December 21st, 2009] [
Imagine yourself feeling lazy, in fact you feel so lazy that you actually have trouble starting things. We’ve all been there, we’ve all been stuck in a point in life where we have no motivation or direction in life. You think to yourself: “I should learn something about how to get more motivated.”
That makes sense, so you proceed to read all that there is needed to know to increase motivation, to set goals, to persist and to consistently practice what it is that you should preach.
All of the books’ information is now permanently transferred into your observing mind. However, even after the countless words and recitals of common sense, you still wonder to yourself – “how come I still don’t feel like taking action?”
That is an example of the dilemma between intellectual understanding and intuitive connection. You intellectually understand that you need motivation and it is a good thing, but intuitively you seriously just feel like slacking off. For the love of God…WHY IS THAT?!?!?
What I’m trying to get here is that mere intellectual understanding is never as powerful as personal experience. Personal experience is what shapes our intuition, personal experiences are what gives us the reason for genuine motivation.
You are far more likely to be afraid of being bitten by a wolf if you’ve actually been bit by one in real life, as opposed to reading on how they can bite people.
Intuitive connection is essential for motivation and action
What is the point of this post? The point of this post is me telling you (the reader) that absorbing as much knowledge as you can from a textual medium isn’t necessarily the best way to learn about life/people and how to live happily in it.
Wait…then aren’t I basically dissing my own blog, as well as kazillions of other self-help blogs out there? Well, yea maybe, but that isn’t the main intention here. The main intention of this post is saying that nobody can give you motivation to do a certain thing other than the reason to do it for yourself.
Think about it, you read a blog post about how to increase motivation, do you sincerely feel motivated because of that single post? Well, you might feel the hype and inspiration for a few minutes or even a few days, but in the long-run you’ll need something much much more than that ( other than simple textual advice).
This is where intuitive connection comes in. As an example, I recently listened to a interview podcast from the skool of life on Bud Hennekes (fellow personal development blogger from A Boundless World).
Within the interview, I was surprised to find out that one of the major motivations that keeps Bud to stay positive and to cherish life isn’t because he had read about and intellectually understood that being positive is a good thing, but because one of his best friend had died.
That experience, as morbid and devastating as it was for Bud, it ultimately allowed him to learn to cherish every bit of life he has within himself on a level that far surpasses anything that can be written on a book, on a blog post, or even in a crazed Tony Robbins seminar.
In other words, his personal experience allowed him to establish a powerful intuitive connection to cherish life to the fullest. He didn’t just think he should cherish life by then, he now sincerely wants to.
So what am I saying?
So what am I saying? I’m saying that you are much more likely to have a superb motivation to gain money, have great relationships, appreciate life, and have a healthy lifestyle if you have already experienced or directly witnessed the consequence of their lacking.
I’m not saying that the only way to gain motivation is to experience the slumps of life before-hand, I am saying that the motivation do to great things within us can be unlocked through a powerful intuitive connection.
Bud intuitively connected with cherishing life when he witnessed a loss of a life, I intuitively connected with hard work when I experienced the misery without it (long story). There are so many other brilliant people in the world who has powerful motivations to change the world and help its people simply because they are intuitively connected to their purpose.
Many people have started groups against drunk driving because people close to them lost their lives due to drinking. People have started groups to support poverty because they have experienced poverty themselves.
Nobody goes around does amazing things in life because they read it in a book and they intellectually think that it is the “great” thing to do. They have the motivation to change their lives and change other peoples’ lives because they intuitively believe they can.
“Don’t become a doctor because you think you should, become one because you cherish life so much that you want to help save them.” ~ Counter argument for an Asian tradition. 
Knowledge doesn’t change your life, experience does. So go get some!
It doesn’t matter how many personal development blogs you read on how to talk to people, how to be confident, how to be positive, or how to be awesome, you are never going to fully change your bad life style or your detrimental mindsets unless you have powerful personal experiences associated with wanting to change them.
Lessons from people are never as powerful as lessons from life itself. You will learn to pick yourself up when you fall down because you’ve intrinsically and intuitively experienced that you need to and not because other people/books told you that you should because of “blah” text reasons.
So after all these texts, how do you unlock the intuitive connection that allows free and powerful motivation to flow?
Well, first welcome the experiences in life and let it form the intuitive connections that are necessary for you to produce a healthier lifestyle.
To experience life, you need to take actions in life. To take actions in life you need to have enough motivations to to start them. To have powerful motivations to start you need to have an intuitive connection of a personal experience in life. See how it just goes in circles?
If you are extremely miserable in an area of life right now, let that be the intuitive connection that forms your powerful motivation. If someone close to you had passed away (like Bud), then your intuitive connection is (I will cherish what is left of my life from this point on). If you are depressed (like I was), your intuitive connection is (depressed no more!) If you are doing poorly in finance, your intuitive connection is (I will find every possible way to stabilize my income). If you have poor relationships with people, your intuitive connection is (I will regain connection and establish meaningful relationships)
If you aren’t necessarily miserable however still want to make a change, then make a choice and stick with it (for the thousandth time). Nobody is responsible but you if you don’t keep it up. Blame only yourself when you give-up, blame yourself when you are lazy, blame yourself when you have some stupid excuse for not going after the things you want in life.
You have complete control over you actions. And if you keep doing the same thing for a long time, you might just get what it is that you wanted.
Don’t ever think what you want cannot be achievable (unless it’s something that involves magics and impossible laws of physics). Because if you put your mind to it, have a powerful enough motivation, then I swear you are going to get what you want.
Remember, It’s up to you.
Your Views
What is your main intuitive connection in life? What personal experiences gave you powerful motivation to lead the life or want to lead a life that you want?
Feel free to comment below
I like your take on this, Steven.
And what you’re saying here reminds me of the writing process. Aspiring writers who, for example, want to write a book can only go so far in reading about how to write a book and land a publisher or agent. It’s only actually putting PEN TO PAGE that the book ever gets written. Sure, writers need to know the tools, story architecture, the nuts and bolts of the publishing industry (etc.), but one will never get a book published by only reading about how to do it!
So, yeah, get out there and experience life, Steven. You’re on the right track! I hear you loud and clear, too!
Thanks for another SWEET, PHAT post!
Lori (Jane Be Nimble)´s last blog ..Audio Greetings
Hey Lori, nice example with the book authors. I think it is exactly that process.
I (like many people) need to go out there and make mistakes on my own rather than staying at home and reading about how to avoid them.
Thanks for the comment Lori! doing great with the audio.
:):):)
Nice post on the connection between understanding in your head and taking action.
Now let’s go out there and make a difference!
Thanks for visiting Ken. Let’s do it nowww!! Not after the New Year lol.
Hi Steven – well done and nicely put. A lot of these books, podcasts, tapes etc are based stories experienced by others .. and then these stories we can relate to our own lives and then can be motivated to put into practice their concepts.
We need however to take action ourselves, learn from others .. but do it ourselves – the only way we learn. Experience our own choices ..
Good ideas – thanks – Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
Hilary´s last blog ..Kissing under the Mistletoe – how did it all begin? and Asterix!
Hey Hilary, it is true of what you said. However, sometimes the relation between what the books/tapes are trying to teach and the readers are just not strong enough to produce a change.
I find it best to learn from your own mistakes and grow from your own experiences. I for example never started to actually be persistent because of books or tapes I’ve purchased, but simply because I’ve experienced what happens when I don’t persist – sucks!
But you are right, experience our own choices. Personally learn what is the right thing to do is the strongest lesson we can ever learn.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by humanexplosion: My newest post http://bit.ly/820EMx. I talk about how knowledge on personal growth doesn’t help as much as experiences in life….
Hey Steven.
Wonderful stuff here. This is something that many leave out. I have a lot of advantages based on certain experiences I have had, and I don’t forget that. Each person usually has a few that give them distinct advantages. We only think as big as the things we have done before(for the most part), so they basically represent how far we can go.
Personal experience is underrated, and not spoken about much, but it runs the show in terms of what we see around us. We see the superbly engineered building, but what we don’t see is the pain the engineer had at 13 years old that gave him motivation to outdo any competition.
Armen Shirvanian´s last blog ..Don’t Stop Doing What You Enjoy To Save Time
Hey Armen,
It’s great that you got the opportunity to experience and learn from them. Many people go on about the mistake of feeling wise simply because they know a lot about life from others. However, you are truly wise when you’ve experienced much of life (whether good or bad) yourself.
Personal experience is much underrated these days. Technologies advancements and easy access of an abundance of knowledge allows the average person to sit at home and learn various knowledge however missing out on real personal experience that allows the genuine nurturing of their maturity.
What you said about the engineer is correct. It’s the same with blogging or anything else if you are successful at it. People see a popular blog and believe that there is some sort of “secret” to it, but there really isn’t, it involves a constant input of action that creates personal experience to how to make the blog better.
I say stop reading about how to make your blog better, and start blogging for a long time.
Hey Steven!
This is is cool post with a timeless message: act over and over again, so you may get enough experience to learn. And then keep learning and acting, and do so until you can’t take it anymore.
Life’s pretty simple, if you think about it. Act. Smile. Live. Breathe. Act more. Get experience. Learn. Rinse and repeat.
Brett – DareToExpress.com´s last blog ..Check Your Default Expression For Signs of Life
Hey Brett, you are right. Life is pretty simple. But the problem is that people are bound to make life complicated. People focus on negative things, lie to protect themselves, stay unmotivated because of fear, and trapped within misery because of all of those complications.
Life is only complicated when the presence of a person is trapped within the observing tendencies of the mind. We could get stuck thinking about the past and the future and never really feel liberated of our troubles.
I guess life is simple, but people aren’t…and that’s where the problem lies.
Hello Steven – just came across your blog today and I like what I see! My motivation to continue living my nomadic lifestyle came from watching several friends follow the conventional routine of life and end up with debts, divorces and depression. Every time my motivation starts to fade, I remind myself that being lazy will only lead me away from my goals and towards the results of my friends. And exactly as you mention, this is a far greater motivational tool than anything I have ever read.
Earl´s last blog ..Stop A Wastin’ Time in the Pursuit of Blame
Hey Earl, thanks for coming here and hope you enjoyed your visit.
I understand what you mean, when you personally and directly witness the misery that others experiences because of a certain action or circumstance they are in, you become intuitively aligned to your purpose to better your life.
I’m glad you now have that source of motivation, and I wish the best to you.
Yep, A heart want is always above a head want.
Jonny | thelifething.com´s last blog ..How To Bankroll Traveling The World And Living Your Dreams Without Being A Freeloading Little Rich Kid
And it’s good as long as the head doesn’t try to control the heart…:)
Great post.
There are so many books, blogs and articles talking about all the things we should do with our lives. We should save more money, exercise more, follow our passions, outsource, find passive income, blah, blah, blah.
What we need are real ways to internalize these vague ideas into something tangible. The only way that can happen is through action and real experiences.
For me, witnessing friends and family die young has helped me understand how short life truly is. The time to live is now.
Turning 40 has also created some life regrets. If I were 20 again, I would study harder in university. I would play guitar more. I would write every day. I would connect with more people. I would eat healthy and exercise everyday. I would spend less money and save more. I would watch less TV. I would read more. However, all you 20 somethings probably only hear, “blah, blah, blah.”
John Bardos – JetSetCitizen´s last blog ..The Fastest, Easiest and Cheapest Way to Reset Your Life in a New Country
Hi Steven, you wrote: “Knowledge doesn’t change your life, experience does. So go get some!” Experience is surely the greatest teacher, but hopefully the result of experience is knowledge. This is the kind of real world knowledge that comes to those who pay attention to their experiences.
We can learn concepts and theories from books. We can also learn of the lessons that others have gained through their experiences. But unless we take those things out and road test them, they don’t amount to much more than mental entertainment. Thanks for a great post.
Jonathan – Advanced Life Skills´s last blog ..The True Essence Of Giving
I love your writing style – it’s accessible yet very intelligent. And this is another one of the posts I’ve discovered that puts into words some of the jumbled thoughts on the subject that have been bouncing around my head.