Motivation – Drive

As promised yesterday, today I’ll dig into more of the HOW, specifically as it relates to drive.  Motivation is made up of drive, goals, and grit, but I want to break them apart. Thank you so much for sending questions! You are making me THINK!

“What on earth drives you?”

This is very simple to answer:

GRATITUDE FOR THE GIFT

Time to get Zen so I can explain this further.

The Obstacle is The Way,

“There is an old Zen story about a king whose people had grown soft and entitled. Dissatisfied with this state of affairs, he hoped to teach them a lesson. His plan was simple: He would place a large boulder in the middle of the main road, completely blocking entry into the city. He would then hide nearby and observe their reactions.
How would they respond? Would they band together to remove it? Or would they get discouraged, quit, and return home?

With growing disappointment, the king watched as subject after subject came to this impediment and turned away. Or, at best, tried halfheartedly before giving up. Many openly complained or cursed the king or fortune or bemoaned the inconvenience, but none managed to do anything about it.

After several days, a lone peasant came along on his way into town. He did not turn away. Instead he strained and strained, trying to push it out of the way. Then an idea came to him: He scrambled into the nearby woods to find something he could use for leverage. Finally, he returned with a large branch he had crafted into a lever and deployed it to dislodge the massive rock from the road.

Beneath the rock were a purse of gold coins and a note from the king, which said:

“The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.”

From The Obstacle Is the Way, Ryan Holiday

I choose to lean into my obstacles rather than fight them. This way the energy is all flowing in the same direction, momentum is built, and progress is made. Without fail, the opportunities reveal themselves.

Stillness is The Key,

For me this is about mental stillness and being present. Get the mind out of the way and go do the work – without judgment of the work. Be in each rep, each pedal stroke, each step of recovery. Be in the now, not in the past or the future. This is also about letting the body lead and setting the mind to notice, watch, and learn – it doesn’t matter what the mind does or does not know, I will still need to do the work, so I may as well still the mind.

Gratitude For The Gift is The Driver…

The gift is the chance at being whole for the first time in my life. Gratitude was my very first thought upon learning what was going on with my body physically and how we could fix it. I’m so grateful to have this chance! What a GIFT! Gratitude has taken me through every step of the process. It guides every action I take, and when I get stuck it brings me back. Gratitude is a fundamental life orientation for me, not something I simply practice for a few minutes each morning.

Drive is made up of curiosity, passion, and purpose. All three of those are based in gratitude for me.

Curiosity – I’m curious about what the gift of being whole will ultimately be like. I’m curious to know what other gifts will come next. The physical recovery and new abilities, but also the personal growth, renewed relationships, and whole life integration. Look at how many gifts I have received through this journey already! I am grateful for all of this.

Passion – I’m passionate about the reception of this gift and doing all of the steps for receiving it completely. I’m passionately grateful.

Purpose – The gift is life changing for me and my family. I must make the most of it and then share the gift with others. Gratitude drives me to help it grow beyond me. Gratitude drives me to step outside of myself and write about it.

Gratitude is the high octane racing fuel that propels everything.

…And I Am The Racecar.

So I better not be a lemon or jalopy or even something ordinary!

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