Self-Discipline, Motivation and Momentum: How to Overcome these Obstacles

Lions and tigers and bears, even elephants, oh my! I'm sure you are wondering what bears and elephants have to do with discipline and motivation. You'll just have to read on to find out. Self-discipline, motivation, persistence, determination, and consistency are all necessary to being successful in life. Have you ever wondered why some people are so good at these traits and others have trouble? It all comes down to desire and how much you really want the success that will come from these practices.

Have you ever wondered why some people are so good at self-discipline, motivation, persistence, determination, and consistency while others are not? Have you ever noticed that ALL successful people possess these traits? Where do they get this luck? It all comes down to desire. It is all related to how much they really want the success that will so easily come from these daily practices.

Where does desire come from?

Desire comes from deep down inside you. It is something you feel, you see, you hear, you taste and you smell. When successful people really want something to happen, they live and breathe that goal every moment. They use all five of their senses to make that goal come alive.

How does desire develop and grow within us?

We are governed by our emotions on a daily basis, or more accurately, we are governed by our emotions moment to moment. Have you ever seen someone's mood change in an instant? Something triggered that mood change. Something important to that person's subconscious mind triggered a certain emotion in that person's psyche, which in turn caused their mood to change.

Fear and Pleasure are the two most important emotions to control to gain success.

Why fear and pleasure? The two most common reasons why people DESIRE a certain outcome can be traced back to the emotions of fear or pleasure. Most of our actions are governed by these two emotions alone.

This is where the bears and elephants come in. They are related, I promise.

Have you ever seen a bear attack someone? Hopefully, you only have in the movies. Bears can be very gentle animals, but when they sense fear they will attack. If they sense that you are afraid, that makes the bear afraid, and the bear will attack as a form of protection. People are the same. We often let our fears control our actions. We also let other people's fears control us. We often become afraid or put up our guard when we sense someone else doing the same.

But what happens when a baby bear cub sees a bush full of ripe soft blueberries? Well, all of sudden, those blueberries are going to be awfully important to that bear. Why? That bear must have experienced the PLEASURE of ripe blueberries before. How often do people gain weight because they eat too much? It is human nature for most of us to want the short-term pleasure of eating. People let that control them more than the fear of gaining weight.

Have you ever seen the excitement of a child when they found out they were going to ride on the back of an elephant? My children have done this at a zoo. It was the most compelling attraction at the zoo. We waited in a long line, just so they could have their turn. They loved it and felt so elated! Their desire was governed by pleasure. What do you think would have happened if my children happened to see one of the other children fall off the elephant and get hurt badly while my children were standing in line waiting for their turn? I can guarantee that they would definitely be second-guessing their decision to ride on that elephant. They would think that maybe this isn't such a good idea. Why the sudden change in desire? Fear. What once was looking like a pleasurable experience now looks like a dangerous one. Whether my children stay in that line to ride the elephant or not will depend on what emotion they feel the strongest pull.

Which emotion is governing you?

Which emotion has the greater influence on you? Fear or pleasure? The next time you are lacking in motivation, discipline, or momentum sit down and think about what your fears are. Deep down inside you somewhere there are some fears that are holding you back. Is it the fear of failure, the fear of criticism, the fear of poverty, or something else? Once you realize those fears, work with them instead of against them.

Now think about the pleasures you will get from moving forward with your plans. Think of the successes you will achieve. See, smell, feel what that success will be like. Really get a good picture of it in your head. What does it look like? What does it feel like? The desire to obtain the pleasure of your success needs to be stronger than the desire to avoid the fear associated with moving ahead in life. Only then will you have consistent motivation and discipline to keep the momentum of your success going.

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