What Does Motivation Look Like?

For Michael Jordan, he envisioned the day he saw the roster posted that he was cut from the high school basketball team. 

For Elon Musk, he has a large picture hanging outside of his office with an engineering of Mars being colonized.

For Walt Disney, he was surrounded by sketches of theme park designs even before the name Disney World was selected.

The power of visualization serves to remind us of what we are working towards. It pushes us past fear and into courage. Our imaginations have the ability to paint a picture of the future. 

So, what picture do you hold in your heart or have posted on your wall? What do you intentionally look at to help motivate you? 

New Construction in the Neighborhood 

On a cool winter afternoon I was out with my kids riding bikes riding around the neighborhood when we came across a vacant lot that someone purchased. I explained to my kids that eventually workers would begin construction and start to build a new house. Little did I know what this was going to teach me. 

At least 100 drive-bys later (at the writing of this blog), whenever we pull into the neighborhood, the building of this new house has become quite the spectacle. Upon the cue of turning onto our street, all three kids unanimously chime and request to drive by the house construction. The routine looks like this. First, they ask to take off their seat belts (don’t worry we are just a few houses away from our driveway). Second, they ask to turn up the music (because jams make everything more fun), and they love to roll down the windows and stick their heads out in the wind.

At this point I’ve lost count of the number of times we have driven by the house and wonder how it’s possible they stay motivated to see it, EVERY, SINGLE, TIME. 

My Lightbulb Moment

The reason I am so unmotivated to drive by and see the house under construction is because I am only focused on what is – whereas the kids are focused on what could be. 

It is a challenge for many of us to stay motivated because often we do not have a picture in our mind of what we want something to become. We just go through the motions each day. Wash, rinse, repeat. 

Yet, with a vision of the future, we can map the following: 

• Focus
• Motivation 
• Action 
• Self-Discipline 

Motivation for each of us will look different, as shown with each of the examples above.

The picture in each of these examples, was really a vision of individuals like you and me, looking beyond their current circumstance, what is and imagining a picture of what could be? 

Then using that picture to drive them towards their goals. One day at a time. 

What is your picture? Draw it, screenshot it, make a vision board…  boldly share it with a friend, family member, post it on social media, anywhere you need the reminder. 

I believe you will {re}discover a powerful way to keep yourself motivated. 

People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed. -Samuel Johnson