Motivation is Born From Choice. Find Your Highest Motivation to Clarify Your Choices
“Motivation is a skill that can be learned. People can get better at self-motivation if they practice the right way. The trick is realizing that a condition for motivation to develop is believing we have authority over our actions and surroundings.”
Charles Duhigg
Free will is often overlooked because of the sheer number of choices offered to us in any given moment. In addition to the myriad forces that determine just how many options are available in this very moment, the possible trajectories of the future are innumerable. It is overwhelming and we tend to act out of ingrained habits. As these actions build up, personality patterns are created and the character of our life is primarily shaped. However, at any given moment, we can choose at a granular level the quality and type of our actions.
I am going to type a J next. J. I am going to type a K next. K. I am going to leave the next space blank. I will type the next sentence from the core of my soul with full intention and the force of my heart behind it.
We are creators living on a revolving planet around a sun and we have yet to discover the full force of our powers, the capacity that lies within, and when we do, we can literally transform the face of the earth. WE are waiting for this great discovery within, we taste it and feel it but to act on it requires an enormous amount of clairty and, well, many things, but for now, most importantly, choice.
It requires believing that we have authority over our actions and surroundings. I spend a lot of time reading and a lot of time meditating and practicing yoga, in other words, intently focusing my mind on one object of concentration. At other times I’m inquisitive about the mental atmosphere of Social Media and tune into it constantly, sometimes habitually and sometimes intentionally. Still, even when it is habitual, I keep one foot in a type of meta-cognition that watches me interact with the app.
There was an ad for a game that popped up; A totally stupid game that drains brains. But I watched the ad for a second.
mafiacity_official (sponsored). Every person walks around with a title and a Level number displayed over their head. ‘Lv.1 Crook’ in a pair of jeans and a wifebeater tank top, ‘Lv.30 Boss’ in a pinstripe tie. At every juncture, your character, which presumably starts out as a Crook, has to make a choice. Save the girl from the jail cell for 50,000 dollars or save the boss and gain ten levels in the mafia hierarchy. A game within a game within a game. At heart, though, it’s about choice.
You are reading this and making a choice. Something deep within you is stirring, recognizing an intelligence, a capacity for choice, the power of the universe that is giving you authority to direct your own life. I’m hoping you’re reading because you’re like me — and somewhere, deep down, I know we’re just alike — you’re looking for clarity, happiness, meaning, deep peace, and a higher contribution to the world. I’m the same. In fact, I’ve dedicated my entire life to it. I want to become a Buddha. Maybe not in this life, but as far as possible, I want to attain higher levels of consciousness and tangible states of inner awakening.
That is my motivation. I feel it ripples everywhere. Our life, at its very core, is subjective. No matter how highly honed our empathetic powers are, we’ll never feel what it’s like in another’s heart. The same goes for us. No one will ever feel how we feel entirely. In our subjective experience, we are alone. However, Gurus, Saints, Rishis, Yogis, and Spiritual Masters throughout the ages declared that an unshakeable bliss and crystal clear purity lie in the depths of our hearts, and that is our true nature. My motivation is to discover this. To uncover this. To understand this to such a depth that I can share with others.
Primarily, the choices stemming from this motivation relate to what I do with my attention. Where do I place my attention? What types of inputs and media do I pay more attention to? What kinds of thoughts fill my mind? Who do I spend time with?
The entire world is rewiring itself. Employees are disgruntled. Suicide rates and addictions are higher than ever. We can barely focus. For corporations, it is said that teams need to believe that their work is essential. When they don’t, they lack intrinsic motivation. Very rarely does a company provide a meaningful vision that inspires employees over the years. They are materialistic. Necessary, but not driven by the deepest yearning of the spiritual heart.
We seek psychological and spiritual growth, emotional maturity, and meaningful contribution to a world in peril. When people, companies, and organizations can clarify what they really want, we’ll harness the intrinsic power of motivation and return to the authority we have over our own lives.
Every moment matters.
Read another article like this. Let your motivation steep and ripen.
Or directly start that thing that is burning inside.
You can always scroll on Instagram, spin your head in distraction, play a mind-numbing game, or do some other mechanical action but know, that is a choice. Every moment is a choice.
Find your highest motivation and realize that you are steering every nanosecond of your life. Life is moving at the speed of thought, and it can seem overwhelming, but every single moment there is a choice.
Elevate.
Clarify.
Feel Joy in your heart.
Move from this place.
