{"id":1530,"date":"2016-05-15T00:10:36","date_gmt":"2016-05-15T00:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/areasontosmile\/?p=1530"},"modified":"2016-05-15T00:22:01","modified_gmt":"2016-05-15T00:22:01","slug":"mastering-the-mystery-of-motivation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/areasontosmile\/2016\/05\/mastering-the-mystery-of-motivation.html","title":{"rendered":"Mastering the mystery of motivation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Every<\/a>
Every day is special if you make it special.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAmateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.\u201d
\n-Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft<\/p>\n

Motivation can often seem like a mystical force that some people just seem to possess in abundance. Or, something\u00a0that can be gained by sitting through a weekend seminar, or a tenth viewing of The Secret. Or worst of all, something you feel the need to wait for, before taking action.<\/p>\n

The truth is that it is none of these things.<\/p>\n

Motivation is a wonderful state where things come easily, like sailing over smooth waters with the wind at your back. However, you still have to keep sailing even when the sea is choppy and the winds are blowing you all over the place! For the record, it may not sound as exciting but motivation is nowhere near as important as discipline<\/em>. \u00a0Discipline is what makes you get up and do what you need to do, whether or not you ‘feel’ like it at the time.<\/p>\n

A little while back, on an\u00a0episode of Rise UP with B. Dave Walters<\/a>, we talked about:
\nHow to do the things you know you should, and stop doing the ones you know you shouldn’t!\u00a0 How to change in an instant, and much, much, more!<\/p>\n

After I got off the radio, I realized I had more to say so I made a video about why your New Year’s resolutions haven’t worked in the past, and how to make them work every year from now on! Although it’s not New Year’s currently, the truth is\u00a0every<\/em>\u00a0day of every year is the beginning of a ‘new’ year.<\/p>\n