Learning to Motivate Yourself, and Other Household Tips

There seems to be an excess amount of encouragement going around these days from books, media and movies – even the newsreader on ETV told me this morning to shoot for the moon, because apparently even if I miss, I will land amongst the stars. I think this is a great way of thinking if you’re an astrologer, but rather futile for the other 6 billion people who live in the real world and do not have time to translate that into a Chinese tattoo.

Perhaps it is my cynical mood today that is urging me to bludgeon motivational speakers, or perhaps this is my bitter and envious voice talking – the one that unfairly vents frustration on those who are able to do things I cannot – in this instance, frustration with those who wake up motivated and somewhat enthusiastic each day. I have motivation in me, but it seems to mostly make its appearance when all else is already unbalanced, the Jerry Springer bouncer coming in to fix the mess of a one on one fight with myself again. I sit and wonder how these motivated people got to where they are.

I have read a fair number of self-help books and I have been on one (one too many) motivational course, but the eagerness to actuate change wanes far too quickly for it to making a lasting impact on my behavioural thought patterns. Am I not working hard enough at it? Should I be reading these books on a regular basis? (Pray no!) More importantly – do I lack the necessary willpower to motivate myself? The topic makes me uncomfortable and is often shoved to the back of mind alongside Matric calculus and other such cobweb topics. This is possibly a pre-emptive measure to save myself from the daunting score that I am weak and/or lazy; that my long standing problems go hand in hand with weakness, and I indulge this weakness every time I give in and go with what I am used to because it is the easier option.

There is a time and place for Dr. Happy-Go-Lucky and his annoyingly blissful disciples to tell me how to motivate myself; it might even change me for a day. However I do think that when I am feeling a little slack in the self-motivation department, the effects of listening to his wise words delivered with the enthusiasm of an ADD kid on Prozac will only be disastrous and infuriating. Not to worry, in the mean time I will pick myself up as I always do, and will urge any ‘shiny happy people’ to stay clear for a little while or risk being bludgeoned.