I was reading an article on Psychology Online. It showed an study between differences of internal and external motivation. So you can understand what this terms are, internal motivation means simply “self help motivation“, ways you motivate yourself. On the contrary, external motivation means someone else is trying to motivate you, or something (like money, for example). The report conclusions were the following:

“Although our society is largely extrinsically-motivated by external rewards such as money, fameand power, research has indicated those who are intrinsically-motivated by inner desires for creativity, fulfillment and inner satisfaction are psychologically healthier and happier.”

This is just a recent study. Older studies from real scientists (people who actually make some research, who don’t say everything that comes to their mind… like “gurus”) were focused on the same deal, and had the same results. For more info, read about the theories of motivation here.

Conclusion: the most important motivation… comes from yourself! People can give you money, cars, or diamonds, but what actually keeps you going is your selfmotivation.

So how do you motivate yourself, without all those material things? Danny Cox, author of the book “Seize the Day”, explains the self help motivation guidelines to achieving a great day and staying happier than ever.

1. Motivation comes from Desire

If you are someone really religious, you must be saying, “Oh, no, desire is a sin!” Well, to be specific, you may be thinking about sexual desire. What desire really means is the sense of wanting something. For example, think about your work. When you enter your office, are you thinking “I want to work, or I want to get out of here”? If you are thinking no.2, you probably hate your job, and you feel completely unmotivated to achieve excellence and you need help for depression. I’m  going to say it as simple as I can: Find your desire.

What do you really desire in life? Is it money, or is it what money can give you? Are you thinking on traveling, on buying a cool car? Go deeper, what makes you think you want that? Remember the episode on Friends, when Ross bought the red sports car? Was he really buying a car, or buying youth?

Go deep into yourself to find your true desire. Wayne Dryer calls it your “burning desire”. He took this term from a book call “Think and Grow Rich”, by Napoleon Hill. This last extraordinary man conducted a research to know what are the key elements on why rich people are rich. The first characteristic he observed was that all successful people have a “burning desire”,  almost a key for self help motivation. He defined it as the one idea stucked in your mind, you can’t get out. You dream about it, work for it, wake up thinking about it. It sounds crazy, but it is true. You can find your burning desire with the following exercise: ask yourself right now, “What is my life purpose?… If you can’t answer it in the first five questions, you don’t have it. So work on it, find your true desire.

2. Plan Your Motivation

I don’t think I ever heard this term, that’s why it is so shocking. How about if you stop from thinking something will come to you (your desire) by chance, and start planning how to get it, step by step?

According to Danny Cox, author of overcoming depression and self help motivation books, he found out that by committing to the following steps, you can get amazing results.  He wrote this:

“One woman who never made more on commission than she earned as a secretary brokethrough her barrier and now has a net worth of over $3,000,000. Another salesperson told me he’dnever had any more money in the bank than his struggling father had. He subconsciously controlledhis monthly commissions until I asked him if that was the same role model he was currently setting forhis own children. He broke his barrier with a bang and became a bright super star with our company.”

So, here are the steps to plan your Self Help Motivation:

1. Select the goals that make the effort expended in achieving them go virtually unnoticed.
2. Determine and develop the inner strengths that become the tools used in achieving the goals.
3. Layout a plan that makes the most efficient use of the strengths available.
4. Anticipate the anxiety that will surface when the new plan is launched.
5. Prepare to solve new problems as a result of putting the plan into action.
6. Keep your morale high in spite of the “growing pains.”
7. Reapply this system when new self-imposed barriers appear — and they will.

3. Stay Focused, the Key to Stay Motivated

It is so easy to drop your goals after the first try. All the time people do it. It is so common. Well, let me tell you this. You don’t want that!

For extraordinary results, you need to be an extraordinary person. Think about it, extraordinary means “outside of the ordinary”. You want to be different from everybody, because you want to get a different goal. Most people just take what life gives to them, a normal job, some kids, a sunday night football game. You want to get… what you really want! For example, I love music, and I always wanted to go to a concert of my 5 favorite bands. I was all the time checking on ticketmaster for new concerts in Houston, checking what bands were coming. Believe or not, I got to see all my favorite bands in one year. Even two of them reunited (The Police & Stone Temple Pilots) and gave their last concert!  **A special treat for the Ladies, here is Every Breath You Take, and for you Guys,  Vasoline**

I don’t know where you want to write this, in your hand everyday, in the roof of your room, in the bathroom mirror, wherever you can see it everyday. Please, write this: Perseverance.

Please read this story from Chicken Soup From The Soul, by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen:

Abraham Lincoln Didn’t Quit

Probably the greatest example of persistence is Abraham Lincoln. If you want to learn about somebody who didn’t quit, look no further.

Born into poverty, Lincoln was faced with defeat throughout his life. He lost eight elections, twice failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown.

He could have quit many times – but he didn’t and because he didn’t quit, he became one of the greatest presidents in the history of our country.

Lincoln was a champion and he never gave up. Here is a sketch of Lincoln’s road to the White House:

• 1816: His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them.
• 1818: His mother died.
• 1831: Failed in business.
• 1832: Ran for state legislature – lost.
• 1832: Also lost his job – wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.
• 1833: Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.
• 1834: Ran for state legislature again – won.
• 1835: Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
• 1836: Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
• 1838: Sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.
• 1840: Sought to become elector – defeated.
• 1843: Ran for Congress – lost.
• 1846: Ran for Congress again – this time he won – went to Washington and did a good job.
• 1848: Ran for re-election to Congress – lost.
• 1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state – rejected.
• 1854: Ran for Senate of the United States – lost.
• 1856: Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention – got less than 100 votes.
• 1858: Ran for U.S. Senate again – again he lost.
• 1860: Elected president of the United States.

This is what I mean for PERSEVERANCE! You want to get what you want, then KEEP ON GOING, no matter what!

Hope this article has helped you understand a little more about self help motivation. Check out the rest of the articles to change your life we have written for you, and please be sure to join “The Phenomenon” by suscribing on your right side. There is so much material we want to share with you, but we need to make sure you want it…

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About the Author

Anton Cela is a self development author and consultant. Phillip Cela is a recognized university teacher and speaker on motivation, leadership and self help. Find more about their work on “The Change Your Life Phenomenon”, a world-wide-movement to help people change their lifes at Change Your Life Phenomenon.com You can send us an email or follow “The CHYL Phenomenon” on Twitter.