“Everything happens for a reason, and nothing is an accident. It is all part of a much larger divine plan,” Duke Silverthorne said gravely, but in a surprisingly kind voice. “When difficulties come, we must see them as what they are—opportunities and a new path to discover your potential. How will you ever know the magnitude of courage you are capable of if you have never experienced the hopelessness of fear?” ― Farah Oomerbhoy

I have written a few posts on problem solving and the difficulties that some have with changing their thought processes in order to beat certain challenges so I thought I would share a little bit of my own life experience when it comes to learning to habitually self-motivate.

What is Motivation

If you do a generic Google search on motivation there are essentially two results.

"A reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way - A desire or willingness to do something; enthusiasm.

I want to focus on the latter… but first…

I think that before you can even begin motivating yourself in order to achieve goals or change things in your life you need to ensure that you are beginning your journey with the right foot first! You are not very easily going to reach your destination if you are constantly going against the traffic.

Yes, I am talking about GRATTITUDE! - To my mind, the journey to being consistently self-motivating and thus achieving outstanding things in your life absolutely begins with being grateful for what you currently have in your "world".

I have always grasped what the word “gratitude” meant – but "actioning" it in your daily life when you are essentially unhappy with your current circumstances is an entirely different challenge altogether.

Maybe you would like to purchase a new car, but you are annoyed and "exhausted" with the one you currently have (no pun intended lol) because it continuously costs you money for repairs. Letting go of your frustration towards your existing vehicle and replacing that emotion with gratitude is not always very easy, is it?

You might be in a relationship that is making you incredibly unhappy but you feel trapped because of finances, commitments etc. Replacing those emotions with gratitude can sometimes seem impossible.

Perhaps it will be – initially. But once you become actively aware of your negative thought processes towards things and the fact that they are literally the thumb that keeps you pressed in the same spot, you will start to make the effort to change them… and the more you do that – the more naturally it will come to you.

It has been a rough road of discovery to truly understand the power of this, and I continue to learn every single day… but I can promise you one thing… it hasn’t gotten any harder ;)

If you would like a little background into my story and how I learnt to embrace “the bad” and ultimately see it as “the good” – you can read my post on “How Gratitude saved my life” - https://steemit.com/life/@jaynie/gratitude-saved-my-life

So how do I replace negativity with gratitude?

Remove yourself from the situation and look for the silver lining - thats how! No matter how terrible or frustrating your circumstance, there is absolutely and unquestionably ALWAYS something within it that can afford you a positive perspective.

Referring to the above...

If you were wanting a new car, you could remind yourself that there are plenty of people who have NEVER been able to afford a vehicle of any sort and if they had the car you were frustrated with, they would be enormously grateful – to them, it would be the equivalent of a Ferrari!

If you were sitting in an unhappy relationship, you could remind yourself of the qualities in your partner that you DO still appreciate… (be it only one) - And that at some point, you saw a lot of good things in that person.

You can apply this when it comes to self-doubt and negative self-talk too. It might be a little awkward initially, but stop it, and make the decision to say something positive to yourself. List your good qualities, your strengths and so on… Do this EVERY day! – Whether you believe what you are telling yourself or not!

You cannot expect to change your life, if you are constantly feeding yourself negative information.

”When doubt is banished, abundance flourishes - and anything is possible. We all tend to use our thoughts to create the world we choose. If you doubt your ability to create the life you intend, then you are refusing the power of intention.” – Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Right, that is step one. Practice it – in EVERY situation, ALL the time!

Despite what it is! Customers, road rage, deadlines, children, you name it! Put a Stop to your internal “whining” and seek the silver lining. There is always a silver lining! No exceptions!

When you master that art and it becomes second nature to you to find the good in negative situations, you will ALREADY be feeling more "powered" and self-motivated!

At this point you will also begin to notice that when you approach negative situations with a more positive and “enlightened” attitude, the people and the situations themselves will start to respond more positively too.

“What you are feeling is a function of how you’re thinking, what you’re contemplating, and how your inner speech is being formulated.” – Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Motivating Yourself

To my mind, motivation stems from a VERY deep, driven desire, a vigorous determination to achieve or change something. Without that “drive” behind it, it is not only unlikely that you will achieve it but what would the point be anyway? – If you don’t feel passionate about it (whether negatively or positively driven), then you cannot really want / need it that badly?! - Not in my opinion anyway!

Lets assume that that whatever it is, you do, in fact have that passionate driving force behind it – One of the most powerful tools I have EVER learnt for successfully motivating myself on a consistent basis is this:

Think from the end!

Most people do the exact opposite! There is something at the top of the mountain that they want but when they start thinking about the journey to attaining it, they become deflated and despondent because of the difficult climb and the obstacles along the way.

Please stop doing that!

Start seeing yourself on the top of the mountain - having completed the journey successfully and being rewarded with the prizes for which the journey began in the first place.

YES! - Do that!

Again and again and again – Every day and as many time throughout the day as you can make the time for! See it in your mind. Feel the elation, the relief, the pleasure – EXPERIENCE it FULLY on an emotional level!

Another very useful practice which continues to assist me is...

Written Affirmations and Vision Boards

When you write things down or put them in the form of a collage, they have an enormous amount of power on their own and are wonderful tools to assist in raising your energetic vibrations to a higher (and more positive) level. Besides which – the mind, will believe absolutely ANYTHING it is told often enough… and by constantly and repeatedly writing down your intentions (from the end) you are affirming those things to yourself.

Here is a GOOD example: “I am very happy with my life”

And here is a NOT SO GOOD EXAMPLE: “One day I will be very happy with my life”

The one is a reality and the other has not been attained – so ALWAYS write it down from the “finish line” point of view!

Something else I do on a regular basis… is I literally DRENCH my mind, and space with motivational, uplifting and inspiring quotes. Even more so when I am feeling low – because that is when we all need it most!

Pinterest is ideal for this, because it is purely visual, which is “easy going” on a state of mind that is feeling depleted.

There are countless ways to develop self-motivation and I will definitely write about more of them.

I have said this before and I will say it again - I am no “expert” in this field and like I have said in many of my other posts on similar topics… I am merely sharing with you, the things I have learnt and the tools that I have gathered along the way which have helped me and continue to do so in my journey!