Motivate Yourself!
I was working on a different Friday Inspiration the last two weeks and then scratched all of it as of yesterday morning because I had a meeting that inspired me to talk on THIS subject instead…I like getting real with others and yesterday morning proved to be a great experience of enlightenment. It was a meeting that produced great joy…but only after the dissection of much pain. So yesterday I took some time to collaborate my thoughts…
To perform at anything at your best, you must become your own personal cheerleader. You must develop a routine of coaching yourself and encouraging yourself to play at the top of your game. Most of your emotions, positive or negative, are determined by how you talk to yourself on a minute-to-minute basis. It is not what happens to you but the way that you interpret the things that are happening to you (sometimes assumptions) that determines how you feel. Your version of events largely determines whether these events motivate or demotivate you, or whether they energize or de-energize you.
To keep yourself motivated, you must resolve to become a complete optimist. You must decide to respond positively to the words, actions, and reactions of the people and situations around you. You must refuse to let the unavoidable difficulties and setbacks of daily life affect your mood or emotions.
Develop a Positive Mental Attitude!
I was given a book a few years back amply entitled Learned Optimism, by Martin Seligman, who had twenty two years of study at the University of Pennsylvania. In the book, he summarized all of that study and determined that optimism is the most important quality you can develop for personal and professional success and happiness. Optimistic people seem to be more effective in almost every area of life.
It turns out that optimists have four special behaviors…all learned though practice and repetition.
First, optimists look for the good in every situation. No matter what goes wrong, they always look for something good or beneficial.
Second, optimists always seek the valuable lesson in every setback or difficulty. They believe that “difficulties come not to obstruct but to instruct.”
Third, optimists always look for the solution to every problem. Instead of blaming or complaining when things go wrong, they become action oriented. They ask questions like “what’s the solution? What can we do now? What’s the next step?” I’ve always thought that more important than the mistake that was ever made was the next thing that was done.
Fourth, optimists think and talk continually about their goals. They think about what they want and how to get it. They are always looking forward rather than backward.
When you continually visualize your goals and ideas and talk to yourself in a positive way, you feel more focused and energized. You feel more confident and creative. You experience a greater sense of control and personal power. And the more positive and motivated you feel, the more eager you are to get started and the more determined you are to keep going. It always helps when you have others around you who are supportive of your objectives and give you a clear path to cleanse yourself through advice, moral and love.
My great friend Mark Wood posted something to his Twitter account yesterday that hit me and made me know it was important to talk on this topic…he posted: “The person who will influence you the most is not the person you believe in; it is the person who believes in you.”
Great wisdom
Jim Barnett's Blog 
