Motivational rules which always work

Demotivation engulfs all of us from time to time. Our mind is negatively biased.

Consider the following hypothetical scenarios.

  • You wrote a great answer, but you didn’t get the deserving an appreciation.
  • You wrote a handcrafted love letter for your girlfriend but
    • She doesn’t have time to read it.[pullquote]I Love you and I don’t need your permission for that . I will continue loving you, and am not at all concerned about my efforts going unappreciated. [/pullquote]
    • She reads it, smiles but never reciprocates or shows any sign or gives any hints. Just secretly enjoys and let her close friends also enjoy at times.
  • You are working on a project but not getting the desired results.

I have two rules to tackle these situations

  1. No attachments to results : My job is to do, and not to care about the results. I Love you and I don’t need your permission for that . I will keep loving and am not at all concerned about my efforts going unappreciated. Someday you will also react. Someday your heart cannot be stopped. That day will come if love is true. If love is not true, then ‘who cares?’. We’re all gonna die. Same logic applies for any other job. Be detached to the results.
  2. Second principle is a Zen saying (my favourite) : This too shall pass : Recently, (one month back) I met with a minor neck shoulder nerve injury at my gym. It was a normal nerve pinch but I neglected my inner voice and kept on working out. I thought more exercise would be beneficial for injury (sometimes it is, usually in the case of muscle pull). It was a nerve injury though and it escalated. The injury exaggerated when I performed my regular headstand. [pullquote]” This too shall pass”. In those dark, larger than a century painful nights, this saying saved me. I kept on repeating it in my mind. Moreover, in good times, when I was working out with 500 pounds leg press, I didn’t thank anyone for my performance, why should I blame God and circumstances now?[/pullquote]After that night I was introduced to the worst pain of my life. Even deadlier than a broken bone deadly pain( I have experience of three fractures, all in my hands). I wished I could die! No pain killers were effective and I was not able to sleep for six consecutive nights. I stopped going to the gym altogether just to get proper rest. Cancelled many classes. You know I am still bearing the pain ( now it is 50%). But when it was at its peak with no pain killers doing their job, with no one to console and support me( no one can share your pain whatsoever), what kept me alive ( not attempting suicide), this line ” This too shall pass”. In those dark, larger than a century painful nights, this saying saved me. I kept on repeating it in my mind. Moreover, in good times, when I was working out with 500 pounds leg press, I didn’t thank anyone for my performance, why should I blame God and circumstances now?

Neither the good nor the bad times are permanent. “This too shall pass”.

What did you learn from failure?