Is self-motivation real?

In moments of despair and darkness, sometimes everything seems impossible. In everybody’s life there comes a point where life comes to a standstill, and you just don’t know what to do anymore. You don’t know what exactly are you doing with your life and in which direction are you headed to. Unaware of your life’s real purpose, you wake up everyday with a non-grateful attitude to slog through the same drudgery of everyday life. Life commands you and it is not the other way round. You either keep going like this and become a good-for-nothing person one day or you take command of your life, pull up your socks and get going.

The question is – who will come to rescue you? Who will pull you out of this drudgery? Your loved ones? Your family? Your parents or your God? The answer is : NO ONE but yourself. No one is going to look inside the dull, demotivated mind of yours. The fact is no one can! Half of the people roam around with a happy façade. Truly no one is going to help them anyway because they look just fine. Rest half are so non-reachable so much so that their spirits have lost all hope. They have been a slaves of their negative thinking and all they can do is just put off the hopes of others or engulf others in their negativity and hopelessness.

My friend, there’s only one person who can rescue you. And that is You!  You are the person who can change everything in a split-second. You are the one who can change black & white to colourful. Despair to Hope. Sad to happy. You are the one who can start living and not just surviving. For sure, you did not survive 84 lacs re-births to become a human being who is good for nothing.

Self-motivation is a thing. A person who is self-motivated ALWAYS succeeds. External motivation is both short-lived and non-sustainable. One has to wire his brain’s neural network to achieve the concept of self-motivation.

Big question – HOW?

1.      Set small, achievable goals- Don’t try to be an over-achiever. Try to set short goals and achieve them. Teach your brain as you teach a child to think positively. And do not just set goals for the sole purpose of setting them. Every small goal should have a purpose. Set goals with purpose and then achieve them.

2.      Get out of your comfort zone -  Growth has always started one’s comfort zone has ended. That is because in your comfort zone, you know all the answers. You know how things are done. It’s when you step out of your comfort zone that you find new ways of solving problems or setting new patterns of doing things. You make mistakes and you learn.

Be happy but stay dissatisfied. Satisfaction will not reap you growth. You will never find toughness in a comfortable environment. Many people have the talent but they don’t get off the couch to start.

3.      Finish what you start – The main thing is to finish what you start. As you keep on setting goals and achieving them, your neural network is trained to look at challenges as something to be dealt with fully. Till the very end.

4.      Remember why you started in the first place. Never surrender when you’re frustrated. In Hindu culture, the goddess of illusions is Maya. It is said she tests you and deviates you from your path. It tests you to see whether you would give up to adversity or face the challenge and move on. Those who give up stay back and those who don’t pass its test and move ahead to accomplish their goals.

How to rewire your brain?

1.      Work on your attention span.

2.      Take deep sleep which not only rejuvenates your body but also helps you think clearly and focus.

3.      Your neural network will always send messages to your brain to reject changes. Train and rewire your brain to accept the good habits and discard the bad ones.

4.      Until the age of 25, your brain’s neuroplasticity is malleable. Post that, your brain is fully wired and matured and there’s less chances of changing it. So, we need to teach it consciously to act otherwise. For example, if you’re constantly checking your phone out of reflex, put obstacles in the way so you stop this behaviour. Put it out of sight or log out from the apps you’re addicted to.

 Be your own light at the end of the tunnel. Motivation comes with practice. You can’t watch a motivating movie, listen to an upbeat song or a lecture by some motivational speaker and stay motivated for long. It is external motivation and it is definitely not sustainable. You just have to go till the end, no matter what. Explore every inch and dimension of the possibilities possible. Ignore the haters. Keep doing it. Hold that little spark of motivation inside you tight and hold on to it a little longer than you can. Do not let it go. Motivation goes hand in hand with hope. Hope. Hope a little extra when everything seems impossible.