Motivation is what gets us out of bed in the morning and powers everything we do throughout the day. If we have it, we feel energized and purposeful. If we don't, we can feel adrift, bored, or restless. Motivation is also a key ingredient in our spiritual work. The difference between someone who accomplishes something and one who accomplishes greatly is how strong their motivation is.
Each of us can fall into a slump from time to time when we lack the drive to achieve our goals. Thankfully, the wisdom of Kabbalah provides tools to awaken motivation and keep it alive as we work toward our higher purpose.
Here are 3 tips to find your drive:
1. Know that you are so much more powerful than you perceive yourself to be.
If you knew there was buried treasure in your backyard, chances are you would keep digging until you found it, never giving up. We each have great treasures within us, waiting for us to discover. One of the biggest obstacles to great motivation is the fact that we underestimate our abilities. None of us can truly understand or appreciate just how powerful we are. Believing in our power can motivate us to take action, and in the doing, we can find our purpose.
Push your estimation of yourself each day, and you will find the motivation to do more and more and reveal that great Light you have within you. Question if you are doing the most you can. Even if you are motivated, maybe there is a greater motivation or a way for you to do greater things. You are powerful and come from something limitless. Stop limiting your potential and start believing in yourself.
2. Don't wait for inspiration to strike. Start doing, and you will find the motivation.
What do you do when you feel a lack of motivation? Maybe you binge Netflix, scroll on your phone, or take a nap. Most people believe that divine inspiration will find them, and then they will do great things. The nature of motivation, however, is that it is fueled by action, not the other way around. That means doing the work even when you don't feel like it is a necessary part of feeling inspired.
When days of inspiration come, enjoy them, but also know there is great power in the days where there isn't obvious inspiration. If you push yourself, even just for 5 minutes, to do something important, that is one of the most powerful things you can do in that day.
3. Positive acts of sharing help build motivation.
Motivation is intrinsically linked to desire. The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches that desire is a finite quality. Throughout our lives, we expend desire – sometimes for selfish things, sometimes for actions of sharing. That's why people in later stages of life tend to have less desire than when they were younger. But it doesn't need to be this way! The more that you use your desire for positivity, the more it grows and stays alive. If a person wastes their desire on negative or selfish things, they ultimately find that they have less and less motivation for the important things.
Your desire should never wane. It could and should be as strong as it is in any other part of your life. Protect your desire by avoiding using it for selfish, hurtful things. When you use your desire for sharing, you will find you have more strength to do more and more throughout your life.
The things that we share with others outside of ourselves are eternal. Ask yourself: what did I do today that was eternal? What am I doing tomorrow that is eternal?
We all experience times when we lack motivation. Even the simplest tasks can seem like a chore. But by pushing ourselves to act, even for just a few minutes, and focusing on trying to share with and help others, we can find our drive. We have the power to accomplish amazing feats in our lives. The more we remember this and the more we strive to better the world, the more energy and motivation we will receive to do even bigger and better things.
