Have you ever wondered how to get motivated again in times of discouragement? I’m sure that, like everyone else, you’re sometimes discouraged, demotivated and have an image and a feeling that, as the expression goes, leads you to brood. To begin with, you’re not alone, and this is far from being a tragedy. In fact, to be in pain at times is normal, but to remain so is abnormal. I often hear the exclamation “I need to clear my head, I need to evacuate”, but what about this action and its consequences on your behavior, your morals, your daily life? Do you have to stop there to feel good? Most of the time, our perceptions build walls of impossibility, preventing us from seeing the positive things that surround us and the many possibilities open to us. We receive an average of 60,000 thoughts a day, and 80% of them are negative. So we need to clear our minds when we’ve accepted them. However, human beings hate one thing above all else: emptiness! Let’s look around us: when a vacuum is created, we’re all naturally inclined to fill it, and this not only leads us to make many mistakes, but also helps to work on our patience and teach us valuable lessons. So what can we do to ensure that the void isn’t quickly filled by our negative thoughts? When it comes to the 60,000 thoughts we receive every day, studies show that 95% of them come from the previous day, and only 5% from the future. And yes, human beings do like to go round in circles. Yet these figures tell us 2 interesting truths to help us get out of despondency and cultivate motivation and enthusiasm. 1. today is the day! If we want to be motivated and enthusiastic tomorrow, we need to fill and fuel our thoughts positively today. 2. Dreaming is essential! Tomorrow is tomorrow (and not yesterday) sounds a bit silly to say, but we’re naturally turned towards the past, and as we’ve seen, only 5% of our thoughts are turned towards the future. To increase this, we need to dream about the future. How can we fill and cultivate our thoughts with this realization? Discipline yourself daily to feed your thoughts with positive things. You can do this by starting a book, listening to teachings, encouragement or videos, listening to music (watch the lyrics!), spending time with friends or doing one or more activities you enjoy. Of course, there are bound to be activities, appointments and things we don’t enjoy so much that we feel compelled to do, but it’s also possible to make them enjoyable. Let me give you an example: when I was growing up, my mother used to force us to do housework. Although I understood the value of it and learned to appreciate its fruits, I didn’t enjoy it!
So when I had my children, I decided to make this a time of play and joy. I started putting on music, listening to sermons and teachings, all things that fill me with joy and lead me to concentrate on more pleasant things. Until one day I was surprised to hear my eldest ask me for this moment, because it was no longer a forced task, but one of those moments of joy playing with my children who wanted to help me and participate in this. A moment when I’m doing myself good by listening to things I like and singing in the middle of the living room with the brand-new band “Cleaner in family” live with Dad on the “household product” microphone and one of my children, the older one, on the “broom” guitar. This may bring a smile to your face, but it’s a way of positively nourishing my thoughts on several levels: spiritual, emotional and relational, and has led me to cultivate enthusiasm and increase joy and motivation for myself and my children. The Bible tells us that a people without vision perish, and whether you’re a believer or not, I deeply believe that without direction we can only go round in circles. If you want to stay enthusiastic and motivated every day, you need to take the time to dream every day. Give yourself a moment to sit back, close your eyes and imagine what you would do without any limits or obstacles. If it’s good for you, good for others and inspired by love, it’s bound to be a creative and positive dream that will fuel your enthusiasm. It will also lead you to look to the future, and motivate you to focus on related information and select your thoughts. Don’t stop at dreams – the impossibilities are there until you realize that it’s possible. All you have to do is set realistic states to achieve a vision that seems unrealistic, but step by step you’ll be able to accomplish it. It would be a shame if a creative dream that’s good for everyone were to be limited to your own thoughts, so take the first step! So, you’ve understood, emptying your mind is necessary, but stopping there won’t get you out of discouragement and motivate you; for that, you need to fill up! Fill it up and always remember that “In dreams, as in love, nothing is impossible” (Dictionary of American Proverbs, 1992). In our next Newsletter, we’ll be starting a little series on “Dream breakers”, beginning with how to face up to the gaze of others. To make sure you don’t miss out, be sure to subscribe by clicking on “I subscribe!” at the end of this article. You can also follow us and share this article on social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and so enjoy our news. See you soon,
You’re wonderful!
Joachim Fontaine
Coach | Consultant | Trainer
