Journal Prompts 1
Psychology of Motivation
The first motivation killer is a lack of confidence. When this happens to me, it’s usually because I’m focusing entirely on what I want and neglecting what I already have. When I only think about what I want, my mind creates explanations for why can’t I get it. This creates negative thoughts. Past failures, bad breaks, and personal weaknesses dominates my mind. I become jealous of my competitors and start making excuses for why I can’t succeed. In this state, I tend to make a bad impression, assume the worst about others, and lose self confidence.
The way to get out of this thought pattern is to focus on gratitude. Set aside time to focus on everything positive in my life. Make a mental list of my strengths, past successes, and current advantages. We tend to take our strengths for granted and dwell on our failures. By making an effort to feel grateful, I realize how competent and successful I am already. This will rejuvenate my confidence and get me motivated to build on my own future success.
It might sound strange that repeating things I already know can improve my mindset, but it’s amazingly effective. The mind distorts reality to confirm what it wants to believe. The more negatively I think, the more examples my mind will discover to confirm that belief. When I truly believe that I deserve success, my mind will generate ways to achieve it. The best way to bring success to myself is to genuinely desire to create value for the rest of the world.
The second motivation killer is a lack of focus. How often do I focus on what I don’t want, rather than on a concrete goal? I normally think in terms of fear. I’m afraid of being poor. I’m afraid no one will respect me. I’m afraid of being alone. The problem with this type of thinking is that fear alone isn’t actionable. Instead of doing something about our fear, it feeds on