When you finally take on the hard work of changing your ways, why do you do it? 

In the end, is it the growing power of your inspiration, proactivity, and desire to thrive, or the intense pressure of your desperation, reactivity, and need to survive?

Think about a time when you had to make a positive change, small or great.  What motivated you?  Were you inspired to make the change, or did you do it out of desperation? When motivation for change is reduced to the lowest terms, inspiration and desperation are the two most common motivators for growth.

Change is consistently needed in every area of life – physically, socially, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually.  A person who is thriving is learning, growing, and changing to adapt to an ever-changing life context.  If you are not giving attention to learning, growing, and required change, you are dying.

The intense pressure of desperation, reactivity, and the need to survive can drive change.  For many, this is the only driver.

If you are one of these, you are content to sail busily along while the seas of life seem calm, but the currents are still moving.  Failure to pay attention to what is happening in you and around you will leave you unaware of the need for course adjustment, and you get off course.  Pride, ego, and the fear of embarrassment blind you to the need for growth and change.  Laziness keeps you from becoming all you can be and doing all you can.  Growing and learning are uncomfortable, require work, and shake things up, which requires change. Change in one area creates a chain reaction of needed change in other areas.  It’s just hard work.

Life’s powerful currents, rocks, waves, typhoons, and other difficult situations, force you to change to survive. Life events catch you off guard and unprepared, and you react out of desperation.  You must change or face suffering, loss, or even death.  When this happens, you’ll find yourself experiencing primal reactions of fight, flight, or freeze.  Your attention becomes tightly focused, adrenaline flows, your senses heighten, and you act for change, frantically, often irrationally reaching out for help.

Your indifference, lack of attention, ego and pride, laziness, lack of focus, and reactive attempts at problem-solving affect all who are in the boat with you and all the other boats around you.  You, your family, friends, business, church, other social relationships, and legacy are all affected.

When the threat passes, did you learn, grow and change? Or did you merely survive?

Inspiration, proactivity, and desire to thrive can drive change.  I am convinced that this driver is rare.

If you are one of these, your motivation for growth and learning rises from the depths of your being.  Time and energy are given to charting the course of your life as you understand it at the moment.  The accuracy of your course, progress, and need for adjustment are consistently monitored.  Ego and pride are pushed aside for the humility required for not having all the answers, not having to be right, and embracing failure to learn.  Joining you in planning, monitoring, and adjusting for growth are “sharpening influences,” an extra set of eyes to help you stay alert, serve as a sounding board, and support you.

You are a learner by nature who learns from your mistakes and the mistakes of others.  You proactively invest in your learning and growth as a top priority for your benefit and that of others.

When life’s powerful currents, rocks, waves, typhoons, and other difficult situations come to you, you are prepared and ready to face them.  The way is not easy, but it is confident and sure.  When the threat passes, you remain vigilant on your watch for opportunities to learn and grow more.

Your inspired motivation, awareness, reflection, attentiveness, and proactive approach yield a calm, rational presence and give confidence to those in the boat with you.  Those in other boats look to you for guidance as they navigate and to set a steady example for course, speed, and seamanship.  This approach enriches the individual self, family, friends, business, church, and other social relationships and builds a powerful legacy for those who follow.

Sometimes, you may find yourself with either motivation – inspiration or desperation, thriving or surviving.  But which is your usual practice?

Contact us today to get on a path that will lead you to inspiration and thriving as consistent motivations for your learning, growth, and change.