Staying motivated through the down times is tough. Being in the right head space to be tenacious and persistent toward your desired goals takes energy. A lot of it.
So how can we all tap into the right energy consistently?
I’ve recently done a lot of reading and studying to learn how we can keep that positive emotional energy. The following notes are ways that are useful in parts and all together to help keep us going through ups and downs.
POWERFUL EMOTIONS
There are many positive and negative emotions that run our lives. In the English dictionary there is 1/3 more words to describe negative emotions that positive ones. Focusing on positive emotions is an uphill battle.
The top 7 most powerful negative emotions are fear, hate, jealousy, revenge, greed, superstition and anger. The top 7 most powerful positive emotions are DESIRE, FAITH, LOVE, SEX, ENTHUSIASM, ROMANCE and HOPE. The trick here is to not memorize this but to simply be aware. Be aware of where your mind is. Is it on a positive emotion or a negative one? Once you create routine of awareness you can start to make an effort to make sure you are on the positive emotions at least more than the negative ones.
Exercise: What side of the spectrum were you mostly today? Cross off any of the 14 emotions listed above that you felt today. See where you were most. Notice anything interesting?
FEED YOUR SUNCONSIOUS MIND THE RIGHT FOOD
The subconscious mind is something extremely under rated. Every day it takes in everything around us. It takes in sights, sounds, smells, vibes, song lyrics, personal thoughts and many other things that we don’t even know it’s taking in. At times, when you get that gut feeling about something, that is most likely your subconscious mind giving you a message.
We need to be aware of what we are feeding our subconscious and make a conscious and continuous effort to feed it what we want it to have.
What is the language of the people we keep around us? What are we telling ourselves in our thoughts? What are we watching on TV, reading in books? If we do not make a conscious effort to do so, our subconscious will take in whatever random stuff that it is around us.
Nourish and trust your subconscious. It can be a great partner to your success.
HABITS
This is where the rubber hits the road. This is the hard part. To put the above info to good use we need to begin to practice. We need to make an effort on a regular basis to check where are head is at. Identify what we are feeling or what is around us and make a conscious effort to try and maintain or change to put the mind into a desirable state. This will feel weird and be hard at first. Just like exercising a muscle it will come easier with practice.
If we can train ourselves to grow a habit to force ourselves into the desired mindset, the desired environment and the desired emotions, it will eventually become second nature.
I am personally not 100% at this. Believe me. No one is. In fact, I did lots of this research because I am having my own personal struggles. No one will be in a positive state of mind 100% of the time. But being aware is the first step. Then comes the work and the effort to at least improve.
The only bar of measure is you. It is not a race against one another. It is a personal race against your yester-self.
Baby steps are still steps.
-Brendan