Motivation, Staying Motivated

10 years ago I was standing at attention and a deep, gruff voice full of malice came from a man who walked back and forth in front of me, pacing, stalking. Every step he took and every gesture he made seemed full of pain and punishment. I remember very clearly what he said then.

"Intensity. When you are INTENSE you will not feel pain. When you are INTENSE you will not feel hunger. When you are INTENSE you will not feel tired or sleepy. INTENSITY is the key. You WILL have it. You WILL harness it. I will instill you with INTENSITY. I will MOTIVATE you."

This was said by one of my Drill Instructors at Paris Island South Carolina during Marine Corps Boot Camp. I have found that it is true.

Boot Camp honestly, is not difficult. It sucks because untill that point the majority of the recruits present have never had anyone get in their face in such a big way. That and the fact that its 3 months. Its the longest basic training in the armed services. Oh....and the sand flees. They are no fun.

Other than that it isnt too bad. Most of it goes in one ear and out the other, but what My drill Instructor said about Intensity and Motivation I have never forgotten.

FINDING YOUR MOTIVATION

First you need something to get motivated about.
This means finding your GOAL. Finding it, defining it.
Its tough to get pumped up and really go for it, whatever it is, without first having some clue about what it is you really want.
So what is your goal?
Get a piece of paper, or a notebook, and write down first what it is that you want in your life.
Then, look at the list and find out of all that, what is most immdiate, I mean what can you start working on right now, with minimum preparation and hassle?
This is important I think. Often people dont get very far with a project just because its too daunting. In the beginning, its a good idea to Motivate yourself by SUCCEEDING. So start with a small goal, once you complete it, you can move up a level.

JUST DO IT

Once the Goal is defined, get started. Dont wait. Dont make excuses, the next day you should be doing it. The first day you identify what you want to do....for example "Lose 10 pounds" then you spend that evening prepping. Go to the Market. Throw out the junk food. Get the broccoli and tuna and leafy greens. Mentally prepare yourself. The next morning its ON!
If your goal is to workout more, then same thing, get your workout gear organized so the next day you dont have to mess around, you just trow it on and go.
Whatever it is, just get on with it already.

KEEP TRYING

Ok so you diet for a couple days then suddenly you find yourself at an all you can eat pizzaria.
Yep....you fucked up.
So what? The next morning you should be dieting again. Everyone fails. Everyone. period. Get over it and dont feel sorry for yourself. Just get back on the Horse and keep going. People say "Yo-Yo" dieting is horrid etc etc. Its better than not trying at all. If you are consistent with your efforts always going for it again, you will still lose weight.
This can be applied to working out, writing a book, starting a blog, learning a foreign language...whatever.

THE ENDS JUSTIFY....

I am a firm beleiver in the following "I dont care how you do it, just get it done"...you could say this is the story of my life. Alot of people disagree but I think that no matter what, just dont fail. Even if at times you think you have lost it, people doubt you, things seem pretty murky and generally horrible...just keep putting one foot in front of the other, you will get through it. Keep slugging it out and dont worry if its pretty. When you SUCCEED all the nay sayers will be chanting your name and applauding.

STAY INTENSE and STAY MOTIVATED

Tell yourself every day, every hour how awesome your going to feel when your friends say "Hey, have you lost weight?" or when you call your parents and tell them, by the way I got that promotion I mentioned or "I actually am moving to France" or whatever. Tell yourself over and over daily that you are number 1. You can do. You can do things normal people cant. review the areas in your life where you have been succesful, I promise you have some even if they dont seem apparent. Focus on those points and tell yourself the pain and discomfort is worth it just so you can rub all their noses in it at the end.

When I went out for Scout Snipers in 2000 when I was in the Marines, alot of people both in the Sniper platoon and in my Infantry unit told me "Barnes your too big and your just not cut out for Snipers man, sorry." I went to the Indoctrination anyway. 45 people showed up to try out and take the 3 day indoc test. 7 people finished, I was one of them. People told me the same thing when I said I was going to move to Japan "Youll spend all your money and be pennyless and back home in a month", yet here I am. Got it again when I told people I was going to kickbox professionally, but I did that too. Happened again when I told people I was going to write professionally but guess what? FUCK EVERYONE ELSE.
You can do whatever you want to do, just stay INTENSE and KEEP GOING no matter what.