There are some natural cycles predictably present in our lives, in the world, and even in the universe. There are common elements in the way we experience and perceive these cycles. Harmonizing the rhythm of your life with these natural cycles can help you to stay more vital and well throughout your life. Interestingly, I found these governing structures were present in every hunter-gatherer society I have studied – it seems to me that understanding these cycles is a necessary part of the ‘human manual’ we all need to read. Living with these natural cycles creates the foundation for wellness, health, success and effectiveness, and might even stop aging-related decay.

These last few months, I wrote in the blog about the first phase of the natural cycle, the inspiration phase. Once you have created the right environment and you are inspired in anything, it is time to move on to understanding the next phase of the natural cycle, the MOTIVATION phase.

Being motivated is a key part of being successful in most ventures, and as such, it is a subject that’s always fascinated me. Most simply put, motivation comes from vision, goal setting, and celebrating small successes. A wonderful mother, a top athlete or a great businessman always come across as an authentically motivated individual. But I always found that the easiest way to connect to a sense of motivation is when we look at the most motivated group of people, the 5-year-olds. When my daughter gets inspired about anything, she easily transfers into a motivated state. Tell a kid (like my little daughter) who loves animals that you want to take her to a zoo and you will have a first seat view of a motivated person – just imagine the number of questions you will need to answer to satisfy a motivated 5-year-old in this scenario. We have all been in this motivated state, yet sometimes grown-ups have a hard time to move from witnessing something inspirational to a more active motivated state.

A motivated person wants to know the ‘HOW’ of the next step in their journey, they ache to be oriented. Motivation is something, which builds your mindset. It gathers your senses and pulls you up from inactivity to doing something, achieving something, building something, and learning something new. It is a true force, which wakes up your sleeping mind and doesn’t let you rest until you have achieved your idea. When you are motivated you are restless, but you are energized. You feel like you are still fresh at the end of your day, even though you worked harder than usual – because you just had a glimpse of your unlimited power. It shows you what is your worth.

A motivated mind is a highly energized mind, which is ready to be taken into any direction, it is ready to be put to work. I am very motivated as I am writing this article to perhaps effect even 1% of your state of wellbeing, even if I don’t know you personally. I am enjoying being in motivation. Why does my mind (or anyone else’s) feel the way it is when we are motivated?
We normally associate dopamine with pleasure, but it has a far wider effect than just that. Dopamine creation has been found to fire up even before a reward is given, in addition to showing up in times of stress, pain, loss or pleasure. As a result, dopamine levels are now believed to be strongly linked with motivation. Motivation does feel good.

If inspiration was the spark, then motivation is the first real flame.

The resistance towards change is often a major obstacle in the way of progress in anything.
Here are a few examples that might help you to breakthrough towards a more motivated mindset during this month. Put them to good use!

• Typical Resistance #1: “I have to.” Very few things create resistance as effectively as being forced to do something. Sometimes, you may not even want to do things you usually enjoy, just because you feel you have to! This particular type of resistance keeps many people from taking an entrepreneurial step in their lives, as they don’t want their formerly fun activities to become ‘have to’ tasks.
• The Solution: “I choose to.” To combat this effect, change how you think. Realize that nothing in life is actually a ‘have to.’ You don’t have to get up, and you don’t have to go to work – you choose to because you enjoy the benefits those actions create. When you focus on the benefits of your actions, resistance melts away.

• Typical Resistance #2: “I can’t do this.” When you feel unequal to a task, it can be very difficult to get started. The feeling that you’ll certainly fail, or that you don’t know how to begin, will make any distraction seem infinitely more interesting than the task itself.
• The Solution: Realize that effort creates excellence. Everyone knows the saying “practice makes perfect,” but they rarely apply it to themselves. When you put effort into a task, you’ll get better at doing it. If you need help, ask for it, but don’t let your lack of knowledge stop you. Next time, you won’t have so much resistance to doing that particular task.

Perhaps use this form of self-talk this entire month and let me know how it all worked. I am always an e-mail away at info@csabalucas.com

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