Motivate Begins with Self
By: Marty Rueter, Executive Vice President
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
~ T.S. Eliot
“Motivation” mavens typically suggest we tragically limit ourselves by limiting our beliefs – our faith in ourselves, our optimism about others, our deepest convictions that anything is possible. Test out your self-belief system (drive, depth, determination) by answering honestly to yourself:
- How high can you climb?
- How fast can you run?
- How much tonnage can you lift?
- How much business can you really do?
Most people answer these and similar goal-oriented questions by assessing where they are now, or have already been – hardly considering their potential for tomorrow and beyond . . . viz., what could or should they could be doing. Others, less honest or courageous, gauge themselves by what others have done, and then position themselves slightly above “average.”
What more could YOU achieve if you looked beyond yesterday and today and squinted longer and harder into the future? Could you double, triple, quadruple your performance (productivity, profits)? At what point have you stopped dreaming… and “got realistic?” Restrictions, bad information, disbelief can easily corral and stifle us.
Motivation is more than inspiring speeches. The best, of course, is self-motivation. Contests, campaigns, recognition and “rah-rah” have only short-term effects, but it is transformation we’re looking for. Not simply aspiring but becoming. Successful leaders (parents, managers, sales professionals) paint pictures that others can see themselves actively involved (happy, successful, thriving, contributing). Have you motivated yourself to become such a leader, a transformer? It’s what makes sports coached so successful. You must see yourself as a successful manager and leader first.
“Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.”
~ John Updike