100 Ways To Motivate Yourself, Third Edition

53. Keep thinking, keep thinking

Motivation comes from thought. Every act we take is preceded by a thought that inspires that act. And when we quit thinking, we lose the motivation to act. We eventually slip into pessimism, and the pessimism leads to even less thinking. And so it goes, a downward spiral of negativity and passivity, feeding on itself like cancer.

I like to use this example in my seminars to illustrate the power of continuing to think: Let’s say a pessimist has made up his mind to clean his garage on a Saturday morning. He wakes up, walks out to the garage, and opens the door. He is shocked to see just how much of a mess it is. “Forget this!” the pessimist says with disgust. “No one could clean this garage in one day!” At that ...