Inspire Yourself

Note: This is a guest post from J.D. Meier of Sources of Insight

Thinking is great.  But action makes things happen.  One of the biggest differences with people that successfully grow, expand themselves, and reach their goals, is that they consistently take action.
Action takes energy though, so where does that energy come from?  It comes from within.  Inspiration is a powerful force, and inspired action is one of the most powerful ways to motivate yourself.  It beats “carrots and sticks.”   Carrots and sticks are usually external forms of motivation.  Instead, if you inspire yourself, you light your fire from the inside out.
Here are seven ways to light the fire and inspire yourself to take action:
1. Be decisive. Decide.  Make a decision and “go.”  If you waffle back and forth on things, or can’t make up your mind, you spend a lot of energy in analysis paralysis.  Instead, decide on something you want, and test it.  Take action and test your results.  The act of making a decision and taking action will build momentum, and fuel your fire and fan your flames.  Rather than trying to figure everything out up front, start taking action, test your path, and learn and adapt along the way.
2. Act like you mean it. Maybe you want to get in great shape, but are you acting like you mean it?  How many hours are you putting in each week?  What routines are you trying?  Maybe you want to be a rockstar at work.  Who are your mentors and models?  What bold actions are you taking that walk the talk?  If you act like you mean it, you’ll make better choices, show more confidence, and build energy that helps you spiral up.
3. Draw from inspirational words of wisdom. Quotes are your friend.  Whenever you need to summon your inner-strength, it helps if you have little one-liner reminders that keep you going.  One of my favorites is by Winston Churchill, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
4. Stand on the “shoulders of giants.” Find some role models and heroes to use to lift your spirits and paint a canvas of possibility.  Just having some examples under your belt can inspire you to new levels.  For example, for me, I always look to the amazing physical and philosophical accomplishments of Bruce Lee.  Chances are, no matter what problem or challenge you’re up against, somebody’s been there and done that.  If not exactly, then at least you can draw from similar experiences.
5. Play the favorite scenes in your mind. We all have favorite scenes from movies over the years.  It’s those scenes of triumph, or courage, or an incredible move that inspires us.  Have these at your mental fingertips and draw from them.  Continue to fill and expand your collection by paying attention to the scenes that move you.  You can also draw from scenes in real life.  We all have our shining moments.  Keep those close, and think of them as flash cards to whip out when you need it most.  Simply see the scene in your mind, remember the feeling, and use that to fire you up.
6. Shift to the future. Dwelling on the past is a quick way to bring yourself down.  To lift yourself up, switch to the future and envision the possibilities.  See what’s possible.  This is where hope springs from.  By having a compelling vision, you have something to shoot for.  Now instead of having to “push” yourself to something, you will literally be “pulled” by it.  Like a magnet.  The more compelling the vision, the stronger the “pull” will be.  A few simple ways to shift to the future are … “How can I solve this?” … or “What would good look like?” … or “What’s the end in mind?”  Questions are a powerful way to shift gears.
7. Connect to your values. You can connect everything you do to your values.  This is a powerful way to inspire yourself with skill.  For example, let’s say you value “continuous learning” or “growth”.  Whenever you take on a task, ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?” or “How can I improve this?”  Simply by connecting to your values, you tap into your inner source of power.  Your values fuel you and get you jazzed.  For example, one of my values is, “adventure”, so at work, I turn every project into an “epic adventure” and make it about the journey.  There’s always a big villain or challenge to conquer, and an epic win to shoot for.  And plenty of “growth” along the way.
These are proven practices for inspiring yourself with skill.  Now the question of course is, what are you going to do with all your inspiration?

J.D. Meier is a Principal Program Manager on the Microsoft Enterprise Strategy team.  He shares proven practices for personal excellence at Sources of Insight.com (http://SourcesOfInsight.com.)  He’s the author of eight technical books, and his first non-technical book is Getting Results the Agile Way, which you can read for free at Getting Results.com (http://GettingResults.com.)
Photo by AGeekMom

p/s: Artikel ni semangnya bukan hasil tulisan saya. Sekadar berkongsi maklumat yang ada..

Title pon blur nak tulis.. Huh.

"8. Write in a journal. Writing in a journal helps you sort out and make sense of whatever it is that you’re feeling. If you feel stressed, angry, sad, or confused, write it down and get it out in front of you. It’s a great way to empty out all the negative feelings and thoughts."

Perkara 8 dari article yang aku ambil dari 
http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2011/11/22/find-balance-and-serenity-after-a-productive-day/
 membuatkan aku terus menulis dalam blog. Mungkin setiap insan yang memiliki blog menulis untuk pelbagai tujuan. tetapi aku menulis untuk kepuasan diri aku sahaja. Thats wahy selalu yang sedih dan stress je masuk. Heheh. Bukan la takder benda hepi lansung. Just jarang aku nak highlight jer.

Oh ya, lagi sebulan setengah Final Exam UIAM akan berlansung. Entah kenapa aku tak rasa akan bleh counter this sem punya subject. Too many things to do. Macam orang hilang arah dah ni. Aku yang sibuk atau aku yang menyibuk? Aku pon tak sure.

Susah juga aku sendiri nak paham diri aku.. Haha. Mungkin aku jarang berkongsi sepenuhnya apa yang aku fikirkan dgn orang lain. Kalau share pon skit jer.. Tak pernah cerita habis. Kenapa yer? Tak kan nak buat orang lain terbeban [ulak kan? Kita jer terbeban dah la.. Itu pendapat aku la..

Bila aku stress, aku mmg tak dapat focus. Kekadang senyum sorang2, kekadang diam sorang2. Selalunya akan terus tidur, mmg la tidur hilang stress.. hilang stress masa tidur jer lah.. lepas bangun sama jer.. Banyak betul urusan2 aku yang tertunggak. banyak giler.. Kalau sebut satu persatu nanti ada plak yang akan bertanya itu ini.. Jadinya sebut on the way semua benda.. Hahaha.. Tipu sket2 nak diamkan mulut orang.. wakaka.

Berbalik kepada stress.. Hahha.. Kebiasaan org stress sebab apa yer? Aku rasa aku nak list down lah.. Yang aku rasa aku termasuk sekali.. ahaha

• Financial- Ini pon ya jugak.. Org maybe tak nampak. Tapi aku mmg terasa hal nie.. 
• Study _ tepat sekali. ada subject dpt catch up tapi tak sempat study. yang tak sempat catch up, study pon tak masuk apa2 gak.. guane nieh?
• Relationship - Simpan sorang sudey..
• Family - Yang ni pon kena simpan sorang2 jugak.
• Society - Tak larat dah nak jawab tugasan2 ni sebenarnya.
• Uniform Body - Dah habis fasa awal. fasa akhir lagi berat.
• Personal - ini paling best, nak jaga stamina, BMI ideal, maskulin, etc.. pening kot.

Itu mungkin pasal aku.. Pasal orang lain masih belum tahu..

Kalau kena mcm ni mmg penat.. kena gagahkan jugak kan...

Kalau la aku kuat seperti pemuda ini.. Alangkah bagus.. Tak la stress.. Buat je semua kerja.. kan kan kan...

Doakan aku dpt seseorang yang seperti dalam puisi ini yer.. Ameen.

Baru ada atau aku baru tahu?

Ya, adakah ini gambaran blog aku untuk tempoh yang mendatang? Tak tahu mcm mana .. Tetapi mencuba sesuatu yang baru dan menarik sudah menjadi kelaziman kepada penulis ini. Yups, keep on trying kan best.At last dpt jumpa pro and cons nya nanti.. Hope so.

Selain dari itu nak cerita apa yer? Erm.. Keep track layout baru dulu la yuk..

Hehe.. Currently mcm suka jer dgr lagu ni.. Lirik yang catchy dan ber'makna'.

Mcm mana lelaki? Mcm mana wanita? Macam mana diri aku? Hehehe.. Layanzz..