By: Elizabeth Louis
Average people want materialism. The World class wants aspirations.
What do you want?
Most people, the average-minded, are motivated by extrinsic motivators. Research has discovered external motivators like money and possessions only get people over the initial hump but never lead to a person achieving greatness. A truth champions accept and live.
The world-class is motivated by intrinsic motivation—motivated by their dreams, desires, passions, values, and goals, which push them forward and keep them going. While external motivation fades quickly, intrinsic motivation persists until the goal is achieved.
You may have noticed this in your own life. If you have ever attended a motivational seminar, you know how quickly the “rah-rah, jump up and down, dance to the music” motivational antics and pep talks fade away. Sure, they’re fun and temporarily motivate you, but they rarely create mental shifts leading to intrinsic motivation or neurological change. You will find more average-minded people at such events than winners. Why?
The world-class know that the secret to motivation is not having someone else motivate them but learning how to motivate themselves. To learn how to motivate yourself, you must identify what you are willing to fight for and keep fighting for it, especially when the going gets tough — this takes clarity, self-discipline, and resilience. Then you make up your mind and do it –intentionally working at it.
Personally, my intrinsic motivation is Jesus Christ, and I am intentionally working to achieve my God-given will. It’s like what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24: 24: Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!
When world-class thinkers fall off the proverbial house, they ask themselves, how can I get back on one second faster than last time?
Champions understand that veering off track is inevitable, but consistent training to return to the course will result in more extended and more effective periods of staying on target. When average people fall off the horse or get off track, they tend to ruminate on thoughts reinforcing their negative self-image and limitations rather than focusing on solutions and positive thinking.
Many world-class individuals rely on their faith because they recognize the need for a solid foundation to build upon, which cannot be themselves. In times of weakness, they require something greater than themselves to rejuvenate and replenish their spirit. This is why so many world-class thinkers intentionally bury scripture into their hearts.
Champions, unlike average-minded people, understand they must move from logic-based motivators to emotional-based motivators to Spirit-led motivators. The irony is that humans are 100% emotional until they become Spirit-led. Only fools believe they’re being logical when, in reality, they are just being emotional, which is why the world-class focuses on being led by the Spirit.
Average people spend a lot of their mental bandwidth on wishful thinking. Champions understand that finding true power rests in understanding the deep recesses of their psyche. They know that to be their best, they have to retrain their minds and identify all their blindspots, so they have coaches, a relationship with the Divine, and intentionally do self-development.
They know the key to tapping into their greatest potential comes from the tedious, time-consuming, and simple process of consistently asking solution-focused questions. Champions intentionally work to plow, weed, and feed their mental soil, and they understand that asking solution-focused questions is how they do this. They don’t stop digging until they have found the weeds polluting their mental garden. Many have faith because they believe God is the greatest coach who can provide insight into themselves.
This is why so many world-class thinkers have a faith system or coaches to help them perform at the highest levels. These coaches have a unique understanding of how to use emotional and spiritual motivation to inspire individuals to push beyond their limits and achieve feats that would otherwise be impossible. For example, when faced with physical or mental pain, I remind myself of the amount of pain that Jesus endured on the cross. If he could endure that level of pain to give me eternal life, then I owe it to him to keep pushing through. In these difficult or painful moments, I tell myself – I have the same spirit within me that raised Christ from the dead dwelling inside me- I can do this – stay focused. I stay focused on my goal, reflect on the love of Jesus, and keep moving forward, trusting that the impossible can become possible through God.
Now it’s your turn. What is your intrinsic motivator? What can you think to push through and keep going forward?
Action Plan:
I want you to think through these 5 questions:
- What is something that you feel passionate enough about to defend or advocate for?
- What are your values?
- What are you willing to die for?
- If you could achieve one thing, what would make all your hard work worth the struggle?
- Which scripture can you memorize to uplift your spirit and help you move forward?
