Drive

Have you ever thought about what is driving you at a particular moment in time?

Are you being pushed by an urge to prove yourself to someone, or are you being drawn by an image of what you want to achieve with your life? Are you determined to get a new job so you can show your boss that you’re worth more than what he/she is paying you, or are you seeking a new opportunity in order to fulfil your longer-term career ambitions? Are you waking up at 5.30am to go to the gym so you can impress someone you know, or are you doing it as part of your vision of leading a healthy lifestyle?

Most people will argue that it doesn’t matter where the motivation comes from. But I think there’s a fundamental difference between the two.

Whilst a bit of ‘I’ll show you’ attitude can take you a long way, what happens when you stop caring about the very thing or person you’re trying to prove yourself to? What happens when your mind-set naturally evolves and the foundation on which you had built your motivation begins to give way?

Just like many things in life, motivation can come and go in cycles, and can be heavily influenced by what is going on around you. If you’re anything like me, you would have at some point questioned why your motivation on a particular day is so dependent on how you felt when you woke up that morning, or so dependent on a conversation you had with someone a few days before. The fact is, if you feel like your motivation is volatile, it is probably because it’s coming from a place of short-term spite or egoistic gain. It is probably because it is dependent on what someone will think of you, and how much you really care of that person’s opinion is further dependent on your interaction with him or her.

That kind of motivation is likely to collapse on you as your interests and environment change. It is likely to disappear when times get tough and you become distracted with other things. And if this keeps happening again and again, you will find yourself constantly waiting for the next big event in your life to remind yourself of how to be driven again.

Drive should pull you towards your goals. It should allow you to constantly progress towards your vision with little-to-no effort or willpower. It should not be broken by what someone says to you, or damaged by the struggles in your life, but instead be the very thing that helps you through your battles on a day-to-day basis.

So next time you feel a sudden burst of motivation coming your way, perhaps take a minute to think about where that spark is coming from, and make an effort to channel it into a fire you can draw upon for the rest of your life. Why not use that temporary urge to teach someone a lesson as a kick up the backside, but more importantly as a reminder of the life you want to create for yourself and others around you. This way you can be sure it will stick with you ‘til the end.

Peace out.