MOTIVATION - Powerful Words - Part 5

MOTIVATION – Powerful Words – Part 5


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – July 2010

I have, in my opinion, left the two most powerful words until last. The first of these of course is the word “Action”.

We all need to understand that nothing and I mean absolutely nothing, happens without some sort of action. Let me put it another way, without some sort of action – nothing with happen.

We all have them I’m sure – you know those thoughts of ‘when is ……. going to happen’ or ‘why is . . . . happening to me’? Yes, I can see all of those heads nodding! The fact of the matter is that things happen (or don’t) because of an action that has taken place, so if something is not happening in quite the way that you want it to, you will need to adjust your actions or at the very least, have one!

Irrespective of what your doubts are, or whether you are feeling blue and invisible, you have to keep going and doing. By your very actions, something with start happening and it may seem like it is the smallest of twitches, but that small ‘twitch’ will motivate you. Sheer tenacity is often all that is need to get through it all and when you least expect it, the floodgates will open and you will be awash with everything that it is that you need. Lying in bed and bemoaning your fate will never help the situation (and quite frankly, after the first few minutes I am bored with my own inactivity) but getting yourself up and doing something proactive will certainly be a step in the right direction to change your circumstances. It works every time!

Finally, the most powerful word for me (and it is one that we very rarely use for ourselves) is reward.

Rewards are often what we give to others, but very seldom what we give to ourselves. That’s just crazy! Think about it for a moment – we strive and work towards a goal – but be beat ourselves up on a daily basis because we haven’t achieved what was on our list of ‘things to do’ for the day. We work 18 hour days , sometimes seven days a week – yet we berate ourselves at every opportunity and we very seldom stop and look around to see how far it is that we have come and what we have achieved that wasn’t even on the list.

Rewarding yourself for a job well done from time to time, will often be the greatest motivation that you could ever give to yourself. Subconsciously it tells you, that in your book – you’re ok, you’ve done well and that you have been successful. It’s a wonderful feeling and it’s afterglow will stick around long after the reward has been given and taken and it will spur you on to greater achievements.

Whenever you feel down in the dumps or you feel that you have hit a brick wall and don’t know which way to turn – have a look at these words, pick one and match it to your particular challenge of the moment – I have no doubt that it will pick you up, put you back on the path and back on track towards getting and/or achieving your goals and allowing you to be the best that you can be.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za