I was affected by the deadly poliovirus when I was six months old. Most people infected with it die. Even today, there is no cure for it. I miraculously survived, but lost my ability to walk.
During the first twenty years of my life, I evolved through crawling on the floor, lifting my leg with my hands, wearing prosthetics, using canes, and finally learning to walk, painfully, with crutches. As I grew up, I experienced post-polio syndrome, which weakened the other parts of my body.
Some forty-five years ago, there were no educational or medical facilities in the remote area of India where I lived. That slimmed my chances of getting any education. When I reached the age to go to school, the only way possible was to wear prosthetic braces weighing forty-five pounds on my leg, which was more than my weight. It was incredibly painful to walk while wearing them. In those braces, I could barely take one baby step at a time.
Experiencing Victim Mode
The result was me being bullied, left behind, and teased by my classmates all the time. There were times when I had to drag my iron-casted leg back home alone for over a mile using the strength of my stomach muscles. It used to take me two hours, which felt like a lifetime. That cycle repeated for many years, and my emotional pain grew more and more.
Every time, I asked, “Why me?” The more I asked, the more unpleasant the answers got in my mind.
Stepping into Fighter Mode
That misery got me into a fighter mode. I remember that many of the motivational books I read stressed one thing: “Break the walls.” So I secretly subjected myself to the harshest physical exercises, torturing myself, hoping someday I would get better at my disability. But the more I tried, the more my emotional and physical problems escalated—to the point of a breakdown. Charged with much willpower, I did not realize that perhaps I was fighting against the wrong wall. I failed.
As I see it now, the actual wall that was limiting me was less my physical disability and more my self-limiting beliefs. I had made up unreal, perceived walls in my mind, thinking that I wouldn’t be accepted unless I walked like ordinary people.
These made-up walls were the ones that were actually stopping me. I was doubly disabled—externally and internally.
Spotting the Windows
Every time I was left behind, I made a pact with myself: If I couldn’t walk with my legs, I would walk faster with something else. But the big question was: with what? But then, a simple perspective shift I call “windows through the walls” changed my life and put me on the path of personal transformation to achieve excellence.
I gradually realized that my disability gave me some gifts I did not recognize earlier. I had no social interruptions, no spoiler friends, and not much mobility. Because of those three things, I had plenty of distraction-free time at my disposal, which was a gifted environment. What could I do with this unique leverage?
Reading books was the best thing I could do while being contained in a chair. I remember the first book I read, by Dale Carnegie, was much ahead of my age. Soon I mastered poetry, physics, palmistry, psychology, and philosophy while reading any book I could afford to buy or borrow.
By rigorous reading and learning through science books, I became an engineer at the age of twenty-one, and a year later, I became a technology scientist. It stunned the people who never believed I could do so. The hunger to learn faster led me to earn two doctorates, more than 100 international credentials, and some of the world’s highest certifications.
“I couldn’t walk with legs—now I teach people how to walk faster in what they do.”
My lack of speed made me obsessed with gaining it in another area. That became the unique expertise that took me places. I became a performance scientist, helping people speed up their learning and performance skills.
Not only this, I leveraged my ability to learn and started sharing my learnings with others. My social isolation did not persist, and soon I had one of the largest friendship circles around.
With my circumstances, I could engage in daydreams that developed my vivid imagination. Soon, a writer inside me woke up. I wrote dramas, stories, poetry, articles, and many things at a very young age. While I could not afford to buy one book then, I have authored twenty books now.
While glued to that chair, I had similar leverage as other kids—that is, my hands. I developed my skills in painting, drawing, and sketching and received an international award for my art from back then.
As I reflect back on it, my disability hardly ever got in my way while achieving these things. Rather, it helped me go faster. When I saw my crisis, my disability, my limitations, I did not see them as walls that I should break. Instead, I chose to spot windows among them—windows of opportunities, leverages, and advantages. I’ve leveraged everything my limitations ever offered me.
Two Important Lessons
I learned two important lessons in my journey.
First, not all the walls that seem to be limiting us are real. We need to find the wall that indeed is limiting us and then break it.
Second, we don’t always need to break every wall because some have windows. No matter the circumstances, we all should focus on spotting the windows.
Once we change our perspective, we will be surprised at the number of advantages we find in our adversities, desirability in our disabilities, and leverages in our limitations.
Are We Enough?
When we experience a loss, we may feel less than others. That’s okay. Sometimes, the crutch I use as an aid for walking reminds me of what I lack. But that’s okay because I wouldn’t be where I am today if it was not for my disability. I think my loss, my disability, defines who I was yesterday, who I am today, and who I am going to be tomorrow.
However, some of us have been groomed to chant motivational mantras like “I am enough.” It is like convincing our minds that the glass is full, so our minds might stop looking for possibilities.
But when we realize our glass is half-empty, we become hungry to find windows of leverages in our misfortunes or limitations to fill it up somehow. That’s when we create new possibilities for ourselves.
Leverage Your Losses
Think about the losses that you have experienced due to your adversities, failures, or misfortunes. How could you leverage these losses to go from feeling less than others to being a lesson for others?
Even the most ambitious among us know that it is extremely difficult to stay motivated all the time. In fact, motivational challenges are part of life. Even though nobody likes to admit it, we are all confronted with this problem. There is, however, a small detail that makes all the difference: your ability to deal with motivational challenges. Interestingly enough, some seem to be extraordinarily gifted at this. It seems as if they are able to (miraculously) keep their motivation constantly at a high level, thus avoiding falling into a slump. What seems impossible at first sight is the result of following a system that is easy to implement, yet astonishingly effective.
Are you struggling to get motivated? Do you feel like not doing anything? Then let’s have a look at the most effective strategies successful people use in order to quickly boost their motivation.
Did you know?
Surrounding yourself with people that are higher performers than yourself will substantially increase your motivation and performance, as scientific research suggests. Financial incentives, however, can have a negative impact on your overall performance, once you have achieved a reasonable standard of living.
How to become motivated?
Once you have fallen into a slump it’s extremely difficult to get out of it again. You’re not alone with this; many others feel that way, including myself. The good thing about being confronted with these motivational challenges is that you will discover some pretty effective tricks that help you to break out of a slump. Even when I feel like not doing anything, the following always helps me to get back up, stronger motivated than before:
Boost motivation within 1 minute (with this little trick)
Before getting started with the really powerful stuff I want to show you one little trick you can use to quickly increase your motivation.
Astonishingly, most people have forgotten that music is an incredibly powerful source of motivation. It can elicit positive emotions, stir a spirit of optimism and will get you energized quickly. So why not make use of motivational songs?
Turn your speakers on or put on your headphones, turn up the volume and listen to whatever song that gets you pumped.
1. Do you have a mission?
All the revolutionaries that profoundly altered the way we live had one thing in common: they all had a mission. Their ambition to contribute to the evolution of mankind was so strong that it allowed them to keep going, no matter what happened. They got back up on their feet after each failure, no matter how severe, shook the dust off their clothes and continued to pursue their vision.
Having a sense that you’re fulfilling a greater purpose is, perhaps, the single strongest source of motivation that you can tap into. Knowing that what you’re doing is helping others can be astonishingly motivating.
Identifying with a cause greater than yourself is driving the deepest motivation. It’s what gets you out of bed feeling energized, day after day. Not only did this, but it will also enable you to find solutions to the great challenges that stand in-between you aIf you need further confirmation of the strong power of having a purpose: Research showed that infusing a task with a purpose can lead to a higher performance.nd your mission. No matter how long it takes.
2. Get into the “game mode”
What are top athletes doing shortly before an important match? They follow a pre-game routine that gets them into “game mode”—the kind of mental state necessary to peak performance. Interestingly enough, this routine helps them to establish the right mental frame, no matter how unmotivated they were just a couple of hours before.
This phenomenon is not at all limited to sports. When you have a look at the top performers in their respective fields, you’ll notice that they all have developed some kind of routine that gets them into the right mode. No matter if they need to be heavily concentrated or excessively pushed, their routine acts as an anchor that allows them to quickly switch into the required frame of mind.
Wouldn’t it be incredibly helpful if you had a routine that could get you quickly into work, study or exercise mode? Be like a top athlete and develop your very own routine that gets you into the right mode. Whatever you do, do it with the attitude of being a top athlete, warm-up routine included.
If you’re constantly feeling unmotivated it’s a sign that you are not able to get out of your current mental frame. Break this negative habit by developing a routine that gets you energized and motivated. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Start your routine with something really easy, something that helps you to get started, for instance putting on your favorite running shoes. Getting started is the single most important part of any task.
Step 2: Continue with physical movement that brings you closer to starting your task. Remember the time you didn’t feel like doing anything? Well, you were most likely lying on the couch, watching TV or listening to music. A lack of physical activity contributes to less motivation. You could also take a cold shower, it will definitely energize you.
Step 3: Enhance your routine with a series of activities that get you into the mode. Athletes use stretching for this purpose, but you can use any activity that you perform in the very same pattern before committing to a task. Performing the pattern will allow you to get into the right mental state.
Let’s continue.
3. The power of gratification
Setting a reward for accomplishing a goal is a tactic that I use when everything else fails. Usually I resort back to this strategy whenever I’m confronted with a really difficult project that I cannot motivate myself to do.
Basically, all you need is something that you desperately long to possess or want to experience, for instance that fancy new smart phone or watching the Super Bowl final live. The stronger you want it, the better.
What I then do is to tell myself I will be rewarded with the very special gift of my choice as soon as I have accomplished my goal. It goes without saying that failure is not an option, because if I do fail I will not receive the reward.
Following the strategy I failed once or twice. After that my anger of not being allowed to replace my five-year-old mobile phone with a smart phone was so huge that it made me go every extra mile in all “goal-reward-projects” that followed. No motivation necessary.
The willingness to work hard for a reward will also increase dopamine levels in two areas of your brain that are heavily impacting your motivation. Time to give it a try.
4. How badly do you want to succeed?
Let’s be honest: if you want something bad enough and you really want to see it implemented, then you’ll be motivated to the teeth. There’s nothing that can stop a person from pursuing a vision they burn to see accomplished. No mountain is too high and no distance too long for someone with a fueling desire. It’s as simple as that, we both know it. The question is: do you really want to succeed?
If you’re constantly facing motivational issues you might not have developed the necessary mental willingness to succeed, yet. Ask yourself what the reason for this is. Try to get to the bottom of this question and find the true passion that makes you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe (after being under water for more than a minute).
If you want to succeed bad enough, a lack of motivation and a couple of obstacles shouldn’t be a problem, should it?
5. Focus on the higher purpose
We all face nasty challenges and difficult responsibilities that we just cannot get motivated to tackle. Sometimes even thinking about these activities will give you shivers. What usually happens is that we start to procrastinate until we finally meet the decision to avoid the task entirely.
Highly motivated people are different in this respect. They all share the characteristic of being able to focus on the higher purpose of a task, which allows them to maintain a reasonable level of motivation. Instead of drawing their attention on the difficulties of a task they direct it upon the underlying vision they pursue. Doing so helps them to draw the necessary motivation to tackle even the most unpleasant tasks.
You can make use of this trait by reassuring yourself the important share a specific task contributes towards the goal that you pursue.
6. Get inspired
Inspiration is the second most powerful source of motivation, besides having a mission. But where can you draw inspiration from? Personally, I become inspired by other people who managed to achieve whatever it is that I also want to achieve.
There’s a simple way to use inspiration as a catalyst for motivation. Simply look for the role models that have excelled at whatever it is that you need to do. For instance, if you need to find the right motivation to pursue your entrepreneurial activities then read books and magazines or even blogs by inspiring entrepreneurs who have managed to accomplish the most amazing things.
Inspiration will work wonders upon your motivation. All you need to do is find the right people that inspire you.
7. Get excited
I noticed something interesting: whenever a person inspired me with their story I immediately got excited to try something of a similar nature. Without even noticing it, the excitement helped me to pursue my new agenda, without getting into a slump. This was when I realized how important the excitement about accomplishing a goal can be. For this to work, however, you have to set yourself the right kind of goals that get you excited.
You can also add anticipation to further increase your excitement: Instead of setting a goal and starting to work towards its accomplishment you will set a goal and a given date in the future upon which you will start pursuing your goal. This way you will build anticipation and excitement about your plans.
8. Just start (and stick with it)
A lack of motivation gives us a hard time getting started. This kind of mental sluggishness is the major issue that needs to be overcome. Overthinking the problem, however, does not solve it. Whenever you’re not motivated to do anything, try your very best to get back up on your feet and to start doing what needs to be done. If necessary, force yourself to do it.
Don’t whine around, complaining that you feeling sluggish, lazy and not motivated at all. Playing the victim wastes important time. Instead, start to take action and do something about it.
Ignore all those more pleasurable activities that you would rather do, none of the matter. None of them will help you reach your aims. They are useless time wasters.
Most of the time, this is the biggest burden you will have to overcome, but as soon you did cross this boundary it will be much easier to complete the task.
Another important point to keep in mind is to stick with whatever you’re doing until your goal is reached. Far too often I made the crucial mistake of interrupting the pursuit of my aims “only for a couple of days.” Don’t do it. First it will push you out of your routine and might even interfere with your motivation. All it does is built up new obstacles that prevent you from starting all over again. Stick to a task, even if you’re not feeling motivated. Don’t give up just because some problems are causing trouble.
What are your favorite tricks to quickly get motivated?
I woke up and groaned. It was a Monday, again. My calendar was choc-a-bloc with meetings and presentations. I dragged myself out of bed, looked at the figure in the mirror, and started crying at the sight of the tired face with sunken eyes and slumped shoulders.
Prestigious education degrees, dream campus placement followed by impressive lateral movements, and a high-profile corporate job with a seven-figure salary. I was a successful professional by the world’s yardsticks. Yet I was crying like a loser in my bathroom.
‘You haven’t slogged this long to spend your days on autopilot. You have not come so far to not have time for family and friends,’ said a voice in my head. This time I didn’t silence it.
I was disenchanted and disillusioned for the last few years of my corporate career. The voice in my head had been goading me to change my life’s direction. But I felt trapped. This career was what I had aspired for, was good at, and what I had done all my life. I had no hobbies and passions.
While I loved my husband and daughter, my work was my identity. I was afraid of losing this identity and the associated independence.
‘Then be prepared to spend Mondays waiting for Fridays for the rest of your life,’ the voice in my head whispered.
“No,” I screamed, wiping away the tears streaming down my cheeks, and shouted, “I want to wake up with a smile every day.”
That day I gave my notice at work. “You have lost your head,” people said. For a change, I didn’t listen to them. I was willing to incur the sharp pains of self-discovery than endure the dull ache of listlessness for the rest of my life.
That was a year ago. Today I get up from bed early in the morning and enjoy two newspapers at leisure while sipping tea on my scenic balcony. I have the privilege of choosing the people I work with. I enjoy doing what I do, and work doesn’t feel like work.
So, how did everything change? How did I find my direction and make a successful career pivot after losing myself?
