If you live on this planet, you must have heard of the “soon to be released” movie “Inception”, which is an international heist caper. Inception follows Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), an “extractor” whose form of corporate espionage is to invade the dreams of the rich and powerful and pluck their most tightly guarded secrets from the depths of their subconscious.

The dictionary cites “Inception” as “a beginning of something” and Dicaprio’s character “Cobb” says at one point “A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules”. An interesting observation or “truism” that many of us are unable to grasp easily…

But why is that? We have all read the history books, read the newspapers, and watch TV, and have seen that “ordinary” people break records and make headlines every day… So why not you (or me)?

Aside from it’s entertainment value, many people gain inspiration from books and movies, whether it be just the story line, how a particular character is portrayed, the soundtrack, or even a spectacular scene. There is also the “concept” or base idea of a book or movie that may inspire you… In this case recognition of the power of the brain’s subconscious abilities.

Yes, it’s only a movie, and the story is fiction… But the premise or idea behind it is true. Everybody possesses potentially tremendous power that they may never discover if they don’t allow themselves to release it, or are not prepared to learn how.

Is that a resource you can afford to ignore? Before you can achieve success in the world, you have to “know” and master your own self. Once you can harness the power of your own mind, you are only limited by your own ambitions…

Just as willpower is an essential factor in achieving success, at some point in time, discouragement and lack of motivation may hinder you from reaching your objective.  And it is up to you, and you alone to devise techniques that will help you keep that drive within on fire…

It is helpful to have visual goals. whatsoever that is you are working towards, make it visual. It maybe something material like a car, or a vacation you have been looking forward to for the longest time. Take or cut out a picture of it and post it at a conspicuous place at work or at home where you can see it often. So that when you feel discouraged, this will remind you of your goal and will help you keep your spotlight.

Make a contract with yourself. According to motivational researches, people who write down to-do-lists are far more triumphant in achieving their intended goals than those people who just keep mental lists instead. Putting something in writing somehow makes it more powerful psychologically speaking. This may also be the basis why most cultures have such a high regard in honoring contracts. In the contract, you may also include a certain reward that you will give yourself once you have accomplished the task.

After all, everyone likes to be rewarded for completing a good job. Even a simple pat on the back, “good job”, or “thank you” may do the trick to give the person the additional push to carry on, but unfortunately, these may not
always be readily available. Considering that these are also essential in keeping yourself motivated, you must learn to find a way to get that encouragement on your own through pleasing yourself.

Abusive people lower your self-esteem and bring you down. Get these negative people out of your life. Surround yourself with positive people. Imitate their example. Smile often and think happy thoughts. These will give you a brighter outlook and lets you see a clearer picture of what you really want and a fresh mind to know what steps to take to get there. Rather than wait for things to happen, try to be proactive and MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. Inactivity idles the brain and stagnates your potential to reach your goals.

Read inspirational books and literature. These will help you improve your attitude and heal your mind. A book of success stories also proves to be encouraging. You will not only learn from others’ experiences and derive confidence boosting insights from them but the story will be instrumental in motivating you to go for your goal and move ahead with your plans. If this still seems to falter, get training or education.

Usually, not knowing how or where to start is frustrating. Knowledge is power. Having a clear understanding of how and where to start is empowering and it will provide the extra drive needed to hit the mark you are aiming at and follow it through.

Having enumerated all these tips and tricks to attain self-motivation, but still you seem to feel lacking that much needed drive, there is one last thing that you must try.

Whatever it is that you have been meaning to do, or wanting to achieve, JUST DO IT! Keep on aiming high and go for it! Actually getting your hands dirty best solves the problem of motivation. By “forcing” yourself to just do it, your momentum will pick up gradually as you go along and before you know it you have finished the task or have finally achieved your goal. Divide and conquer is the key.

Break down the apparently unattainable activity to small doable steps. Not only does it become less overwhelming, but seeing the “in the meantime” results will further your confidence that it can indeed be done.

Lack of motivation happens to us all, but if you do not encourage yourself to accept opportunities and be challenged, no one else will. It is most important to keep your eye on the goal, find ways to keep going, and in no time, you shall reap its benefits.

And if at the beginning you were just doing it for the material reward, you will also learn to realize that the fulfillment, satisfaction and self-achievement you derive from reaching your goal is a much enjoyable high that will keep the drive within constantly burning.

Unlock the secret power beyond positive thinking. Finally develop the confidence and motivation to really make a big difference in your life. The  “Investing In You” course includes MP3 Audio and Ebook.

You may be thinking that the title of this article is too dramatic… But in actual fact it’s extremely accurate!

Any Doctor will tell you that chronic stress conditions lead to thousands of serious illnesses and deaths every single year. A situation that appears to worsen as the pressures of modern life increase on a daily basis. Not only do you run the risk of mental disorders, but there are heart attacks, strokes, tobacco and alcohol addiction amongst many others that are more often than not attributed to being stress- related.

As you know, many people have Therapists to ease their worries and help them overcome stress… Which is fine and dandy… If you can afford it! However, for the rest of us mere mortals, if we had the money for Therapists, we may not be quite as stressed as we now! Obviously, lack of money is not the only cause of extreme stress, but it is one heck of a “biggie” these days (thank you Mr Banker!).

So, what do the “rest of us” do?

Don’t worry, you can learn to overcome stress , if your willing to put in the time and effort to help yourself, and it’s actually easier than you may think, once you know how…

There are various methods, and obviously I can’t cover all of them here (you would need several books!) and some will suit one person better than others, nonetheless here are a few tips to get you started…

First of all, you need to understand the root cause of your stress, or at least the most important one. So spend a little time analyzing your feelings and identify your main problem.

If possible, talk to someone close to you about it… sharing the problem will relieve some if the stress you are feeling, and in some cases, they may be able to help you with it. You may find that just “getting it off your chest” will make you feel a whole lot better, and two heads can often be better than one.

Go for a brisk walk… The exercise itself will stimulate you and help you think more clearly. It will also lift your spirits as the adrenalin starts to pump through your body, and you may come up with ideas that hadn’t previously occurred to you.

Try to view your situation with “your glass half-full”… That is, be aware that you can actually subconsciously talk yourself into stress or depression by thinking the worst of any situation. So, look for the positives, and try to build on them.

Don’t be afraid of helping others… Quite often assisting others in times of stress can improve your personal outlook on life, even if it’s only because somebody else might be worse off than you. Aside from that, by helping others your are less likely to be solely focused on your own problems.

Do something different… If time and means permit, go and do something that you normally wouldn’t… Even if it’s just a day out somewhere, a game of golf perhaps, or anything that you fancy doing, but never seem to get around to, take some time to enjoy yourself.

Ok, these tips on their own won’t magically eliminate your stress completely and solve all your problems… But they will put you on the road to dealing with stress more effectively and reduce the risk of serious illness. Don’t ignore stress and find out the hard way!

Learn more about how you can help yourself to overcome stress.

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