In our recent western trends of business culture, a lot of emphasis has been put on passion and how completely necessary it is to have during any kind of venture. While trying not to undermine the power of emotions during our decision making processes (and we can't deny that emotions, even for us men, hold a great deal of weight in our judgments), I will attempt to help those who are currently in a motivation-less slump.
If you can recall times in your past where you've forced yourself to just go through the motions, for the most part you might remember that in the end it wasn't all so bad. Having worked in management for a number of years, it is apparent that people have a lot more willpower and energy than they so claim when they're feeling exhausted. If we could all just learn to be our own managers and force or convince ourselves to continue in the same way that they did to us, the result of our labors would benefit our goals and not theirs.
You've done it before. If you can remember your highschool days where you worked part-time and thought that the day would never end, it did. If you can remember pulling an all-nighter on a college paper and swore that you probably won't make it, in the end you did. If you can remember having six beers and not using the restroom before leaving the bar, it might have been the longest thirty minute drive of your life, but most likely you didn't piss your pants.
It's obvious that we have all of the energy and resources in the world to do what we, in our own minds, consider great. Yet, we don't. The problem is that we don't feel the "passion" when we need it. And success gurus have been talking about passion and positive thinking so much that in the past few decades or so, it's become a cliche. Pick up any book on success and you pretty much already know what will be written.
I'm not claiming to have discovered the secret of success. Rather, I'm sharing a different point-of-view on the processes required to live up to our ideals.
At any point in time that you can remember, you must decide for yourself what actions at the moment would be the actions of one who is great. You don't have to feel motivated. You just have to go through those motions of greatness. I say to go through the motions because that's what we do when we feel that we have no other choice. Except in most situations, we usually have a choice. We decide that choice (A) is the choice of greatness and perhaps choices (B) and (C) are the safe choices. We'll probably opt for (B) or (C) since there's no one behind our backs yelling at us.
Going through the motions of greatness will not always yield immediate success. But, it is the fact that you actually went through the motions of someone great that will, overtime, build up to foundational success. This you must remember.
In order to become the great hero you'd like to be, you must first fail like one.
Go through the motions of Greatness.
Examples of actions that are great / not great:
- Having that gut feeling that you should chat up the chick next to you in the grocery line and actually doing it / or not doing it.
- Holding your frame regardless of the social anxiety you might be feeling / letting yourself be absorbed in another's frame (being amog'd).
- Being truthful when you know you should with a sincere face / lying to save face.
- [Insert productive action here] / deciding that you can do this later.
- Following through with a decision / rationalizing your way out of it.
The important thing is that as soon as your brain judges a choice of action as great, you commit to it as soon as possible. Regardless of how you feel, you will go through the motions Greatness.
It is not about "what would (your name) do in this situation?" It is "what would the Great do in this situation?" If you are feeling tired or exhausted, it isn't "what would (your name) do in this situation?" It is "what would the Great do in this situation?"
Regardless of anything, under any circumstance, you will go through the motions of Greatness.
If you feel as if you might fail, or be rejected, the Great would not use that as an excuse, would they? So go through the motions of Greatness anyways.
If you are still afraid, repeat this to yourself:
If I fail, it is okay because I did what is Great. If I succeed, it is okay because I did what is great.
If you commit to actions of Greatness, the outcome does not matter. Because failure is inevitable.
NP = no problem.
Did I get her number? No? NP. Yes? NP.
Did I embarrass myself? Yes? NP. No? NP.
Did I tell them what they wanted to hear? Yes? NP. No? NP.
Did my venture succeed? No? NP. Yes? NP.
Eventually, we may all come to learn that as much as we desire to have something to show for our hardships, perhaps it is that desire which binds us with the flock.
~ Bossa.
If you can recall times in your past where you've forced yourself to just go through the motions, for the most part you might remember that in the end it wasn't all so bad. Having worked in management for a number of years, it is apparent that people have a lot more willpower and energy than they so claim when they're feeling exhausted. If we could all just learn to be our own managers and force or convince ourselves to continue in the same way that they did to us, the result of our labors would benefit our goals and not theirs.
You've done it before. If you can remember your highschool days where you worked part-time and thought that the day would never end, it did. If you can remember pulling an all-nighter on a college paper and swore that you probably won't make it, in the end you did. If you can remember having six beers and not using the restroom before leaving the bar, it might have been the longest thirty minute drive of your life, but most likely you didn't piss your pants.
It's obvious that we have all of the energy and resources in the world to do what we, in our own minds, consider great. Yet, we don't. The problem is that we don't feel the "passion" when we need it. And success gurus have been talking about passion and positive thinking so much that in the past few decades or so, it's become a cliche. Pick up any book on success and you pretty much already know what will be written.
I'm not claiming to have discovered the secret of success. Rather, I'm sharing a different point-of-view on the processes required to live up to our ideals.
At any point in time that you can remember, you must decide for yourself what actions at the moment would be the actions of one who is great. You don't have to feel motivated. You just have to go through those motions of greatness. I say to go through the motions because that's what we do when we feel that we have no other choice. Except in most situations, we usually have a choice. We decide that choice (A) is the choice of greatness and perhaps choices (B) and (C) are the safe choices. We'll probably opt for (B) or (C) since there's no one behind our backs yelling at us.
Going through the motions of greatness will not always yield immediate success. But, it is the fact that you actually went through the motions of someone great that will, overtime, build up to foundational success. This you must remember.
In order to become the great hero you'd like to be, you must first fail like one.
Go through the motions of Greatness.
Examples of actions that are great / not great:
- Having that gut feeling that you should chat up the chick next to you in the grocery line and actually doing it / or not doing it.
- Holding your frame regardless of the social anxiety you might be feeling / letting yourself be absorbed in another's frame (being amog'd).
- Being truthful when you know you should with a sincere face / lying to save face.
- [Insert productive action here] / deciding that you can do this later.
- Following through with a decision / rationalizing your way out of it.
The important thing is that as soon as your brain judges a choice of action as great, you commit to it as soon as possible. Regardless of how you feel, you will go through the motions Greatness.
It is not about "what would (your name) do in this situation?" It is "what would the Great do in this situation?" If you are feeling tired or exhausted, it isn't "what would (your name) do in this situation?" It is "what would the Great do in this situation?"
Regardless of anything, under any circumstance, you will go through the motions of Greatness.
If you feel as if you might fail, or be rejected, the Great would not use that as an excuse, would they? So go through the motions of Greatness anyways.
If you are still afraid, repeat this to yourself:
If I fail, it is okay because I did what is Great. If I succeed, it is okay because I did what is great.
If you commit to actions of Greatness, the outcome does not matter. Because failure is inevitable.
NP = no problem.
Did I get her number? No? NP. Yes? NP.
Did I embarrass myself? Yes? NP. No? NP.
Did I tell them what they wanted to hear? Yes? NP. No? NP.
Did my venture succeed? No? NP. Yes? NP.
Eventually, we may all come to learn that as much as we desire to have something to show for our hardships, perhaps it is that desire which binds us with the flock.
~ Bossa.