Finding Motivation

Recently it has been hard to find motivation to keep working hard on reaching my goals. I was at an appointment with a client the other day and I had a sudden and overwhelming desire to just drop everything and move back home. I was feeling sick and exhausted and most of all, just hopeless. We usually have to suppress that little voice inside that says, "you're going to fail, you have no chance and the risk is too big." The whole day I had been listening to that voice and it was really starting to get to me.

So, what do we need to regain our motivation in situations like this? I think it's important to rediscover what inspires us to accomplish our goals and to remember what our goals are. I made a plan and a commitment to do my best to change the world for the better and to do it in the best way that I know how. So, if I give up then I'm not only giving up on myself but I'm also giving up on all the people that I'm committed to helping. I would be letting down my family and community. I would be letting all that inspiration that I gained from all of the amazing people who have inspired me over the years go to waste. Even if it seems hopeless, I've got to at least give it my best effort because if I don't then I'll always regret it. And, on top of that, I'll have wasted one of the most rare and precious forms of second chances.

I realize that not everyone has such a grandiose view on the importance of our time on this little, blue marble. Most people are perfectly content with living adequately, perhaps even mundanely. I think that in many ways, this kind of mentality could bring a lot more happiness and enjoyment out of life. I'm happy for people who can find that kind of happiness and I am a bit green about it too. In many ways, I've given up on trying to find what makes me happy and I just want to focus on improving the world in whatever small way I can while I'm still here. If I happen to find happiness then I guess I would count that as a bonus.

I once worked with a Buddhist monk who told me that happiness comes from selflessness. When you are there for others and love selflessly then happiness and contentment will come along with it. Maybe sometimes I need to refocus on my inspiration rather than my goals in order to find motivation. Ultimately, my goals are in place because I love my family, my friends, my community and my world. I should focus on that inspiration more than on the obstacles, which tend to discourage me and make me depressed. I wish it weren't this way but it is so much easier for me to focus on the evils of this world and the pessimistic world views rather than on the beauty and good things in the world. Pessimism is much more realistic but is not a productive way of thinking. Pessimism holds us back from doing good things and loving selflessly. So, I will try to suppress my pessimism and focus on my inspiration in order to find my motivation. I guess it's the only way I can keep going and avoid giving up.