
How many times have you attended a Motivational Meeting where afterwards you realized that the motivation didn’t last nearly as long as you had expected?
Just think about this-
- It’s your class reunion and you REALLY want to look great so decide you MUST lose 10 pounds.
- Your in-laws are coming to visit and your Mother -in -law can be VERY picky, so you decided you are going to organize your entire house.
- Your company just announced an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii that you can earn, and you absolutely positively must achieve it.
In each of these examples, you are really motivated!
Now let’s consider why sometimes you do achieve the goal & sometimes you don’t. Further how many times have you achieved your goal but then suddenly your motivation wanes and you go back to those same “bad habits”.
What happened? You may be struggling to figure it out, here is where I think I can help.
Here is a simple definition of “Motivation”—Willingness to do something OR something that causes such willingness.
In my examples, everything that caused you to be motivated followed the same pattern– it arose from an external source. It was something outside you that caused you to be willing to do something different. You think you were motivated but in fact you were only “temporarily motivated” and took the step to set a goal. And unless you continue to set goals, your motivation will slowly or quickly dissipate.
So, you might now wonder if the key to success is goal setting? Yes, but and there is the big but…..If you truly want to reach for the stars and achieve greatness –it takes more than motivation or goal setting.
More than that?? Yes more!
Goal setting is part of the process, but it is not the root of your motivation. It’s far greater than that.
You need to be inspired –not by a goal, not by a contest and not by someone temporarily motivating you. In my opinion, motivation only lasts a day or a month or a year ….but motivation does not last a lifetime. However, once you are inspired, you own it. It’s yours and it can last a lifetime.
You need to be inspired-not by a goal, not by a contest and not by someone temporarily motivating you.
-Tiffany James
When you are inspired to achieve, set-backs might be daunting but they never stop you. When you are inspired, you believe in YOU! You are the source of your motivation—not someone or something else. So more often than not, you are able to “pick yourself up—brush yourself off and start all over again” If you are a “Doubting Thomas,” then look up “Inspirational Quotes”.
You’ll notice they are designed to bring out the best in YOU! So while I suggest that you DO attend motivational meetings, you DO set your goals, & you DO continue to achieve, determine what will INSPIRE you to make your dreams become reality because the inspiration that comes from within YOU will last forever.
2 thoughts on “Motivation vs. Inspiration”