Motivation

I am not the type of person who posts recycled ‘motivational’ posts that fuel the machine of social media and spit out anxieties.

I do however believe in accountability and taking responsibility for your own personal success, regardless of past or current circumstances.

And while I just heard some of you leap onto that very high horse, I encourage you to step back down as I have my own buffet of past and current circumstances, thought patterns, and behaviours that I have allowed to dictate my path, in the past and present.

It was only just recently that I was presented with a situation that challenged what action I was willing to take to achieve a certain outcome. And, I use the word willing with intention, because I have found through my own self-reflection and assisting others with theirs, that our will is generally what stands between getting things done and procrastination.

I recently restarted a journey in Martial Arts and last week I was offered the opportunity to progress through grading. Naturally, I was incredibly excited. The opportunity to progress opens doors to new classes, learning opportunities, and technique perfection.

Less than 12 hours later I tore a ligament in my thigh! Ouch! With no ability to place pressure on my left leg my thoughts immediately went to ‘Fuck! What am I going to do!”.

I am a logistics type of guy — you know the type, I am a fully fledged Mr. Fix It. I am the guy jumping in to stop that out-of-control bus steering rapidly towards a box full of kittens left strangely in the middle of the road. (Yes, that is how I react to unexpected barriers and adversities and this instance was no exception).

Cue DAMAGE CONTROL. Foam roller, anti-inflammatories, and ice packs were my immediate go-to, followed by a session in the infrared sauna, Chiro, Osteo and an extremely tight compression sock placed securely around the injury for 4 SOLID days. It’s reassuring to report that the buffet of applied therapies I leaped into was effective.

I expected to approach the next day in utter agony and was relieved to make that first step out of bed with a surprised, almost smiley face. With caution front of mind, I was still unsure whether I would attend my grading. Part of me said to rest, the other part said “Hey! You’ve got this!”.

Grading day arrived, a new compression sleeve was applied and the presence of the insistent and conflicting ‘don’t be a ninja hero and this is going to hurt, DON’T DO IT’ voice played on repeat as I drove to the Dojo.

I am actually not sure which one of the statements I chose to agree with during that drive, perhaps neither of them. At times, it is very difficult to differentiate between sensibility and sabotage.

I am happy to confirm that I did make it through the grading and did receive my pass to the next stage of my martial arts journey. It was not without a large amount of grimacing and pain brought on by excessive kicking, and star jumps of all things (not the start jumps!).

Here is my point with this story. I am sharing with you the experience of a 42-year-old man with a variety of injuries and aches that on occasion dictate when it is the right time to quit.

Of course, I have witnessed many people give up for a lot less and many who would laugh at my predicament and prescribe me a double dose of concrete pills.

We all have our limits right, and mine was nearly reached. The defining factor in this situation however was MY WILL. And, why was my will so strong at this moment? Because I wanted and needed to achieve my new place in Martial Arts. I needed it.

The encouragement and support from my Dojo and Sensei’s also played their part. Most of the time, I keep to myself, but due to the passion and drive exhibited by the Sensei’s and other students, I felt connected and supported to keep going. The environment that I was in motivated me to keep going and not quit. Not all of us are so fortunate to have these environments that support, allow and distribute growth in times when we may be prone to giving in to the quit monster.

So with this personal achievement shared with you, I ask you to think about your own limits. Where WILL you draw the line?

This isn’t limited to the situation I have described. Ask yourself, have there been moments where you have had to make a healthy meal choice over something you really wanted to eat? Have you had to make the choice to stay up all night studying as opposed to snuggling down into that doona for a long night’s sleep? Have you had to make the difficult choice to end a relationship even if it would be ‘easier’ to just keep going? Or, perhaps your adversity is connected to a mental or physical disability and you need to make the choice every single day to regress or progress? The truth is we all have adversities at different stages of our lives, it is our WILL that provides the foundation for how we will see them through. Tell me about your issues, barriers, and adversities. Share your story with me.

Mentally, the research shows those who push through go on to struggle less with future endeavours. This doesn’t mean that it makes it easier to achieve things, not at all, but it can make it easier to avoid being halted by self-doubt.

When you achieve something or generate a feeling of happiness, neurotransmitters in your brain get hard at work producing happy hormones like dopamine, OxyContin, serotonin, and endorphins — D.O.S.E for short. These happy hormones can be obtained by other means as well but keep it natural where possible. To learn more about the “ Happy Hormones” and ways to help produce them, click here — https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/feel-good-hormones-how-they-affect-your-mind-mood-and-body

With all this said what can I possibly say to you to assist you in building your own motivation?

As I stated in the first paragraph, I’m not a person who posts recycled “motivational” quotes that fuel the machine of social media and spit out anxieties, I do believe this historical quote rings true though — “If you believe you can or if you believe you can’t. You’re probably right!” — Henry Ford.

Joel A Rogers

activecounsellingbyheartwork@yahoo.com

0492 851 205