Work is the only best source of self-motivation

Someone recently asked me as to what to do when one doesn't have a person to motivate or any other source of motivation. Parents, teachers, cousins, relatives, friends and colleagues are the set of known people who enter the nearest circle of our life to motivate us. Their act is a direct one where they provide motivation to us. On the other hand, there is a passive way of motivating onself when we draw motivation by reading about great men and women who have taught the world the lessons of success. Drawing motivation by observing the hardworking ants, flying eagle, honest dog, big and strong elephants or the wonderful nature around us is also a passive way. However in both of these ways there is only a surge in motivation levels in us which may eventually lead to action but the action is still pending and not guaranteed. There is the third way which is apt and the best because it not only induces motivation but also makes sure that the motivation reaps immediate results and that is "WORK".

 

 

Whenever anyone tells me that s/he is not motivated, I just ask them one question, 'What are you doing?' and the instant reply is 'Nothing! because I am demotivated.' The clue is right over there. The moment we aren't doing anything, we are setting up our mind in idle state and all us know it well that, 'An idle mind is a devil's workshop'. While entering the modern age of the world the phrase has got reframed as, 'An idle mind is a devil's paradise'. Whenever there is no work on our mind, there is something else on our mind for sure because there cannot be vacuum in our mental space. As a result of this, enter the lethargic elements which pull down the focus on our work which eventually leads to lower self-esteem, in other words called as demotivation. Work is the only special way where in the moment we get into action, our motivation levels are bound to rise because the body is in action while the actual role of motivation is to lead us into action. So work forms that mutual path that brings in both self-motivation as well as the action required to take our life one step further. Let's work and the work shall work for us. It can be of much help to me if you provide your feedback on is.mohanbn@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/ismohanbn

www.twitter.com/ismohanbn

Learn the limits

Albert Einstein quoted that universe and human stupidity were infinite, while he was doubtful of the former one. No wonder that there is no limit to human stupidity. Its keeps growing day by day limitlessly. However apart from time and space which are eternal, everything else has a limit to its existence. Same is the scenario when it comes to we, humans. There is no question on the capacity of a human being which remains an ocean to be explored and exploited but in spite of this capacity there are certain shortcomings that we need to accept. These are called the limits or the check points which we need to learn about.

Everyone is blessed with some strengths and some weaknesses. There are positives and negatives in each and every individual. We can make a note of all our strengths and weaknesses. Earlier philosophy was to convert our weaknesses into strengths. As time progressed and the limit of available work time to finish all the tasks at hand started to crunch, new philosophy evolved which asked to only strengthen the strengths and just manage the weaknesses. I can be sure that the next philosophy to take birth will be a combination of both the earlier ones which will ask you to simultaneously strengthen your strengths while converting your weaknesses into strengths. Whichever of these philosophies you choose to follow is upto you as long as your work is completed within the time limit in the best expected manner. There are certain limits that we are used to till now in our lives. For example, one cannot go on continuously working for more than 8 hours, one cannot be awake for more than 16 hours continuously, one cannot read for more than 4 hours a day, one cannot sleep for more than 9 hours a night, one cannot write more than ten blogs a day etc. With respect to any work or fun we are involved in, we have certain threshold points beyond which we cannot go on. It's very important to be aware of such thresholds for the self in regard to various activities that we perform. These are what I call as limits and I advocate everyone of you reading this blog to learn such limits of yourself.

The disadvantage of being ignorant of such limits is that once you have tipped off the threshold for any such activity, you start feeling dragged towards the activity be it fun or work instead of being motivated. When you try to extend beyond the limit, you might end up with disturbed feelings and emotions which will further hamper the next course of action. When you are aware of your own limits, then you will clearly know as to when to take a break. Knowing your limits will also help you to plan your work and fun in proper balance to have a well-balanced life. Hence I reiterate to learn your limits.
Every message of mine which you acknowledge is a feedback for me. Hence sharing my mailing details with you; is.mohanbn@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/ismohanbn

www.twitter.com/ismohanbn

A daily affair

Let me clear the general misconception first. An affair means "anything done or to be done; anything requiring action or effort; business; concern:". I hope I can proceed with a clear picture now. We must know that everyday is precious to us and every affair we take up in a day is as precious as the day itself. So what is this daily affair? We are used to routine monotonous work of doing the same things day after day. How about we add some spice into this!

An affair is just some simple act that you decide to take up. Apart from all the repeated stuff that we are into everyday we can think of some new activity which consumes the least amount of time and energy but still can provide the thrill of having done something new. It can even be a learning of something new. Everytime when you are getting ready to go for a movie that you haven't watched before or the crux of which you don't know there is always some sense of excitment and curiosity about it. If there's an urgent work told by your mom even before going to the movie, you will still complete it quicker because you don't want to miss the movie. The best part is that you carry the same enthusiasm that you have for watching the new movie while doing the work just before the movie even when the work itself is not so exciting. Similarly when you have assigned an affair of a new task for a day which you will be doing in the latter part of the day there will always be an excitement about doing the new thing which will keep you pepped up all throughout the day. This pepped up feeling fills your complete focus in any work that you perform at any point of the day. Moreover having done something new on each day however small the activity is will definitely keep adding to your experience and learning of life.

Since I write a blog everyday before I go to sleep, my mind keeps searching for anything interesting around me all throughout the day because I have a daily affair of coming up with something new in my blogs everyday. This keeps me alert in everything that I am involved in throughout the day. I hope I have executed my daily affair for today with this blog. Would love to know what are the daily affairs that you will be taking up on is.mohanbn@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/Mohan.B.Nagesh
www.twitter.com/ISmohanbn

God has lots to offer

Oftentimes in our day to day life its really hard to find people who are completely satisfied in life. Everyone keeps blaming one or the other for the lack of something in his/her life. In most of these cases the target is God only because no one can question Him to find out the real truth. Some blame it on fate which indirectly refers to God. "Man proposes but God disposes" is a famous one-liner among us humans but just believe friends that God always has a better plan than yours.

However coming to the point of what can we expect from God or how much can God shower upon us is completely in the hands of the humans. God can only respond to what you ask and you work for more importantly. I remember this famous example of a person who once asked God to help him win a lottery for one crore rupees. He did severe penances asking for the same for many years but his wish never fructified. Finally one day he died and went to heaven. He was very furious with God that He hadn't responded to the man's penances. This soul of the human went and shouted at God as to why his wish wasn't fulfilled. The God gave him a tight slap and asked him whether he had bought a lottery ticket at the first place. The poor soul got disappointed as he had never bought a lottery ticket and shut his mouth. Proabably this was a very funny example but it has loads to teach us if we are ready to learn. Only if the person had bought the lottery ticket probably his years of penance would have got saved and he could have enjoyed the money in his life. He forgot to do his primary duty and wasted his entire life. Similarly, most of us crave for something but work for something else. Someone wants to become rich and keeps praying God to shower on him loads of fortune but never works for the same. There is no system in the unvierse which runs on zero input. Only if you input some work can God amplify it to give you big amounts of output.

Just observe yourself on a daily basis on what are the things that you complain about, what are those desires that you are wishing would get fulfilled by God. Note them down and ask yourself honestly whether you have even started a single action in any of those directions. If not better begin else sacrifice the thought of it. If you have already started working on what you're asking for then you would have definitely found out the future of it because God definitely sends signals. Folks! stop worrying for what you haven't got, start giving your action inputs on what you want and God will for sure bless upon you the rewards that you deserve. Rememeber, God has lots to offer, only if we make sure to give inputs and also remember that only actions speak not words.

Please feel free to share your feedback on is.mohanbn@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/Mohan.B.Nagesh
www.twitter.com/ISmohanbn

Thanks Anthony Robbins for the lesson, Thanks God for the slap

 A small introduction of Anthony Robbins from wikipedia. Anthony "Tony" Robbins(born February 29,1960) is an American self-help author and motivational speaker. He became well known through his informercials and self-help books, Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement and Awaken The Giant Within. Robbins writeS about subjects such as health and energy, overcoming fears, persuasive communication and enhancing relationships. Robbins began his career learning from many different motivational speakers and promoted seminars for his personal mentor, Jim Rohn. He is deeply influenced by neuro-linguistic programming and a variety of philosophies.

In one of the books of Anthony Robbins where he explains about how he became a motivational speaker he says that when he had joined an organization for speakers everyone who had enrolled there used to give two speeches a week but Tony Robbins used to give two speeches a day because he had a very clear goal of becoming a SPEAKER. So he used to do it the maximum number of times possible and he teaches that if you are wanting to be a professional in something you need to do it everyday and not just on a weekend. Even Robin Sharma endorses the same idea in his book 'The Greatness Guide'. Thanks to both these masters. They had passed on a lesson which they had learnt, to me theoretically. Today I learnt the same lesson practically. Today I was given an opportunity to address a gathering of 40 people for an inspirational talk. After speaking for about 20-30 minutes I faced one of the tightest slaps I have ever got on my speaking ability. I just felt that I had misearbly failed to keep up to the standard of an inspirational speaker that I aimed to be. The sole reason for this was I was practising the profession of a speaker for few minutes once a fortnight or sometimes once a month. I had concluded on my own that based on my job timings this is the best that I could give for my speaking career. Folks! you don't achieve what you want by just giving your best, you achieve it by giving what is required to achieve it. This was one more solid slap on my ignorance of the lessons of the experienced. Though one of my friends said "Awesome" after I spoke I clearly could read the audience feedback. At that time I felt that you should never ask your friends for feedback. They are too good to say the truth straight on your face because they care for you and can't see you feeling hurt. When the live feedback is from the audience in front of you, you need not ask anyone else.

Friends, please don't make the mistake that I have made. You don't become a painter by painting on your weekend or a singer by just singing a song on a sunday. If you are eyeing any of the professional career based on your interest better implement that interest everyday into action. If I can extend it further implement it every moment. A businessman who is involved in his business every second of the day only makes profits not anyone who opens the store once a week. Its very simple - if you're a student you need to study everyday, if you're a chef you need to cook everyday, if you're person in job you need to work everyday to get paid excepting holidays. I still am into brainstorming on how I'll implement my speaking practice everyday. Hope you start your preparation soon enough to avoid any slaps later.

Only waiting for your comments and feedback on
is.mohanbn@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/ismohanbn

www.twitter.com/ismohanbn

Frustration means Fluctuation

Everyone of us are ruled by these non-physical entities called as emotions. Our moods vary from time to time. No doubt that with great efforts and continuous training of the mind we can reach the level of being stable irrespective of the mood variations but this is not at all a simple task. Also not everyone will be able to achieve it. Even the best who were believed to have the highest control over their feelings had to surrender to the same at times. Lot of things result in the emotions that we emote. The surrounding circumstances, our perception towards situations, our very own health conditions etc culminate together to result in the emotions that at times take complete control over us and our decisions and hence actions.

In this particular blog I am taking up the topic of 'Frustration'. Probably everyone on this planet have gone through this state of mind. Might be sometimes even God gets frustrated watching the things that humans are doing. In general, people have an expectation set against the work they do, the treatment they get from peers and family and lots more. Whenever these expectations are not met there sets in frustration. The worst part of frustration is the resultant of it. When we get frustrated we make some of the most nonsense decisions possible which might later cause trouble not just to us but even others for which we regret later. Frustration sets in when our earlier logic is disproved. Human mind is very good in logically analysing what has happened than in forecasting what can happen. So when the mind sees that what it had planned to happen doesn't match with what has happened, it can't digest it and hence puts us into confusion because the mind can't accept that it's logic can go wrong. By the time the mind understands the situation the emotion that settles in us is frustration. We get into a dilemma about our own decisions. This is what I call as fluctuations. So frustration means fluctuation. So how do we resolve this?

When a mathematical problem is given to you to solve without sufficient data obviously you cannot find out one perfect solution for it. In the same way when mind doesn't have all the information it needs to analyse something it gets confused. This is what happens during frustration. Obviously its difficult to stop the frustration from getting in but it definitely is possible to ward it away soon enough. The moment you get a hint that your mind has too many random thoughts running and you can't take your next step immediately take a sheet of paper and start writing down whatever is running in your mind. This will be the best way to put down valid thoughts on paper and mind gets rid of unnecessary ones and starts focusing on writing. Thus you make the mind free from confusion. Once you have written down all possible information, think over about your goal and what might have missed to reach it because of which you got frustrated. Add that and setup the next action plan. The main part here is to bring back the mind from jittering condition to stable condition to think.

Try this method the next time you get frustrated and let me know your feedback on is.mohanbn@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/ismohanbn

www.twitter.com/ismohanbn

I just hope you don't get frustrated ever!

Action first Power next

I have to really appreciate today for the amazing meeting that I had with the young entrepreneurial minds of bangalore. Congratulations to everyone reading this blog because you're going to witness an event right here in bangalore in next few months which will be a life transforming one. You can contact me later to get the further information about this fabulous event but today I would like to share my head-fake learning from this meeting with my friends. 'Head-fake' is a concept wherein you learn something while you're actually doing something else. Thanks to Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch who taught this through his book 'The Last Lecture'. Please do watch his video on youtube titled as 'The Last lecture' which has the best lessons for life. I thank him from the bottom of my heart for awakening many people in the world to work for their dreams.

Coming to my head-fake learning, it was one which was in the form of random pieces of a zigzaw puzzle in my head from a long time but today it took the right shape to solve the puzzle and teach me one of the profound lessons of life. Let me ask a question - "If you were given a chance to be either a CEO or an employee of a company, what would you choose to be?" I am damn sure that in most cases the answer would be "CEO!" because there lies power in the title and also very good remuneration as well. Might be such questions come only in a blog not in real life because when you have the talent in you and you have proven it to yield results there are no questions but only pleasant orders. Let me make it more clear. If Sachin hadn't played the best cricket during his childhood days neither would his father allow him to drop education and continue his sport nor the selection committee would take him to the national team. If Bill Gates had no idea about DOS before he met the IBM guys his Microsoft wouldn't have been the biggest software giant today. These examples can continue forever because whenever man showed his preparation to the world, it threw back opportunities at him.

You would have seen many people around you telling that "I can do that, I can do this" when they wouldn't have actually done any of them till then. Infact why should I spare myself from this blame? Even I have made statements like this very often only to realise that I couldn't standby my words. It was a very tough truth to accept but had to because that's how life teaches us lessons. Everyone of us are submerged under the layer of ego underwhich we claim to do anything if given a chance. Folks! come out of your school. It happened only in school where you were sent to sing though you didn't know to. In the real world big responsibilities aren't entrusted upon you just because you like it. Its more a question of deserving. The world grants you chances only when you have proven to the world in the past that you have been experienced enough to carry out the task else you will still be talking about what all you can do but never do them because you are waiting for someone else to grant you power to execute them. Write down every task that you want to do or like to do or love to do. Plan how to execute them with the best resources you have. Go all out and do them irrespective of the fear of failure or the negative criticism of the people. Only then you gain expertise at doing them. This is going to add to your portfolio on what you're capable to do and then the world recognises it to give you more power to execute a lot more of them. That's why I named the blog "Action first Power next".

Please come out of the dream world where you can even fight world wars barehanded. The world vests interest and power in the hands of those who can use them for better results not with those who just talk what they can do than actually walking their talk. Do let me know what are the significant activities that you have taken up in your life. May be we have an opportunity for you because when preparation meets opportunity there is SUCCESS.

You can contact me on is.mohanbn@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/ismohanbn

www.twitter.com/ismohanbn