“Satisfied needs do not motivate. It is only the unfulfilled needs that do so”
Stephen Covey, Bestselling Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
When was the last time a grizzly, sick-to-your-stomach inducing situation turned out to be surprisingly positive and expansive?
How did you feel a few months down the line after that terrible break-up, unfair job loss or frightening health scare? Bitter, angry and stuck or grateful, wiser and surprisingly positive?
This is because of of a GEM OF A SECRET I’ll share with you.
The driving force behind motivation – what impels us to action – is produced by a state of tension, which exists as the result of an unfulfilled need
This is why being cut loose from situations which no longer serve us – is actually a blessing in disguise – launching us into positive change with an engine of tension-fuelled motivation beneath us.
So you see, the most difficult experiences in life are actually powerful catalysts for positive change
Whether:
1. Losing a job and starting that business you’d dreamed about;
2. Breaking up with someone and taking up a new hobby that opens up a whole new social circle; or
3. Making a fresh start somewhere new and learning new languages and customs which tickle your soul and inspire you creatively
This is why discomfort can be such a powerful driver for growth
and why imagining how you DON’T want your life to be a year down the line is such an effective driver for achieving your goals.
How Can You Apply This In Your Daily Life?
1. Reframe Your Pain – Remember that discomfort and pain are the great catalysts for growth. If you do one thing today, wee Gazer, try reframing pain and discomfort into the positive motivator that it is and turn your attention to the new and exciting ideas and projects which that tension is releasing within you.
2. Get Inspired – The likes of bestselling authors like Cheryl Strayed and Elizabeth Gilbert didn’t get where they are through comfort. Au contraire – they side stepped, jagged, from the grief-stricken wounds of trauma to the high-flying realms of success that see their names in lights today.
Similarly, if you think Steve Jobs and Richard Branson just got lucky, take a look at the challenges they both harnessed to achieve sky-high success. Sackings, imprisonments, betrayals aren’t what you’d expect, are they? If they can do it, why can’t you?
3. Still Struggling? And if you’re not quite there yet, give yourself a breather and remember – those challenges are what make you the person that you are today – and they will be the making of your tomorrow.
