End. Begin. Continue.
Excited about the new year? Many people are. People are ‘pumped’ with starting something new and fresh that would changed their lives. Gym subscriptions begin rising, new diets are intended, changes in looks, and the list goes on and on. Generally the excitement of the new year lasts just a few days. The routine takes over and we completely forget about new year’s resolutions. The fact is that changes and getting used to changes won’t happen in a day, or a week. It is said that it takes a minimum of 21 days to develop a habit. What we forget is that there are no new beginnings without endings and that the line between the two is not as thin as it looks. There is a period of transitioning from ending to beginning.
William Bridges explains in his book Transitions – Making Sense of Life’s Changes how to understand change in order to cope with it. Life is a continuum full of endings and beginnings and are often the transitions that are the most difficult times to endure. We leave behind experiences, people, things, practices, habits, and thoughts to move on into new ones but it doesn’t happen magically at midnight like in a fairy tale. Changes take time and we humans don’t like that. We want things to happen right away, don’t we?
What if you decide to make changes happen instead of waiting for them to just happen? Visualize the ideal you. Be wise in doing this. Don’t visualize yourself in comparison with someone else. Be realistic. The ancient Greeks defined ‘sin’ as ‘missing the mark’. If you go too high, too low, or to the sides you are missing the mark. Can you see it? Now, consider what needs to be done in order to achieve that visualization. What does it take to get there?
Educate yourself. Listen to the experience of others. Weight their points of view in light of your context and needs. Follow what fits your vision. Try new things within your means. Some risks and leaving the comfort zone are necessary. Stop doing what is not working for you. Keep doing what is working so far. End. Begin. Continue. Results take time. Enjoy each achievement. Most importantly, love what you do. Life is incomplete until you are complete. Life is only complete when you are not. Is the transition that matters and makes a continuous change in you.
Motivation
Motivation has many faces and sounds to move us into action, to keep us from giving up, and to stay in the path. It is precisely in those moments when motivation injects that extra something in our minds pushing us away from idleness. In occasions it pushes us to rest, to take time, to breath, and consider the path we are taking, and to reconsider our intentions. Motivation can call us to begin, continue, or stop. It is that wake up call; that extra injection of strength.
Motivation comes from internal and external sources. Many people through time and effort develop the tools to be self-motivated. People who go through hard times to reach goals are generally the ones who motivate themselves when the circumstances are opposing and external motivation lacks. These are the ones that despite being fighting against the world they still find a way to come victorious. The lack of external motivation is the first source of internal motivation and the fuel to prove something to themselves and others.
On the hand, people who lack self-motivation are those who do not fight to reach goals. At times those individuals have antecedents of being people who get what they want easily. When things get difficult they just quit since internally they have no reason to complete what they started and, in some cases, no reason to begin in the first place. It is possible that external motivations are of little effect on people who lack the desire to accomplish in the first place. It requires a complete change and renovation of the mind to see these people take action.
There are others self-motivated individuals who find external motivation as support. Self-motivated individuals who know what they want and where they are going, appreciate the external. It is always encouraging to find others who push them to improve, and to become better. These external motivators are watching and expecting great things because of appreciation, friendship, admiration, and camaraderie. To all of you, I thank you.