Motivation…A word I struggle with. Having depression makes being motivated extra hard…it’s like pushing someone in a wheelchair up a hill while they are putting their brakes on, almost feels impossible at times. I’m big into motivational videos, books, quotes, anything that can set a fire in my soul. Most of Americans have the luxury of what I don’t have and that is having the weekends off. Saturday through Sunday they are free and the world is their oyster. Monday-Friday on the other hand they are a slave to the man and the system putting in their hours at work. We rush through those 5 days like it’s a blur, it’s like we go into a coma state and just survive those days. WE LET 5 DAYS PASS US BY SO WE CAN GET TO 2. WE ARE SKIPPING 5 DAYS TO LIVE FOR 2…think about that….majority of our week we are letting it pass us by just so we can live in those two days. We are telling God…..”God those 5 days you made for me and woke me up for aren’t good enough, but those other two…now I can work with that”. How would you feel if you made a painting for your parent and their response is “ehh only have of it is good, the other half is useless”. You’d be insulted. That’s how we are treating life, like life is only good for us half of the time.
On average we live 24,770 days....that may seem like a lot at first but now do this… Multiply your age by the number of days in a year (365 for the non-math people), that’s how many days you have burned through OR taken advantage of. For me I’ve burned through 8,760 of those 24,770 days that on average someone has. HOLY WAKE UP CALL. Have I done things that I’m proud of? Have I impacted people? Have I made my days’ worth it? Or am I burning through the 5 days to get to the 2, adding to my numbered days. Life is a gift as Alicia Keys has told us before and its time we stop running through the days and SLOW DOWN. We need to SLOW DOWN AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE DAYS GIVEN TO US. We need to be motivated by the fact that we are given those 5 days and not just burn through them to get to the 2 days.
Live everyday like it’s a Saturday or Sunday. Every Saturday and Sunday we do what we want, we do what makes us happy meanwhile we are floating through the weekdays carrying this bundle of unhappiness, frustration, and impatience. Why be impatient when you can treat every day the same…all that determines that is your motivation. Are you motivated to live the life you want not just for 2 days of the week but for 5 days of the week? Are you motivated to change your thinking and own what is given to you? Let me ask you this…when you did the math above did you feel depressed after or happy? Did you feel like you burned through those days or that you took advantage of those days? I WANT YOU TO LOOK BACK AND SAY THAT YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF EVERY DAY THAT GOD PUT AIR IN YOUR LUNGS.
What does it look like to be motivated? Its waking up that hour before your alarm goes off to do that workout, its working overtime to get to where you need to be, its wanting your success more than anyone else in the room, its making sure you go to bed knowing that you did something that day that will move you forward. It’s not only doing what needs to be done but doing the things that aren’t needed or expected. It is the crucial element in making and achieving your goals. Motivation determines the direction you want your life to go in. MOTIVATION DOES NOT HAVE BOUNDARIES BUT LAZINESS DOES. MOTIVATION DOES NOT HARM YOU BUT LAZINESS DOES.
Don’t just burn through the days but make the days last. Take advantage of the days you have now. Don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today because tomorrow is not promised. Fill out that application you’ve been thinking about, reach out to that person you’ve been scared to text, start that diet that you’ve been putting off, pick up an extra day at work. Help yourself because at the end of the day nobody can give you motivation, it comes from within. My motivation comes from God, my motivation comes from my family, my motivation comes from the fact that I want to be able to take care of my spouse in the future and my kids. Put the work in now so that even if you don’t see the results, your kids, your family, your friends will. It will be worth it.
I’ve been struggling with starting a diet, I’ve been struggling with not BSing at work and actually being focused, I’ve been struggling with working out. I keep saying “ehh I’ll just start on the two days that I’m off, instead of getting ahead and just doing it” Noooo start today!
Everyday can be Saturday and Sunday it is up to you. Be proud of the days you’ve lived and continue to use each and every day as a fresh start and motivator to do and be better. Don’t just skip through the 5 days to get to the 2. Don’t just float through the days but live and be present in the moment. Slow down and strive for the best.