Self

Motivation.

I am thinking about this as I struggle myself to get motivated to do the things I need to improve my life. Self control, self knowledge, self dominion. I know I am a daughter of Heavenly Father, my Patriarchal Blessing brings several traits to light that I have inherited, I can see through my own life how I have recovered and earned each of my white hair or wrinkle in my face, because I learned by myself to never give up, and persevere and do everything, never stopping until I get what I need to do.

But, like the saying above says, "If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon."

When we think that we have security in the things we do, may them be a job, house chores, a college degree or whatever, and we know those things will still be there when we wake up in the morning, it's something that does not have to do with motivation. Not directly.

When the apostles woke Jesus when they were in a storm at sea, and He said that they had little faith, what do you suppose would have been the faithful response he would have approved of?

Would he have preferred of them that they leave him sleeping, or awoken him but without fear?

The answers can be many. Maybe we need to evaluate that fear is the antithesis of faith, and if they had had sufficient faith, they would have been able to calm the wind and waves as Christ did.

And I agree totally with this answer. Especially as I understand that Jesus Christ's mission was basically to have us understand and love ourselves, as I said in my last article .

But, we need to consider other options:

1) They wanted to engage the Lord (i.e. they perhaps could have solved the storm problem on their own);

2) When to engage (i.e. the Lord could have possibly preferred that they would have asked for his help sooner or waited longer);

3) How to engage (i.e. with fear, with doubt, with confidence, with the "not my will but thine be done" attitude);

And then I come back to the thesis I developed some time ago.

"The greatest battle of life is fought out

within the silent chambers of the soul.

A victory on the inside of a man's heart

is worth a hundred conquests on the battlefields of life.

To be master of yourself is the best guarantee

that you will be master of the situation.

Know thyself.

The crown of character is self-control. "
(KIMBALL, Spencer W. - The Miracle of Forgiveness)

In my opinion, all the teachings of Jesus Christ have to do with self-knowledge we need to develop every single day, in every most simple situation. And how we do it every single day in righteousness.

Our basic needs are self-esteem, peace of mind, and personal contentment. I believe these are needs of God's children everywhere.

How can these needs be satisfied?

Behind each of these is the requirement to establish one's own personal identity as the offspring of God. All three needs, regardless of ethnic background, culture, or country, can be met if we look to the divinity that is within us.

Abraham Lincoln wrote these words, as part of a resolution in 1863:

"'We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth, and power as no other Nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us.

"'It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our . . . sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.' (John Wesley Hill, Abraham Lincoln, Man of God, 4th ed., New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, p. 391.)"

There is no way to have self esteem and self dominion, and self knowledge of itself without gratitude and the humble heart to recognize we can do anything without God.

I believe totally that Jesus Christ wants us to develop every single quality He has, including the recognition that we are not alone do all to get there.

As children of God, knowing of His great love and His ultimate knowledge of what is best for our eternal welfare, we trust in Him. The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and faith means trust. And no fear. And self knowledge. This I call conscious wisdom.

We need to unleash the dormant Spirit as Elder Busche advised:

When we achieve self dominion of our carnal state, we are rewarded with the Light of Christ, that brings us our own and rich Self back. Our alive and very well motivated Spirit that lives in us.

So, the question 'How to get motivated when I already tried everything, I know what to do, I just need to do it, but I don't get', is easy to answer.

But how to do it everyday. How to get motivated every day to stick to a diet, to pass in a contest, to accomplish goals in life, to get better in some subject and all that we need to do for ourselves, for our families, loved onde, professionally, spiritually, personally, phisically?

1) Work hard until get results.

This is the hardest (at least for me!). We can build on our motivation by getting results. The harder we work, the more results we will get; the more results we get, the more motivated we will become to get more. These things all build on one another.

2) Reason x Emotion.

Sometimes I hear that we can not be emotional and need to learn to think instead feel. I believe that a healthy ammount of Emotional Intelligence is needed in everything we do. Emotion plays a big part in staying motivated. Emotion is a powerful force in getting us going. Passion is an emotion, so fuel your passion. Set yourself on a course to have a consuming desire for your goal, whatever it is. Do whatever you can to feel emotion, and use it to your advantage.

We must have a big enough 'reason why' in order to feel motivated. Your reason why must provide a 'meaningful motive'. It can be useful to look for a reason that's bigger than yourself.

3) See the big picture.

I believe that the root word of motivation is motive. The definition of motive is, “a reason to act.” This is the cognitive or rational side of motivation. It is your vision. To stay motivated, you need to have a vision that is big enough to motivate you every day. Set out a vision and a strategy for getting there. Have a plan, and work the plan. Seeing the big picture, as if your goals would've already been accomplished and imagining the life with all you dream how it would be, is a good motive to get up everyday and get closer to our Self.

4) Feed the dreams

We need motivation everyday, because it doesn't last. Zig Ziglar said that baths are the same way, but we still think it is a good idea to take a bath every day!

You better be eager to believe that our goal is attainable. Either that or your fear must be so great that you will try anyway. Without this fear or belief  get self motivation is difficult to maintain. Given that you probably don't want to live with feelings of dread, let's take a look at belief. You can start by looking for evidence within yourself that you can achieve your goal. You can then back this up by seeking support, mentors and role-models, either directly or indirectly through books and audios. Inspiration can certainly help, and we can look outside ourselves for help with inspiration, but...

... our motivation can only come from inside ourselves.

When inadequacy, doubt, or complacency keeps us silent, it is time to remember that vision and hope can take their place, if we focus on the big picture of achieve our Self.

We must have self motivation to achieve self improvement, to earn self knowledge, so we can attain self esteem, self growth, personal development, self help, and change.

I really like the definition Elder Neal A. Maxwell gives about the self-concept we have of ourselves many times are separated of our real selves because of internal contradictions:

http://radiobeloved.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/maxwell-neal-a-1966-our-crises-in-self-esteem-a-major-personnel-problem.pdf

I will for sure talk more about this subject. Thoughts just flood my mind all over. To establish how proactive we are, our self-image, ability to learn, to relax, how we see our world, how powerful we are, how effective in our communication with the world, how do we handle conflicts, persuade, set goals, make decisions, manage changes, and finally, persevere.

With God I can do all things. You too.

Check soon for more insights of a mind that wants to reach its Self.

Supremacy.