I hereby would like to encourage you to be motivated. Over all your objectives, keep the motivation. Imagine you are trying to lose weight, through exercising. Notice this: when motivation is gone, you stop exercising. And when exercising is stopped, there is no motivation.
In order words, a vicious circle kicks in… And breaking out that circle requires even more energy than when you started the journey. On the other hand, the more you exercise, the more motivation comes to exercising. And results follow – also known as a virtuous circle.
I have painfully experienced that in my entrepreneurial journey. I found myself in a vicious circle. In a previous post, I mentioned that discipline would get you results. And it is correct. Discipline keeps you going when motivation vacates.
How did I come to lose my motivation?
Easy. I did not need to spend time looking for a root cause. It just appeared to me. Other deadlines took precedence, which made me feel exhausted. Exhaustion required me to rest, and the resting time made me lose sight of my business activities.
The lack of activities led to a lack of results. The overwhelming lack of results made me feel restless. The restlessness got me wondering: “is it really worth the pain and the effort?” And baaaaaam! Little by little, the temptation to give up started kicking in.
The scary part of it? Realizing how clear and natural my idea of giving up appeared. I knew how to shut it all down. I had forgotten what made me start this adventure in the first place. Doubt can be so loud. Especially when no one silence it. Being so exhausted and NOT being motivated caused me to second-guess myself.
What got me back on track?
It was through a discussion with a business coach. I had just met coach Nazlee and long story short: we attended a conference about stereotypes. We connected, met over a coffee, and she offered to coach me. She shed a light on who I am, and on what I had to offer.
She reminded me that I am more than my failures. I am more than my lack of results. And definitely more than my success to be. All it took was someone to look at me, with a different set of eyes. And to gently encourage me to carry on.
Suddenly, I remembered. The memory came as fast as a lightning. The reason I started my journey in entrepreneurship. My customers came to mind. I was in disbelief to realize that I had stopped focusing on my customers because other projects took precedence. Such ignorance had me let them down. I had literally forgotten about them.
I made a promise to myself: never let such nonsense happen again. Don’t you dare ever lose sight again of what is important in your business! Your customers. They trust and hope in you. When motivation vanishes, find a way to get it back. Always keep a way to be motivated.
What did I learn / What can we learn?
The least I could say is that this has been an eye opener. Of course, it is normal for results to tune motivation in. This means: no results, decrease of motivation. Make no mistake: in business, results are synonym of cash flow.
Results are proof that your business is successful, that your sales strategy (along with your product) is a winning one. Lack of thereof causes frustration to arise, which in turn zeros your energy and motivation.
Through my coach, I understood that one should not surrender their power to such external factors. Factors that depend neither on you, nor on God. By external factors, I mean your achievements, your “failures”, your emotions, your past, etc.
Be motivated because…
Your customers need your product and services. Your prospects need to feel comfortable and trust you. And you need to have faith. Abandoning is not an option, because it is not over until it is over. Although discipline is important, understand that motivation should be stimulated once and then.
Work tirelessly into proposing the best packages to your customers, and do so through motivation and discipline. Indeed, offering an excellent service to your clients should motivate you enough to know that the results would follow.
Coach Nazlee, I cannot thank you enough for getting me back on track. For causing me to remember that I am still wonderfully and fearfully made. Thank you for helping silence the invading doubts in my mind. Despite my discouragement. Such talent is priceless. May the Lord my God reward you a thousand fold.
In this post, I aimed to shed some light on reasons why you should be motivated. Indeed, if not properly maintained, motivation – or lack of thereof – can quickly become the fifth wheel to the carriage. Do not let it backslide you in your objectives.
What about you? Have you ever noticed any difficulties which keeps motivation away from you? Did you ever challenge them? If yes, how? And what did it result into? If no, what kept you from challenging it? I love to read about your experiences and feedback in the comment section.
Remember: be motivated! Feel free to comment and share.