When I was a kid, my brother used to put motivational messages around my room. I remember waking up and seeing his handwriting on the ceiling above my bed: "Did you get better today?" I'd turn on my computer to see that he'd changed my desktop background: "Someone somewhere is working harder than you." I was 11 years old. While my other 11 year old friends were playing with toys, I was in the backyard doing soccer drills. My mom would have to come out in the middle of thunderstorms to get me to come inside. I didn't want to stop training. I didn't want to stop getting better. I was inspired. I was motivated. I felt like I could achieve anything. It felt amazing. What could you accomplish if you were inspired like that? If you don't have an older brother to inspire you, there are other ways to be and stay inspired. Here are four (4) guaranteed winners.
1. Surround yourself with believers.
The first time I told my dad I wanted to be a professional soccer player his response was, "Good, what are you telling me for? Go do it." After graduating I told him that one day I'd love to live overseas, learn foreign languages, travel the world. "Good, go do it. What are you tellin' me for?" There was never even a pause to discuss or question the feasibility of these dreams. He was so blatant about the fact that if I wanted to do it, whatever it was, that I could just go do it. What a notion. Look around. Do the people surrounding you make you feel invincible or defeated? Do they talk about the life they want, or are they living it? If you want a quick stress test to find out where people stand, tell those around you that you're going to quit your job tomorrow and go travel the world. Their response will tell you everything. Who you spend your time with is who you spend your life with. Choose carefully.
2. Declare war on the voice that says you can't.
When I'm on a treadmill there's always a voice in my head that tells me to stop. It tells me that I'm not capable of running any more. It tells me it's too hard. You have to kill that voice. That voice is the only thing standing between your life now and the life that you want. That voice has no idea what you're capable of. Go to war with that voice. Scream back at it, use cuss words if you have to. I do. And it works.
At some point our civilization began to realize that the food we put in our bodies has a direct impact on our physical health. I've begun to realize that the content I put in my mind has a direct impact on my mental health. I used to start my day by "consuming" the news. CNN, NBC, Drudge… any of them. It was a great way to start my day with fear and negativity and, over time, I began to feel the long term impact. I've since changed my diet. I now start my day by either not consuming content, or by consuming inspiring content. You can start by following inspiring people on LinkedIn. Tim Ferris, Tony Robbins, Elon Musk, Richard Branson. There are loads of them. They are positive, they are believers, they are dreamers. Get that food into your mind.
4. Leave messages for yourself.
Do for yourself what my brother did for me: Leave yourself inspiring notes and messages. Stick one on the mirror in your bathroom. Slowly brainwash yourself into thinking you can achieve anything. One day you might be right.
Ryan is a guest contributor at TalentTribe Asia. This post was originally published on www.ryanpaugh.co. Follow his website for more original content by Ryan.
Ryan is an executive coach, speaker, philosopher, and world traveler, currently working for LinkedIn based in Singapore.
A change in daily habits may be all you need – to make you feel like you can achieve anything. Here are 4 quick steps as to how you can do it!