No matter how knowledgeable, resourceful and talented we may be, we need the Motivation to propel us into dynamic action. It is the energising force to our abilities.

This clearly means that if we are to sustain our efforts, our motivation has to be sustainable too. For a torch to always give light, the battery has to be constantly charged. Herein lies a question we must answer for ourselves. Where does our motivation lie.

If we are motivated with success, failure makes us feel low. And we know there will be times we won’t be successful in spite of best efforts. But when we shift our motivation to excellence rather than achievements, we find the energy and drive to pull ourselves out of difficult situations.

If we are motivated by popularity and the appreciation of others, without realising it, we have kept the key of our happiness in somebody else’s pocket. Opinions change, people move on, somebody else gets more appreciated and we get tossed with the changing tide, experiencing inner turmoil. When attention elates us, neglect depresses us.

But when we build bonds of love and friendship, living with humility, our inner charge doesn’t diminish when appreciation and attention from others diminishes.

If we are motivated by the thought that we should be comfortable and have no problems, half our life we will be miserable facing challenges and the other half we will waste in anxiety that challenges don’t come our way. A good swimmer recognises that the sea will be calm and also full of waves. He’s motivated by his ability to swim well, not by his wishful thinking that the sea will always be calm.

Being constantly motivated in a changing world is the secret of effective living. Motivated to swim with the tide as also against the tide.

And we can only achieve this when our ignorance is dispelled. When we fill ourselves with gratitude for being alive, armed with knowledge of life, carrying an attitude of service, we are always energised.

And when we are enthused, not because of, but in spite of, we know we’ve found the secret of being perennially Motivated.

( All pictures in the blog are personal to me, either a place where I stay, have visited or am associated with )