Words by Etienne Gilbert
When I was ask by Brian to do some “motivational” post for 33mag following the interview we did together about my after snowboarding life, my first reaction was to laugh…
Why laugh? Well like one of my mentor once said “Motivation is like a warm bath!” It feels nice for a little while but soon enough the feeling is gone…
To tell you the truth, I don’t see myself as a motivational guy! But I like to think that I can help people inspire themselves to constantly create and re- create the life they dream of or aspire to.
The truth is, aren’t we all motivated? Isn’t truth that we all have some sort of driving force motivating us to take certain decision rather than another, regardless of the results we get? If you keep postponing the day where you’ll finally do the thing you “should be doing” and have been thinking about for days, weeks, months or maybe even years, there must be something motivating you to procrastinate. You must be getting something out of not doing anything about it or else you wouldn’t procrastinate. Wouldn’t you? So what drives people to not follow through with the goals they set for themselves vs. what drives then to go after them? What drives people to get out of their comfort zone vs. stay within them? We all know people who have all the talent but come up way short of what could have been while others seem to have everything against them and yet they accomplish amazing things and live amazing lives.
It’s like the good old New Year’s resolutions… Soon the motivation to stick with the changes is gone and the old behaviours settle back in and you are back to where you started, if not further back, for having proven to yourself again that you have no motivation to do the things you “should”.
Obviously, I’m playing on words a little bit here and I know not everybody has the same internal representation of the word “motivation” but for me it’s like giving pain killer to a patient. It works really well in the short term, yet in the long term it does absolutely nothing to help the patient address the cause of the problem and reclaim some power over his own responsibility towards the disease at hand. It only masks the symptoms… I’m sure I’m not teaching you anything new here…
I mean, don’t get me wrong, being motivated is great! That’s why I still want to share with you some quick tips to get motivated. All you have to do is to stack up, in the short term and in the long term, what there is to lose by not doing what is required and stack up what there is to gain by doing so. Stack it high enough and I can guarantee you’ll get moving. People who are stuck have it the other way around whether or not they are conscious of it. They stack up what there is to lose by doing what is require and stack up what there is to gain by not doing so… If you do this exercise you’ll know exactly what is causing you to sit on the couch and the next thing you’ll know, you’ll be out there getting her done!
But I believe what people really need to create lasting change and meaning in their lives is “inspiration” not “motivation”! I believe people who have something that inspire them don’t need motivation. They don’t need to constantly push themselves. They are inspired or you can also say they are living “in spirit”… It’s literally like their vision is moving them in towards their goals. They are being pulled by the vision. There is simply nothing else in focus for them and they are on a mission where every step of the way is an opportunity to be grateful for. They don’t even need to stack what there is to lose by not taking action. They are just so curious to see what will happen and the simple concept of not knowing what could have been inspires them to keep going no matter what.
So I guess the question is “How do inspired people do it?” Here is a secret. The very first step of any journey is the last one! Actually, it’s not a secret, it’s an old concept full of wisdom and I’m sure most of you have done this at one point or another. The difference is that some people are conscious of it and apply it constantly in their lives and some do it by instinct in certain situation but get stuck and don’t know what to do in other situation.
So here is a piece of what I have discovered over the years about inspiration.
The first step is to know exactly what we aspire to do and be. What is it that you dream about? What is it that makes you feel alive? Sounds pretty simple, yet so many people focus so much on what there is too loose vs. what there is to gain. Some people don’t even dare to dream anymore because they are more afraid to fail then they are excited to succeed… Or you get the people who are afraid to succeed… but that’s a different story... Yet I think we can all say that we have sabotaged our own progress at one point or another…
Uninspired people focus on the things they want to avoid instead of what they want to experience. Here’s some very simplistic example that I hope will shine some light on what I’m expressing: “Don’t speed check between those two jumps or you’ll hit the knuckle!” Instead of: “Simply point it straight down between those two jumps, get all your speed, pop off the lip like a boss, do your thing in the air, and you land perfectly in the sweet spot ”. Which one is more appealing to you? Is it even worth asking?
Tell a child “Don’t drop the milk!” and you guessed it! The milk is on the brand new carpet! “Don’t forget this and that!” and of course we forget! The fact is, our unconscious mind does not process negatives and is highly suggestive. If you say “You don’t want to come up short on this jump!” Your mind as to picture yourself coming up short, have a feeling about it, therefore make it real inwardly, before it can delete it. You have suggested an unwanted picture yet you have not suggested anything else that the unconscious mind can focus on, replace it with and aspire to. Obviously we need to be aware of the danger but the focus remains on what is required for the desire outcome to take place, or, at the very less, have a better chance to take place.
The first step is the last step because it allows you to close the gap of time between where you are now and where you are going by allowing you to feel now how good it feels to be doing your thing and getting the results you dream of in your endeavours. By doing exactly that, you experience inwardly the process and the outcome before it has been manifested outwardly. By doing that, you have just closed the gap of time and by being the person you aspire to be now, you start creating your life from that very space. And that’s why the first step is the last once, because the thing you create can’t be any different from the space you create it in the first place. Use this technique when you are about to execute a trick and you’ll be amazed at the amount of magic that takes place.
So start with the end in mind and work your way back to where you are. Get a vision for something that’s appealing, exciting, specific and realistic yet challenging for you. Picture it whichever way works for you. See it as if you were looking through your own eyes, see it as if you were looking at yourself in the picture, feel it, hear it, say it, taste it, whatever works for you. Make it real, connect with the vision. Having a strong positive emotional connection with that picture and imagining it as if it was happening “for real” now, is the key. And once you get that vibrating, amazing feeling inside of yourself, once those goose bumps runs on your neck, back and arms, that’s when you know you got it. INSPIRATION!!!
It’s a scientific fact that whatever you focus on you bring to life. Where focus goes energy flows! If you focus on the things you want to avoid you’ll attract those things into your life. If you focus on the things that inspire you... guess what? You’re living an inspired life! Some people focus on making a living while other focus on designing a life. You chose!
So here is you little “How to get inspired” guide, so you can create lasting “motivation”
- Know you highest values. Make sure you focus on the things that are the most valuable in your life. Be aware of the season of life where your values may change.
- Have a vision, a mission or goals based on your highest values.
- Prioritize the important stuff over everything else. It’s easy nowadays to spend all our time on all the little daily things that needs doing and on entertainment. In the long run, unless you make time for the important things in your life, you will suffer!
- Know why you have chosen this path. For everything that as a higher purpose will survive through the hard times. Ask yourself: Does this path have a heart? If yes, you are already wining. If not, parts of you might be already dead… but relax if that’s the case… you can resurrect at anytime you chose to.
- Make your goal or your vision appealing! Feed it daily! Make it real in your mind and in your heart! Word it in ways that makes you feel like you are already there. Be that person now. At that point you are now living the journey and there is no need to wait until the day you reach your “final” goal to feel fulfilled and complete. By acting from that space inside you, things starts going your way. The synchronicity start happening more and more in your life and you become more and more aware of it. You now allow yourself to enjoy the process and know that the only two things separating you from where you are now and where you are going, is time and aligned, positive emotionally charged actions.
Does that sound too easy? Of course it does! The fact is; it’s not always easy but it sure is pretty simple once you take the time to enquire within.
So go and have a warm bath, take the opportunity to create an inspiring vision for yourself and dream on. Start feeding your unconscious mind the energy require to come up with something amazing, maybe something you never thought you could do in the pass or even something that nobody has ever done before.
Now to me, that’s inspiring!
Words by Etienne Gilbert
Director of AuthentikLife Coaching
High Performance Sports & Life Coach
Inspirational Speaker / Workshop Facilitator / Athlete Mentor
Former International Professional Freestyle Snowboarder
NLP & Matrix Therapies Practitioner
