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The inner drive – the magical power that comes from within

What ever you are trying to achieve in your life, if you have an inner drive to finish this thing you are currently working on, you just do it, right? But why? And what is that inner drive anyways? And more importantly, how can you get it?

Why is it so much easier to endure something with an inner drive than without it?

For most of us, this is already clear. If I want to do something, because I really want to do it, I just have the motivation necessary to do it. But if this task in front of us is not really the thing we are aiming for, but rather the dream of someone else, for example your parents, your teacher, or your girlfriend, than we feel often times kind of not in the mood to aim for the stars, but rather do it somehow or another with the least amount of effort necessary. We have all experienced that, right?

What is the inner drive?

The inner drive is the thing we all experience, when it feels like we have found an endless source for energy. This is the thing that gets you out of bed in the morning and prevents you from going back to bed in the night. This is making the difference between if you are having fun while doing something, or if you don’t have fun at all. For years I was a victim of the German school system. They tried to teach me English for more than eight years. Did it work? Absolutely not. But why? Of course I could blame the system, the teachers, or the exercise books. But no, in fact, they tried their best. What I was missing out on in this situation was the inner drive to endure it. To really dig deep, invest time and energy, and focus on that language as long and as hard as necessary. Because then, and only then, I could have figured out how to really learn a language much much earlier in life.

Well, good for you! But how do I even get there? How can I get that inner drive? Where can I find it?

It seems like this is the tricky point, right? I mean, this blog post should be all about that, but no. This idiot is just talking about stuff I already know for the last three minutes.

Haha, you might be right with that one. Indeed, this is the tricky point. But not really. I mean, at the beginning, it seems like this is quite hard to grasp, but actually, it isn’t. At least if you understand how it works.

What makes you think that you like something? Yes, you have a great time! And yes, you just like it. But come one! That is not all! It is also about what you feel, what your mind tells you when doing it and how your whole body reacts. It is always more than just the thing you are doing. Maybe you like the team members as well, or the get together after the events, or what ever it is, that drives you. It is there and your mind wants to experience it again.

Ok, but does that mean, that people who smoke for years and are addicted to it, just love it so much, and that’s the reason why their brain demands the next cigarette? Well, it’s not that easy, because there are some other factors we are missing out right now, but generally speaking yes. They like everything about it, at least to a certain degree.

But back to our situation. If you have a task ahead, for example a thesis you have to write at University, or a report you need to write at work for your boss, you have always multiple ways how to approach this scenario. For example, you can just decide that you don’t like the task, telling this to yourself as often as necessary to really believe it, and then simply have a very hard time while working on this project, including suffering, crying and doubting your whole life. Well, there is another way. You can for example look at this task ahead, find out what parts of this thing you like and which parts you don’t. Then focus on the parts you like the most, and there we go, there is a chance for you to develop an inner drive. But wait a minute! That’s not really a solution right? That is definitely easier said then done. And yes, you are right. But that is the funny thing about it. It is in fact that easy. You can fool yourself. For the greatnesses of a bigger future, or the sake of your current well-being. Your emotions, just the result of your perspective. So, if you have a positive mindset about a certain task, it will be much easier for you to endure it, then if you just hate it anyways.

You are biased, basta! Deal with it!

But here is the good thing about it. You can not control your reactions, but you can control the kind of reaction you are having. If you take any task, and I really mean any kind of task. It can be the trickiest thing you can imagine or the hardest thing you see in your current life. Just take this thing and break it down into pieces.

You want to run a triathlon? Fine, you need to swim, then bike and then run. So what do you need to practice? Those three things? How far do you need to swim, run, or bike? That depends on the type of triathlon you want to participate. So, how should your training look like? There are some runs, some cycling tours and some time in the pool, right? Let’s get a little bit more specific. You need to cycle at least 200 km a week. Ok, but do you like cycling? Well, not particularly, it is so boring. Ok, what would make it less boring? Cycling with friends? Listening to music? Watching a movie? Chasing a hot girl? Getting streamed life in TV? Having some supporters standing at the road and cheering you up? Getting a reward after the workout? Seeing beautiful landscapes? As you can see, you can go on with that forever. But in reality, you do not even need to go there. Usually, you will find something you like in the first five to ten minutes of your brainstorming session. So, when I don’t like cycling but I still need to do it somehow, because it is just a part of the triathlon world, then you can even develop an inner drive for cycling if you combine it with something you just love and being passionated about. For example being in nature. Your main attention is on that, and the cycling part becomes just a by product of your new hobby.

Of course that example isn’t the best in the world, but it represents the kind of thinking process you need. The sky is the limit. And to be honest, if you dig deep enough, you will find something interesting in every walk of life. There is always a chance to awaken an inner drive, that will get you out of bed on a Sunday morning at 5 am for a bike tour through the forest.

So in the end, it is again completely up to you! As always! It is your fault if you can not find the motivation to endure something, because there are tones of motivation out there, you really just need to invite them into your life.

If you are having a hard time finding the motivation anyways? Get in contact with me! I am sure, I can help you with that!

See you next time!