Whether it’s getting that fantastic idea to come to fruition, or just getting over that feeling of the blues at work, the one ingredient everyone needs is Motivation.
So, how do you light that fire? Maybe a few days’ holiday will make you realise what really makes you shine. or maybe you need to make a concentrated effort to really spin your mojo by seeing your future all lit up with your achievements. That’s how great achievers like Sir Richard Branson and motivational guru anthony Robbins make their lives great.
Getting that spin going can come from darker places too. In the 1960s a young man was told by his doctor he would die in six months. With no income to support his wife and child, he decided to rent a cottage in the countryside for six months, and write three books.
Decades later, he recalled how the threat of his imminent death had motivated him to ensure his wife would be looked after. That man was Anthony Burgess. He didn’t die as foretold. But he did write A Clockwork Orange – one of the great novels of the 1960s.
What do these examples above reveal? Psychologists note there are two forms of motivation – often defined in Personal Development circles as “moving away from” and “moving towards”.
The problem with only having a moving away motivation is that when you have only this, you feel stuck. You know you want to move away, but don’t know what to move towards.
Wanting to move towards something is often not enough, either, because you’re comfortable where you are.
Getting the two motivations aligned so you combine impatience to move with excitement at where you want to go is the answer.
This is what co-creator of Neuro-Linguistic Programming Dr Richard Bandler calls a propulsion system. That’s when the mojo starts to spin!
The basics of spinning your mojo – and keeping it spinning.
1.FIND YOUR MOJO’S NO-NO.
Counter-intuitive as it may sound, think for a moment about what you don’t want. are you bored with work, or a task you haven’t finished? Is it that what you don’t want to fail or let people down? That sense of unhappiness should be a guide to trying something different.
2.FIND YOUR MOJO’S GO-GO!
What makes you feel excited and engaged? What do you want? To change jobs? get a pay rise? – or something more subtle than that? Whatever it is, focus on the big payoff getting the job done gives you.
3.SPIN YOUR MOJO, DAY IN, DAY OUT.
By visualising the best outcome, you’ll generate good feelings in yourself. a feeling of positivity at thoughts of success is the key to getting things done.
4.MAKE YOU MOJO GO AGAIN.
If you lose your drive, learn from the best of them. Turn difficulties to your advantage.
5.BE TRUE TO YOU.
With negativity removed, go after what you want with renewed passion. Be sure the rewards you seek, be they spiritual, financial, emotional or anything else are what really drive you.
