‘Shush!’ I growled, whilst snoozing the alarm clock the tenth time that morning. With my one eye shut I stared at the phone, the beaming brightness of which irritated my sleepy eyes. 7:15, the clock flashed. I grumpily forced myself out of bed. Ughh!, I absolutely detest being woken up by the shrilling alarm clock. I reminded myself, why I’d set that alarm for, and went through those objectives in my head. But this time, that ritual didn’t work. The day went on, though I did whatever I was meant to, the productivity was rather low. Everything seemed distasteful. The overachiever in me sulked and scolded. I felt damned by my own otherwise capable mind. It was one of those days when the motivation just wasn’t kicking in..."
Life of all things, I know, can be exhausting, relentless and distressing. Even those people, who have clear laid down plans and objectives, at numerous occasions, find themselves off track. You make ‘to-do lists’ and end up breathlessly running around the same circle again and again. In any person’s life there are days when everything they do, starts to get physically or psychologically overwhelming. While beginning in gusto is easier, continuing with the same drive is challenging. The vigor and zeal just fizzles out. The goal that you set out for is distant, and you start questioning your laid out priorities. Every mortal being, no matter what aim he seeks out to achieve, that require him to persevere; many a times are confronted by the temptation to quit. Motivation or a lack of it, as a subject is fascinating. Like the human mind, it is dynamical and complex. For me it is similar to a puzzle, the pattern for which keeps changing, so the same block doesn’t always work. So one day, a fancy motivational quote you read that morning might work, other days it absolutely won’t. The causes for a dwindling drive to work persistently towards something are varied; laziness, procrastination, not achieving desired results, failure and set backs of the past or even pure exhaustion and boredom. Whatever be the reason, the more repeatedly one faces this situation, the slower the recovery and progress gets. And then one finds themselves getting lost in an abyss of incapacitating negativity, weakened by their own thoughts.
So what does one do? How do we break free and rise from the shackles of the deceiving idea of letting go and taking it easy or becoming slaves to the whims of our ever changing mood. Do we wait, till we feel better, but for how long? Instead of wallowing in fear, self doubt and sadness, we need to tune our minds into believing the significance of the cause we are working towards. As someone with millions of dreams and desires, I have often faced this situation. And let me tell you there is no fixed cure to it. But each time it happens, a feeling of déjà vu sets in and I immediately seek to remedy it; and yes it does get better. I firmly believe that the more in tune we are with our thoughts and emotions the more amends we can make to let them work in our favor and harmonize our feelings and actions. Simple steps like breaking a long sought after ambition into realistic short term targets and acknowledging little accomplishments can go a long way in maintaining the drive to achieve. One needs to realize the importance of ‘doing what you love’ and how greatly it contributes towards un-complicating situations and living a fulfilled life. And yes, even with ‘doing what you love’ , one can be caught up battling boredom, but then, snapping out of it is tenfold simpler than being jailed somewhere you don’t belong. Also, some days you would have to take things easier but being mindful of those occasions and then getting back with greater zeal and desire to push limits can give your purpose the necessary thrust. Free yourself, and be awake to inspiration, for there is plenty around you.
So I ask you, ‘what keeps you going?’ Share your little golden nuggets of staying inspired for it can bail someone out of the darkness of distress, aimlessness and fill them with the energy and brilliance of a thousand suns.
