The miracle of motivation

Motivation is the determination to achieve what you want in life. It is the key to success and happiness in life. Motivation involves mental exercise and physical activity. As a mental exercise it prompts you to think in terms of where you want to go and what you want to accomplish. And as a physical activity it guides your actions to achieve what you desire. Self-motivated persons determine their goals and work hard to achieve them.

Prof. Sherene Aftab in our cover story on distance education explains that quality education is your right and that it is within your reach even if at a distant place whether within the country or abroad. All that is required is a strong sense of motivation and a deep passion to attain your goal.

Motivation is what is known to have worked miracles in the lives of innumerable individuals and history is replete with examples. Thomas Edison, one of the greatest inventors of all time, was so stupid a student in the judgement of his teachers in school that he was asked to discontinue his lessons. He thus had barely four years of formal schooling. But with determination and supported by the encouragement of his mother he learnt by reading physics and chemistry and conducting experiments in a small laboratory set up at home. In spite of initial difficulties and financial constraints in early years, he held more than 1,000 patents for his inventions. When he died on 18 October 1931, many communities and corporations across the world dimmed the lights or briefly turned them off as a mark of respect to his memory.

George Shinn, in his bestseller, The Miracle of Motivation, narrates several short stories and cites case studies to enumerate the miracles worked by motivation. In order to be motivated you must be self-confident. An inevitable element of being self-motivated is faith in yourself that you are able to achieve what you have determined.

Self-confidence builds up positive attitudes in life. Faith in one’s self, faith in others and faith in God can enable you to move mountains. Indeed, things considered impossible in life can become possible if you but have self-confidence and right motivation!

You can build up motivation by drawing up a certain programme for life. Begin by making a list of goals for your life, prioritizing them and setting a time frame to achieve each. Then identify the steps to be taken to achieve the defined goals taking into consideration both the positive and negative elements lining the road to success. Positive self-talk and self-confidence will form a strong foundation for your motivation. Be focussed and visualize success in front of you and you will experience the miracle of motivation in your life!