Motivation Derailers – 4 Ways to Block Their Success

What are the biggest motivation derailers?

1.     Listening to negative comments.

2.     Hearing the negative comments.

3.     Accepting negative comments.

The thoughts and comments from others have a big impact on our life.  Often we give extra value to these comments because we respect the people as part of our inner circle.

It is important, however, to step back and take a second look at the value that these comments are adding to our life.  Is there any merit to the comment?  Is the comment adding a negative value or a positive value?

Many times these well-meaning people do not understand and cannot see the our dream.  Dreams are like finger prints; they are unique to each individual.  Therefore, we see them differently then others do.

The goals we set to arrive at our dream are even more specific and unique to the “owner” of the dream.  Sometimes these goals only make sense to the owner. Others do not understand these goals and only see them as a big mistake.

1.      Listening to negative comments.

Listening to a negative thought is different than hearing a negative thought.  Listening is just giving a polite listening ear to someone who is talking to us.

However, if we also hear the comment, we are well on the way of accepting it and then implementing it.

How to block the motivation derailer of listening to negative comments.

Firstly, be kind to the comment-maker.  When they have completed their thought, let them know in a loving way that their negative comments will not be received.  Let them know in a professional manner that dreams are very personal and that their support is appreciated but not required.

Secondly, “recharge” your motivation battery by:

• Re-visiting the place/magazine article/source that got your dream started in the first place.
• Re-reading your plan that shows the steps to accomplishing your dream.
• Doing whatever it takes to accelerate your motivation to a higher level.

Treat negative thoughts like rain.  Allow them to run down and away into the gutter system.  Never allow them to overtake a dream and derail it.

2.      Hearing the negative comments.

Allowing a negative thought to take hold by hearing it is the beginning of great failure. There is tremendous power in a spoken word.  Giving excessive value or time to a negative thought will derail motivation for any dream.

Hearing a negative thought is much more dangerous than just listening to it.  Hearing it means that it has made an impact on our thought process.  It may very easily take root and then cause defeat and failure.

How to block the motivation derailer of hearing the negative comments.

Firstly, re-evaluate the negative comment using your rationale and common-sense.  Do not allow your emotions to get involved just because the comment was made by someone close.  Re-evaluation of the negative comment may reveal a tinge of jealousy, perhaps even spite or just plain misunderstanding of the dream.

Do not allow the negative comment to take root and derail your dream.  If the re-evaluation of the comment reveals merit, it may be an opportunity to refurbish the dream.  Remember, dreams change with time and may look completely different from the original picture.  Go with the flow and keep the motivation turned on high!

Secondly, we need to choose wisely when selecting people for the inner circle closest to us and our dream.  It is critical to allow only those people into the inner circle, who share the same vision and enthusiasm for our dream.

3.      Accepting negative comments.

This is the most dangerous of all.  The phase of accepting a negative comment has by-passed the listening and hearing stages.  Here, the negative comment is accepted at face value without rationalizing or evaluating it.  This is a clear recipe for defeat and failure.

How to block the motivation derailer of accepting the negative comments.

Firstly, it is extremely important to stay motivated by allowing the dream to take center stage in life.  Dine with the dream, sleep with the dream, wake up with the dream, exercise with the dream, take the dream for a drive, entertain the dream and protect the dream at all costs.

Secondly, keep company only with people who are supportive and inspiring.  Always carry a small journal to mark down anything that will enhance or boost the dream.

Summary:

In summary, don’t sweat the small stuff.  Get over negative comments easily and look for all the positives.  Stay motivated and keep the center stage of life clear of all negative clutter.  Only allow the dream to access center stage.

Perseverance and Motivation

Perseverance is defined as “doggedness: persistent determination!”

These are some pretty strong terms.  “Doggedness,” tends to paint a picture of a big German Shepherd dog enjoying and protecting  his bone.  Just listen to him… chew, chomp, chew, chomp?  He is determined not to quit and it sounds like he’s really enjoying it because he’s still going strong even after an hour.  That’s perseverance!    By the way, never get between a dog and his bone!   

Accomplishing dreams depends on the same kind of determined perseverance.  Perseverance is the winning element that separates the mediocre achievers from those who are extremely successful and stand out in our society.  Imagine combining perseverance with passionate motivation, when working toward a goal.  This combination becomes a sure-fire winner that demands nothing less then over-the-top success.  Remember the dog and his bone?  Well, don’t ever get between the motivated, persevering achiever and success.

Sports teams are a great example of perseverance.  The score is 7 to 2 for the visiting team.  The losing home team rallies around the coach during a break.  The coach’s most important task is to motivate his players into a motivated attitude of perseverance.  Focus on what was good in the first part of the game and continue in that direction with a renewed passion for winning.

If the home team was  asked about their emotions, when the score is not in their favor, they would probably say that they felt discouraged, inept, incapable, defeated and even wanted to quit.  Quit, because losing seemed inevitable and they focused only on the negative.  Giving in to these temporary emotions is NOT a recipe for success.  Successful people NEVER give in to these momentary feelings.

Defeated and negative emotions never linger long.  They are extinguished as soon as the focus changes from the negative to the positive.  It takes effort to change concentrations from the negative mistakes and failures and pay attention only to the positives of accomplished goals and being a successful winner.

Back to the sports team.  The key to their success is perseverance.  They didn’t give up even when they felt like it.  They went out with a new positive attitude and played even better in the last part of the game then they did in the first part.  They achieved their goal and finished the game with 17 to 12.  The reason for their success?  Perseverance and focusing on the positives!

This same perseverance is the key that successful entrepreneurs depend on.  After all, that’s how they got to where they are now.

Cultivating Perseverance in 4 Easy Steps

1.      Make up our mind to continue even though our family/colleagues have already quit.

Often those closest to us try to “protect” us from, what they see as, a mistake.  They do everything in their power to discourage us and continually tell us that it is an impossible task.

If we choose to make up our mind that we want to accomplish our dreams, then we need to make some choices that produce the winning results we want.  The first step is to limit contact with the well-meaning, but negative influences of short-sighted people around us, until  the goal is successfully accomplished.

Keep company with only those who encourage and promote our cause.  These people add-value to our life and share our vision.  Positive influence is critical when working hard with perseverance to achieve the success that dreams are made of.

2.      Always stay focused on the end result of winning – never on set-backs encountered to get there.

It is very easy to keep looking at failure and then continue dwelling there.  The more time spent focusing on failure, the larger it begins to look.  Soon it becomes so huge that it completely over-whelms and intimidates.  When this happens, weak-in-the-knees syndrome sets in and causes us to just quit.

It takes just as much energy to see the positive side as it does the negative.  Energy should be used wisely and focused only on the positive, while leaving the negative behind.  Place a label on the negatives and call them, “Obstacles.”  The sole purpose of an obstacle is to provide another opportunity in redoing an uncompleted process with some variable changes.  Then focus on what went right and continue to persevere.  Repeat these steps until the process is successful.

3.     Keep track of what works.  Learn from others and don’t re-invent the wheel.

While working toward that ultimate goal, notice what works during the completion of each task.  Re-use the processes on this list of “what works” repeatedly.

When looking for a new procedure, learn from what others did.  Follow their example and insert some personalized changes to adapt the process.  If it works, great!  Keep track of it.  If it doesn’t quite meet the required specifications, change what needs adjusting and try again.  Persevere!  Don’t quit!  Don’t see it as a failure, only as an obstacle providing another chance to redo the process.

4.     Keep motivation levels at an all-time positive high.

Motivation needs to be our 24/7 companion in order to achieve the success we truly want.

Let’s look at the following picture:

Motivation is the gasoline that drives the car.  Perseverance is the cruise control that maintains an acceptable level of speed.  Negative set-backs is a flat tire or speeding ticket.  Success is arrival at the desired destination.

What is the most important element in this picture?  Look at the list again and reorder them with #1 as most important and #4 as the least important.

1. Gasoline (motivation)?
2. Cruise Control (perseverance)?
3. Flat tire/ticket (negative set-backs)?
4. Arrival at the destination (success)?

The order we  select is very revealing in how we achieve success:

If  motivation is the most important, our emphasis is on staying focused and remaining positive.

If perseverance is the most important, our emphasis is on never stopping even if the process is flawed.  Continue by changing some variables and try again.

If success is the most important, our emphasis is to get there and not allow anything to stop achievement of it.

If negative setbacks is the most important, our success is in danger of derailment by the slightest little negative event.  Success, more than likely, will not be achieved.

What’s Good About Today? Remember:  never get between a dog and his bone – or – a motivated persevering winner and success!  The result could be unpleasant! 

Visit my website:  motivation-4-success.com

Self-Motivated in 4 Easy Steps

Andrew Carnegie once said, “People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.”

In other words, unmotivated people will need to be happy living in mediocrity.  I have yet to meet anyone that would totally fit that description.

Listed below are 4 opportunities for self-motivation.

1.    Make a clear list of your goals and keep it with you at all times.

Refer to this list often and become passionate about each and every goal.  Set your sights on achieving these goals and don’t let anyone talk you out of them.

Successful entrepreneurs are people who turn “off” their ears when someone tells them they “can’t do it!”  They do not understand the word, “can’t!”

Are your goals “beneath” you because you think you “can’t do anything bigger?”  If you think small, you’ll only achieve small!  That reminds me of the other day while driving downtown.  We were following behind a truck that had a sign giving the name of the business and then underneath it said, “Drywall Repair Service.”  My husband commented on the fact that this company only did drywall repairs — what a small dream.  Why not include a service for complete drywall installation or textured drywall surfacing.

Think BIG and work passionately towards that end and you’ll be surprised at your BIG achievements!

Remember Carnegie?  And… Mediocrity?

2.    Put your mind over matter!

Regardless of what you see as an “obstacle,” believe that you CAN overcome that obstacle and achieve your goals and then, guess what?  You can!  You really can accomplish your goals!

The “mind-over-matter” factor is the strongest force in the universe. If you believe you can do it, then you really can! Unfortunately, of course, the opposite is true as well.  If you believe that you cannot do it, then you really can’t!

You can only accomplish what you make up your mind to do. All goals are within your reach.  The only thing standing in your way is, whether you believe you can achieve them or not!

3.    Don’t ever focus on past failures or mistakes.

Thomas Edison was the great inventor that gave us (among other things) the “light bulb.” I’m not sure that anyone really knows how many times Edison tried the same test over and over again with only one small variable changed each time. Every time he tried the same test again and again, he was hopeful of success.

Thomas Edison never gave up trying until… at last… light in the bulb!

Edison didn’t understand the words, “Look how many times you’ve tried and failed!” - or - “You can’t do it!” Edison persevered and just kept trying over and over again.   He was more aware than anyone else that, “Success always follows perseverance.”

4.    There is no such thing as, “LUCK!”

Donald Trump once said, “The harder I worked, the luckier I got!” Hmmmm… then the opposite must also hold true.  “The less I work, the unluckier I get!”

So you see, luck has nothing to do with it! Hard work is the luck that everyone has access to. Hard work combined with perseverance is UNSTOPPABLE!

It’s not too late to make up your mind to be “Lucky!”  To be “Lucky” means to ignore all negatives while combining hard work with perseverance to accomplish the goals you set in #1.

Be the author of your own “luck,” because there is no “free-lunch!”

What’s good about today? We have the opportunity, right now, to discard mediocrity from our life and instead, begin a new journey that chooses to believe in the successful achievement of your BIG goals!

Check out my website:  motivation-4-success.com