Post Image
The average person is exposed to several doses of motivational materials during the week. From spirit-gingering (faith building) sermons at our churches or mosques, to those Monday motivational messages we subscribe to, and the huge collection of motivational books that fill up our bookshelves, we regularly receive an abundant supply of resources that have the ability to get us ready to take on the world. With this in mind, we now know that getting motivated isn’t the problem. The problem is maintaining that original high gotten from these materials for more than 24 hours. We go to sleep and the next day, we find ourselves discouraged again because of the resurfaced issues which challenge our new-found faith in our ability to succeed. Like an unexpected slap, we are hit hard by reality and are forced to return to the emotional state which made us seek external encouragement in the first place. So the question now is: how do we stay motivated for a long time? Well, to answer this question, a few things must be addressed. The first thing many of us miss when it comes to motivation is our failure to practically apply what we learn. We’ve been trained by our educational system in this country to retain information that can be regurgitated on command, but when it comes to actually using said knowledge in real-life settings, we’re stuck. This is why the average Nigerian can recite up to 5 Bible verses in one minute, yet our society is where it is today in terms of corruption. We must remember that we’ve been called to be doers of the word, and not primarily walking Bibles. Secondly, those who practice what they learn fail to do so consistently. After one or two days of experimenting with a fresh idea, they drop it the minute they discover its results.  This is quite sad, because long-lasting amendments to our lifestyle and habits require long-lasting actions of cause impacting change. It takes 30 days to overcome a bad habit, they say; so why do we think we can replace what has being the status quo in a matter of days? Stick to your guns, and stay committed to working with the motivational instructions for as long as you’re required to – be it weeks, months and yes, even years. Leave little sticky note reminders in your house and office too. They’ll help keep you committed to the cause. Finally, another trick to long term motivation is breaking down your aspirations into smaller, interconnected goals – preferably on paper. For example, it’s great to aspire to be the best music director and strive mentally to become this person. But noting down goals is also very important. You can work towards the noted goal by leading a children’s choir in your neighbourhood for instance, with the next goal being to lead this choir to state, national and then international competitions. What’s great about this process is that the line of progression keeps you motivated – for lack of a better word – especially when you witness the results your efforts are making in this regard first hand. Armed with these considerations, your journey to being the best you can be in the long term with maintained motivation is likely to be much smoother and less of a hassle. Keep it up and you may be able to help other people you come across do the same.     About the Writer: Ify Halim is a young Creative and a promoter of values through the force that is writing. Follow her on twitter @MissHalim
You might also like:
This article was first published on 29th April 2015

connectnigeria

Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *