Motivation:

You “have” to feel motivated, it cannot be faked or pushed upon you, it is in the inner you, and it must be fed with the joy of living and life. With God we have the greatest source of energy and love. That is a good motivator just knowing that there is someone so wonderful as love and God. If you know that it is right then you should inspire yourself to do it.

▫️ God thou art love! I build my faith upon that – Robert Browning.

If we are lying in the grass reading a book feeling a bit sleepy and lazy and somebody asks you or I to go and mow the lawns we may feel that we don’t want to move from this comfort – our motivation to move is very low. But if a huge bull escapes his paddock and you see him running down a hill towards you while you are lazing in the sun you would feel motivated to move before the bull got to you. And you would move fast because you would know that the result of the bull catching up with you wouldn’t be pleasant.

Outside influences can motivate us easily. We just feel that for our own good we had better do this or that. It is the inner-self that we need to motivate to do things because they should be done, not because we are forced to do them. But because we should do them. We shouldn’t procrastinate (To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness – To postpone or delay needlessly. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/procrastinate)

It would be nice to feel motivated to help people and be nice to them simply because they are people.

The Bible has many motivating stories in it. Stories like the life of David. The life of Joseph and even the hard times of Job are a real motivation – while you and I may not want to go through what Job did, it is wonderful to know that we, you and I, can do as Job did and win in the end, get over our issues, be strong, faithful and good.

People sometimes refer to motivation as seeing the positive side, chanting sentences to motivate yourself and keep motivated, punch the air and make only positive statements throughout your day and your life. But we are not robots, we are people. And some day’s we can be just a bit tired and not feeling that motivated, a bit under the weather – on those days just do the best that you can, find some good music or something to get your day going. We don’t need to falsely pep ourselves up though – we can bring our hearts and souls up to a higher level through our belief in God and the system that he has created for us. People have feelings and need to see the truth and grow with it to really know what motivation is.

Belief in yourself will keep you on the track of what it is that you want to do. A deep feeling that what you are doing is right will put aside those fears that assail you or others like to tell you of, because you know what you must do and you will because it is for the better for you and others in the long run. Always go where the wholesome life is, go for the life that will bring you happiness, others joy and responsibilities that help you become stronger inside – that deep inner strength is what we all really want. A pat on the head is nothing to a real belief in what it is that we are doing.

Knowing that we are capable of doing something really helps. Being able or wanting to step out of our comfort zone to do something that we have not done before is a bit scary, but motivate yourself with all those past successes and all the good things that have happened to you that made your life better. History is a great motivator. God is a great motivator. Study history books of people who did good things and you will be amazed at what they went without, or tried, and how they dealt with people and situations. History is a great helper in motivating yourself. Get in the habit of reading only good books and you will fill your mind with joy and inspiration.

Try not to concentrate on the bad things.

▫️The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice – Mary Ann Evans.

It is wise to always realise that somebody may be much worse off that you, it seems like there always somebody in a worse situation, so please don’t complain for your own good and for the good of others and instead be an action person doing good. The humble feeling can come from seeing people in worse situations than us, who maybe are not able to do all the things that we can do but they are happy, while we may be complaining and not happy over small things.

That is why we should wake up each day thankful that we get another chance, another go at life. We must feel motivated to do this. If we fell short with someone we love the day before, then on this new day we can step forth and mend any damage with love.

▫️Growth is the only evidence of life – J H Newman.

If you drag yourself out of bed that is just living. But if you jump out of bed with a smile on your face, pleased that you are to have another day to try something new. That is motivating. Today is a new day to look for new opportunities, in short the new day is a new chance… What a free gift, a new chance to correct sorrows and mistakes, a chance to do so much. A chance to make new decisions, take new chances. If what you did the day before didn’t work out , well the new day gives you the opportunity to try something new. Forgive people, say sorry – get things right with people and you get yourself right with God.

▫️2 Peter Chapter 3, verse 18: But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

What a blessing. God worked out a way for you to sleep, get that much needed rest for your mind and your body so that you can start again – each new dawn is a new beginning, not just an opportunity to sip coffee and eat breakfast, but a chance to see the opportunities that are open every day and go on and try one, for your sake or somebody else’s. Do something new with your new chance, just make sure that it is a good thing in the eyes of the Lord.

Being motivated to bring happiness to others and joy to your own life is something that we should all try to do and remember what we give out we get back. If you were once motivated to being joyful and happy (like a child is) then remember that you did it once, you can bring it back. Go for it, its fun and so good for the soul.

If you know that something is good then it can be sought after, to know that it is good in God’s eyes is worth thinking about because God will only want the best for you, and He would want you to enjoy the best but only by following the Good rules that God has set for you. Make sure that your motives are good in Gods eyes.

Of course positive internal talk is very helpful to you, especially if you live in a negative environment. Keep up positive talk of encouragement into your mind, and especially if you are working in a stressful job. Think of God and His love. Think of Jesus and the life that Jesus lived, humble and decent. Keep up the good work, keep trying and keep being an asset to your community and to people all around you. Praise God for the opportunity (even if you are tired etc) to help people and be a tool and servant for Him and a chance to be a blessing to others.

An example of this is the doctor, nurse, police, fireman etc. They work hard hours and they do so much more than the general public know. We can be very proud of them, especially when they touch our lives every now and then when we need them to help us or someone that we love. They work long hours, can be stressed and can struggle at times. They need to know that God needs them as we also do. God is pleased with their professional work because it does so much good. They are a blessing.

Please remember that you are special – if other people cannot see you shine that is because they have not yet learned to see what it is in you that causes that wonderful shine. They have negative sunglasses on that hides your shine from their fogged eyes. Your inner flow is from your contentment and the joy of living under the watchful gaze of God.

▫️Spiritual life depends on the purposes that we cherish – Charles Spurgeon.

All the best from James M Sandbrook.
22 February 2018.