Be inspired to motivate yourself and take action
Paul White's nationally distributed syndicated column, “Be inspired to motivate yourself and take action” is published in 22 publications across seven states. This includes the following newspapers and digital publications: Midland Daily News (MI), SFGate (CA), Seattle PI (WA), Connecticut Post (CT), Laredo Morning Times (TX), Huron Daily Tribune (MI), The Telegraph (IL), and more. In this article, Paul offers a thought process that will quickly allow you to organize the triggers that motivate you and lead you to take action and achieve your goals.
The ask is always the same. Paul, I want you to give a speech that will motivate our team, our staff, our employees or our group. My response has morphed into the simple phrase “I can’t, nor can anyone else, because what you’re asking for doesn’t exist in any form where the impact lasts more than a couple of hours.”
Teachers can motivate while they have possession of their class, but the minute the bell rings, or the seminar ends, the opportunity for motivation to have any lasting impact vanishes. Athletic coaches can motivate on a temporary basis – and some are powerfully good at it – but their goal is to utilize that short burst of forced motivation to get the win.
The truth is, if you want to win in the game of business, or in life, you need to accept the fact that the only person that can motivate someone is the individual. Having said that, successful speakers and leaders are the ones that inspire people to self-motivate. I like this quote by Jon Gordon “A good coach can change the game. A great coach can change your life!” I might add to the end of that quote so it reads “A great coach can change your life by inspiring you to motivate yourself.”
So…how does a person motivate themselves? Motivating one’s self is simply achieved by taking some form of action.
Are you a person of action? Have you ever considered that question and the power it possesses to influence your success in life? Success requires action. Solutions require action. Action can be mental, physical or both combined. Sometimes we have to think things through to the point that we conclude action is required to take us where we want to go in life.
There’s a critical point where thinking needs to convert to the co-pilot and let action take over control of the flight that lands us at the intended destination. That last sentence is profound can be life-changing, so you may want to read it again.
Have you ever made a list of what triggers that critical point where thinking turns into action for yourself? If you investigate your past, you can identify big and important decisions where this occurred: College decisions, job decisions, marriage decisions, home buying/renting decisions, pet decisions, things that bring you joy decisions, and more. Knowing the uniqueness of your own personal triggers that take you from thought to action provides you one of the most powerful “life-tools” in pursuit of success in life.
At the same time, knowing what doesn’t trigger you into action can also be powerful. Not a single person embraces being forced into action. We’re not inspired when we’re yelled at, bullied, challenged, manipulated, fooled, tricked nor pushed to do something against our will.
Parenting provides endless opportunities to inspire and teach our children about the power of “self-motivation leading to action” and the positive role it can play in their life. Since none of us ever had the opportunity to take a class titled “Patience in Parenting,” we’ve all uttered those two-step backwards words “Because I said so” which confuses our kids at an important time in their life-development stage.
When we patiently give our kids a clear understanding of the “why” behind what we’re asking of them, we’re given an opportunity to inspire their self-motivation which can then be turned into positive action. Does it work every time? No. However, when we enlist the power of repetition, we move quickly down the path of success in providing our kids with a powerful “life-tool” or, if you prefer, “life-principle.”
I greatly admire teachers. When I’m hired to speak to a group, I may have weeks or months to prepare for a speech, providing me a single opportunity to inspire new thought processes and perspectives that will initiate deep thinking leading to action for each of the attendees. While I can tailor the message to the needs of each group, the overall goal is the same.
Teachers aren’t given that luxury of a principled lesson plan tailored to an ever-changing audience. A teacher’s audience is the same day after day and they’re expected to inspire our kids to self-motivation which leads to the kids taking action enlisting repetition to fully understand what was taught to them that day. Whew! That’s a huge ask. Then the next day they have to deliver a related, but new thought process intended to again inspire.
Next time you see a teacher, I’d like to inspire you to self-motivate and take action telling them how much you appreciate all they do for our kids and our society. Recognizing their value to society makes a difference.
My goal is that you will feel inspired to think deeply about the roles inspiration, self-motivation and taking action currently play in your life. Are they taking you where you want to go? Do you feel inspired to pursue this week’s homework assignment of making a list of what triggers that critical point where thinking turns into action for yourself, along with a separate list of what doesn’t trigger? Can you identify big and important decisions in your life and clearly point to what triggered you to take action, utilizing your past to help develop your own life-tool of knowing when to let action take over the controls with critical thinking becoming the co-pilot in your life?
Every action you take every day is based on a thought process that motivated you to take that particular action. Most of us struggle organizing our actions into movement that brings us closer to our success goals. But not anymore. I’ve provided you with a thought process that simply and quickly allows you to organize the triggers that uniquely motivate you and leads you to action that takes you where you want to go in life. Plus, I believe in you! GiddyUp!
In addition to being a nationally syndicated columnist, Paul White is an author, motivational and inspirational speaker, entrepreneur, podcaster, and life coach located in Midland, Michigan. He offers self-help and culture development to start your journey towards consistent growth and joy. If you’re interested in getting in touch with Paul, please submit an inquiry via our Contact Page.