these sources of motivation have a down side that can actually works against us.
Research has shown that using these motivators can produce a not so good effect. Psychologically, these motivators give a mental boost when we hear them, or repeat them. This mental pick-me-up triggers the same psychological reward as doing the work itself.
This pick-me-up delivers up endorphins that we should get after accomplishing our goals, even though we haven’t done anything yet. Mentally we are so happy at the prospect of achieving our goal that it actually reduces our capacity to do the real work. When we finally get to the real work, reality quickly crashes our motivation. Therefore, we don’t find the pleasure we thought we would get doing the real work. So, what do we do? Quit.
If you are not aware of what’s happening, you just brush it off by thinking your goal is too hard to accomplish. Next thing you know, we are back into our old patterns.
The other problem is that most motivational content we see everyday has a tendency to romanticize what it actually takes to accomplish difficult challenges. The reality is that the real work usually has extended periods of dull, hard, grunt work which usually happens in solitude with no acknowledgment from the outside world. Not so glamorous. Where does our motivation come from then?
Lastly, for knowledge workers, getting mentally pumped up for work is not as easy as getting pumped up for a physical workout at the gym. Getting mentally prepared for a task is recommended, but it must be done right.
Mental Preparation That Works
Preparing the mind for the grind can be done when you use the right techniques. The key is to still use motivational media, but only in a certain way. Most motivational material seems to be geared to accomplishing the end result, but hardly ever gets you pumped up for the grind required to get there.
Instead, using the motivation that relates specifically to doing actual work is much better. Look for motivation that gets you excited to do the hard, tedious, and sometimes boring work that needs done. That type of motivation is an effective resource when you have challenging work to do.
When you need motivated, get motivated to work hard, not to be great or successful. Pay attention to the roadblocks keeping you from making real progress on your goals, and look for motivational media that gets your ready to hit the grindstone.
Daily Motivation
Everyday brings new challenges. Whether it’s figuring out where to go next, getting over an seeming impossible obstacle, or just getting through the boring monotony of a repetitive task, you may need a different source of motivation for each.
Every day, look for the motivator that gets you ready to tackle the tough challenges of the day.
Motivational quotes are around us every day. Pick the ones that fit your particular situation, and wear it like a badge to help you get through.
You may even want to create a collection of motivational quotes that you can go to in times when you need that extra shot in the arm.
Click here for my “Top 20 Motivational Quotes” that get me through the tough times.
The key to success is action, and motivation to act is a big part of the process. Make sure you are getting motivated to do the grind, instead of looking to become great. Greatness comes as a result of doing the hard work.