Motivation Vs Inspiration: Why We Need Both To Have Success

By Lachlan Haynes


Most people already know how important it is to take action if you want to achieve something - it's a major key to success. But what rarely gets enough attention is the concept of sustained action, or in particular how important your mindset is when it comes to sustaining action long term.

Despite all of the motivational posters, sport clothing, and tough talk you'll find today that speak of persistence, this is a quality not found in many people. In fact, those few who do practice persistence have earned it through hard work and consistency - another rare attribute. Gaining skills that will push you to the front of the line in any aspect of your life are completely dependent on your ability to learn these traits, and if you want to earn them yourself, you will first and foremost need to learn to control the emotional highs and lows to which we are all susceptible. Of course, many of us are cursed with more lows than we are highs. However, our mental disposition is what will truly determine where we end up on our journey toward success.

We all know what it's like to feel a burst of motivation and then take that energy and translate it into work. But the problem that arises is we don't always feel motivated. Motivation ebbs and flows, often decreasing when we don't feel happy, or when we face setbacks. Our physiological state also impacts our motivation, as do our results.

If we're feeling fit and healthy, we're not overly stressed out, we have a good social and family life, and we've gotten enough sleep, our physiological state will generally be pretty good! And when you can see the fruits of your labor, like getting grades in school, then you'll be even more primed to keep up the good work.

Unfortunately, during times when the opposite is true: we can't get a good night's rest, we have negative relationships that drain us, and we're feeling sluggish - well, these are the moments in our lives when this negativity will express itself in our results as well. Sometimes it may feel like, "what's the point?" or, "this is a waste of time". It's very hard to push through when everything around us seems so bleak.

The good news is that this ability to push through until the negativity subsides is a completely learn-able trait. The most important thing to learn is how to transform those short bursts of activity and motivation into prolonged, repeated action. It's pretty obvious that to accomplish lofty goals, we must compartmentalize our action into smaller steps. So, if you know where you want to be in the big picture, creating a step-by-step directional map will help you devote each day to getting one step closer to that larger goal. If you wanted to climb Mt. Everest, we'd have to begin at the bottom, one sometimes grueling step at a time, wouldn't we? Small, measured movements over an extended period of time would eventually get you to the top. Unless you have super-human powers, no one is going to just speed up to the top in one impressive leap! Prolonged action, repeating the appropriate movements toward smart and strategic goals will find you achieving your goals in no time! Don't let yourself get in your way - because you're the only thing that can stop you.

This is where inspiration comes in. Inspiration is more spiritual than motivation because it comes from a more powerful source. Something more sustained and divine, something that comes from a place greater than the person. It's really a desire for change - big or small. Motivation, while still powerful, is often tied to a certain event, or time frame or set of circumstances. It's more physical, rooted in the present moment.

An easy way to separate the two is thinking about going to school. Do you go to school every day because you want to graduate and get your diploma? Or do you go to school every day because you possess an unyielding desire to get into the college of your dreams? And then graduate and have the job of your dreams or start an organization that could change the world? While both of these scenarios are driven by ambition and motivation, the inspiration comes from the latter; that feeling, the internal drive to want to do something, be something, and achieve more. This is where inspiration gives you the desire that will push you through, carry you through the ups and downs, and create sustained long term action.

It's time for you see things for yourself you may never have considered before. Things like getting into College, never needing a job, even becoming a millionaire, or the possibility of creating something that has a massive positive impact on thousands - even millions of people. These things are all possible for you. But they require a motivation and an inspiration to be achieved. They require sustained action at a pace of one step per day. We all have unlimited potential regardless of our circumstances. What you believe is possible for you is all that truly matters. So, the only question that remains is what do you believe is possible?




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