I’m as flat as a tack, got any motivational tips?

Motivation comes from within and can be boiled down to one simple definition: focus. What you focus on establishes your reality and your perception of what you focus on determines your experience.

In Victor Frankl’s disturbing yet fascinating book, Mans Search for Meaning, he tells of his experiences as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp in World War II, namely, how he and some of the other prisoners defied the odds and survived this ordeal mentally and emotionally.

One of their methods for survival was to focus on things they enjoyed back in the real world, such as pretending to eat their favourite foods while they starved or endured eating muck not fit for animals.

Most prisoners who survived death and torture would eventually go insane – not capable of enduring such a traumatic ordeal. Frankl and others despite their environment chose to see their reality differently and as a result they kept their sanity intact. I highly recommend reading Frankl’s book, it’s a graphic account, but the message will certainly put life into perspective for you.

Frankl’s story is one of extreme adversity, yet in our world many people are easily seduced into apathy by experiences that pale in significance, such as; an arrogant manager, selfish team mates, demanding customers, market forces, or cashflow issues. In any case, your stresses are real to you, but to someone else: “…pft! It’s insignificant and not worth worrying about.”

I love the story about the fly and the lion… When a fly buzzes around us for a period of time it’s easy to get annoyed by it. We become so frustrated by the fly’s incessant attempts to land on us we may even yell and lash out or try to squash it. Yet when we spot a lion approaching slowly and calculatingly in the distance ? our focus quickly shifts to the lion and the fly will cease to exist even though it’s still buzzing around us.

Yes, business is tough and it can be a grind some days, so if you’re grinding every day for months on end, something has to give. What will give first is your energy, then your motivation, and last but not least is your health. Ignore any of these signs at your own peril.

Tips to stay motivated:

• Stay healthy, eat well, drink plenty of water and exercise regularly (this is critical).
• Focus on things you can influence, instead of worrying about issues you can’t.
• If you are grinding too hard, take a break and indeed regular breaks.
• Do more of what you enjoy and less of getting bogged down in things you don’t.
• Associate with positive people, so you can feed off each other.
• Don’t judge negative people; it’s their choice, so respect it.
• It’s okay to be de-motivated from time to time, it’s more than likely just a sign.

You can either choose to see your current situation differently or you can change your current situation by doing something completely different. Or you can choose to stay in your current state, but don’t whinge about it. It’s up to you.

Just remember, when you start relying on external forces for motivation, this is usually a sign that you’re focusing on the wrong things or you’re simply tired and need a break. In fact, I think there are cheap flights on Virgin Airlines at the moment, so why don’t you motivate yourself ? you deserve it!

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Trent Leyshan is the founder and CEO of BOOM Sales! a leading sales training and sales development specialist. He is also the creator of The NAKED Salesman, BOOMOLOGY! RetroService, and the Empathy Selling Process.