Are you wondering why motivation is important? It’s a buzzword out there, popular among entrepreneurs and go-getters.

But before we get into any of that, if you want to skip right to finding out where your motivation is in life, as well as discovering where you could use more of it, I created a super short and easy worksheet that you can fill out in about five minutes that will tell you everything you need to know about your motivation levels. Go ahead and pick it up below.

It might conjure up mental images of people going nuts in the gym, some crazy CEO or an Olympian with eight gold medals, but motivation is important and crucial for everyone to understand in order to fully live the life we want.

And here’s why…

It helps you Crush Goals

Your ears might be saturated with the word, or you might not identify or even care about the idea of goal setting at all, but you should.

Something that is integral to human happiness is the feeling that our life is going somewhere. It’s a fact that when we feel like our like is stuck or stagnant, we become depressed.

Other than that, most of us are motivated to some extent to better ourselves, whether it’s losing weight, reading more, having better relationships, or doing better at work.

The question how to make progress most effectively and how to not fail at it. The answer is effective and serious goal setting. When you are motivated to make serious changes in your life there are intrinsic and extrinsic factors that will ensure your success or failure. One of them is the right motivation.

Our world undergoes constant change, and we can see that those who refuse to change with it have less fun, produce less, live less and towards the end of their lives have become less.

Goals help us understand ourselves and the world we live in better by showing us a wider range of what is possible for ourselves and the potential for others to grow as well.

Goals can be as intense as making it to the Olympics, or as mild as visiting five new states next year. However you shape your life, you will end up setting goals to knock down for yourself, and in order to stick with them, you will require motivation.

It Gives You Clear Priorities

Motivation helps us prioritize our lives. Many of us find yourself wondering what is truly important in life.

When you make a decision, when you have the motivation to change or accomplishing something, you will naturally place less importance on anything that does not support that end.

So many of us think that if we run around and get a ton of stuff done each day that we are productive and wonder why our lives don’t reflect the success that should come with that level of productivity.

Motivation to get what you really want is going to filter out of your life everything that does not support that aim.

You will start to understand that there are little things in life that can be put off until tomorrow, but what you are truly after needs to get done today and every day.

Nobody wants to be the father who misses the ball game, and nobody wants to forego the happiness of a fulfilling relationship in favor of being busy doing other things all the time.

The fact of the matter is that where you put most of your attention is going to give you the most results.

When we behave according to what our priority in life is, we stand firmer in our own self and are less likely to be managed by others priorities.

So many of us have an issue with saying the word “no” because we are too nice. But that fact is, we’re TOO WEAK.

Not being able to say no means we are a people pleaser. When we take care of others before ourselves with no exception, we are giving out lives over to others and not paying attention to the candle that we think is lighting others fire.

Not being able to say no is both immature and unwise. The motivation for a desired result, whatever it may be, and it’s ability to give us priority allows us to not be taken advantage of by others, following their direction instead of our own.

We need to ask ourselves what we’re really after and make that THE priority.

Making something priority means that everything else is secondary, and is treated accordingly.

If we are after results that reflect what we desire, the right motivation will leave us discarding everything that does not provide those results, giving us laser focus on what does.

When this happens, our focus increases, causing us to explode with productivity that actually means something. You will see your results come faster.

So whatever you’re REALLY after, make sure it gets done with priority. Everything else should be second third and fourth place. Make a choice.

You Will See Setbacks Differently

Regardless of who we are and where we’re from, setbacks are a natural part of life. We almost never get it right the first time and everything requires practice.

One of the qualities of extremely successful people is that they see setbacks as learning lessons rather than failures.

Almost nobody gets it right the first time, so it’s important to let your motivation drive you instead of throwing in the towel immediately.

Motivation is what pushes us through setbacks faster. When we want something so bad that it almost burns, motivation becomes the only thing we need.

Think about a time you wanted something so bad that Zeus himself couldn’t have tossed a lightning bolt big enough to stop you. During that moment there is no consideration of failure, there is no thought of not being successful because we know we are going to do it OR die trying.

It is a moment of sheer self-belief and self-confidence, and it is possible to get it, maintain it through setbacks in order to see nothing but a silver lining in your life. I’m not only talking about setbacks during goals but anything that seems to put your life at a standstill, making you think “everything was going so good, now it all fell apart”.

Motivation is what sees you through that.

When you experience setbacks, what you are really going through is the result of you being ineffective at attaining the result you were after.

In this world, we can all have everything we want(other than sprouting wings). The catch is, you need to be willing to do whatever is required to get that “whatever you want”.

That’s the part that leaves some of us in the dust.

There is nothing wrong with missing the hole in one. The secret part of the formula that most of us leave out is experimentation.

So when you think of it, failing once or twice, or in the case of Edison, Colonel Sanders, Walt Disney etc…several hundred (or even a thousand times) is a blessing in disguise, showing you that your present path was not right right path to your destination, rather than a failure sign telling you to go back.

That’s the honest truth and it’s something that we all need to fully understand when it comes to traversing life.

Failure is not a rejection, it’s a sign to tweak your approach, if there is a magic sauce to sprinkle on top of your perfect life sandwich, is experimentation. Turn the damn thing upside down and try it a different way. But please, be intelligent about it.

Having to push through setbacks makes us work for what we want.

Let’s cry about it eh? No, because having to work for the prize makes it more enjoyable in the end. An honest day’s work makes you feel good, and regardless of what our lazy minds dictate, the most amount of juice can only be squeezed out of life when you put some serious effort into that squeeze.

Life doesn’t push you too hard, it pushes you hard enough, right until you’re about to break, and then you push back with everything you’ve got and the reward comes.

You’ve not only acquired the trophy, but you were thrown into the fire of achievement and came out like tempered steel, stronger and ready for me.

Setbacks increase your ability to dominate your own life, obstacles, gives you the ability to become more creative in coming up with solutions and increases your mental strength.

This kind of resolve helps us grow as humans, and is not only for those after wealth and riches. And your ability to see and deal with setbacks effectively is heavily influenced by the quality and strength of your motivation.

Perseverance Will Become Your Middle Name

When you use motivation to build up some serious life muscle, eventually pushing through setbacks will become habitual. You will have developed perseverance as a personality trait, which is a huge step to becoming unstoppable in life.

When you desire something for your life, decide to do it, and pursue it regardless of the difficulty it throws at you, what is left but for accomplishments to throw up the white flag?

Motivation increases perseverance because it enables to power through setbacks and that over time creates confidence in yourself and an utter disrespect for anything other than achieving what you want.

This is the point where, no matter where you are, you power through each moment with ease.

It doesn’t mean that you are devoid of problems in your life, in fact, problems seem to be endless. Since accomplishment and discovery are things we love, maybe endless problems to overcome is a blessing.

What it does mean is that those problems know better than to return without friends, because you are no longer in the business of letting problems beat you without a serious fight. You are not in the business of taking names, and the part that comes before that too!

Perseverance is necessary to win at anything and prevents us from being a perpetual quitter in life.

Behavior becomes habitual over time, and eventually, with enough “settling” for the lowest we are capable of, we develop that as a trait, making our live consistently underwhelming.

When you refuse to keep going, to push through, just remember, the pain will only get worse. You will only attract more and more of the same underwhelming results for the rest of your life, and you will have built up a habit of reacting in the same less than warrior-like way towards them.

It’s a big pill to swallow, but if you allow yourself to lose once at life, you only pave the way to further loss, and when we think of it that way, what’s the point?

Start a trail of small wins in your life and discard any voice in your head that tells you to give up. Period.

There is a story written about each of us, even if it’s only in our own minds as we die. You’ll close your eyes with thoughts of achievement, accomplishment, and victory despite the odds, or you will leave your body with feelings of regret. Choose.

When you form a habit of doing what you want regardless of the difficulty, you increase the level of difficulty of things you are capable of handling in life. So even small wins today, and seeing them through is enough to make sure you are living exactly how you choose down the road.

Here is the broken record, life is difficult for everyone, regardless of what you think and what we’re all told. Nobody has it “easy” because nobody has the same strengths and weakness that you do. Life is difficult for everyone.

A huge difference between those who live a life forced upon them and those that live lives of their choosing is “pure perseverance”.

What if this was a quality that nobody on earth possessed? What the hell would that look like?

At the end of the day, smashing through life is difficult, and the temptation to give in is strong. But that temptation is only there to trick you into thinking your life could be easier if you gave up.

But giving up creates a whole ton of problems for you down the road. Eventually, you will embody that. You will be a person who gives up. You will know it, and you will radiate it. Then everyone else will know it, and your life will reflect it.

So when you think about quitting because it’s too hard, imagine the alternative. That life is much more difficult.

Understand why motivation is important for you yet? It’s not just for new year’s resolutions. It’s for every day of your life.

It Instills Self-confidence

At this point, you’re probably wondering what is left. How could something a silly as the world motivation have so much to do with what we actually want and need in our lives?

Well, there’s more…

Motivation so far has taken us from nothing to a progress machine. Now it’s going to take us even further.

Self-confidence is something essential to a happy and fulfilling life of any kind. Period. Does that really need to be explained? Fine.

Self-confidence is what gives you a sense of worth. It is what makes us a people see a world of gems and understand that we shine just a brightly and are capable of the same grandeur.

When you are confident in yourself you have a clear view of what your abilities are and what you can handle in life. You understand exactly how to go about facing the problems that occur and you are not confused as to whether or not you can handle what life throws at you.

Self-confidence gives us a sense of value and places the capacity for good judgment in our minds. When possessing confidence like this, we can clearly define our boundaries and say “yes” or “no” to all the nouns (places, people or things) based on what we KNOW that we deserve.

Self-confidence is what makes your footsteps sure in a world of uncertainty. It also helps to prevent others from manipulating your emotions and making you feel as though you are less than you are. When you sure of your skills, strengths, and value, nobody can come to you and convince you of otherwise.

Motivation is the salt that rides along with the main dish of being confident in yourself. It really brings the flavor out, and you will notice when it is missing. Motivation to be everything you can be is not just a military slogan but something to live by for all humans. Define who you are and do it better each day.

When you are motivated to achieve all you desire for your life, you see yourself differently. When you see yourself differently, you learn to value yourself regardless of where you are in life, because you know you are trying and are motivated towards your own progress.

It also enables you to find value in others where previously you may have found none, and when you value yourself and others, you have a necessary and beneficial sidewalk toward a life of discovery and cooperation that will leave you experiencing endless benefits because of it.

You Will Inspire Others Without Trying 

Once motivation has turned you superhuman, you will radiate this to others. Believe it or not a ridiculously high amount of people suffer from some type of lack of faith in themselves, which is the worst kind of disease on earth.

It’s a disease that kills even healthy people. It kills you on every level you exist: physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual.

So when you start to knock out goals left and right, develop faith in yourself and go after bigger and better tomorrows, others will see you and this will inspire them. Enough reason in my humble opinion.

“If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.”
– Fred Rogers

People you associate with start to rise to the occasion and match your excellence, and in bettering yourself you will actually serve as a beacon for those you care for helping them discover their own inner strength and excellence.

And that’s better for all of us. “A normal life is boring” and so is a life where each day, we are nothing but the same person we were yesterday. You won’t lose yourself, you’ll just lose what you don’t need and gain everything you want.  

The joy can only grow exponentially from here, and that’s what makes motivation so important to all of our lives. So what are you waiting for?

RELATED ARTICLES:

How to get motivated in life using one simple sentence

SUMMARY

Motivation aids in knocking out goals by giving you the steam to push through times of high work and low results. It keeps you from relapsing and allows you to set the proper goals for your health, wealth, enjoyment and happiness in the first place.

Motivation is necessary during the inevitable setbacks of life. It allows you to keep your eyes on the prize and mitigates the effects trying some and seeing it not work. It sparks your creativity and allows you to become mentally tough through times of apparent failure while allowing you to become better and experimenting and solving your own problems.

It breeds the fulfilling life we all yearn for, by making us rock solid against the problems of life. By increasing your level of perseverance, motivation will single-handedly make you invincible when it comes to accomplishing whatever it is you desire in your life from workout routines to get a new promotion to changing the world. Seriously.

It inevitably increases your level of accomplishment and self-confidence making you capable of noticing the subtle beauty of life and understanding the innate value of other humans you walk the earth with. When you see value in even the most “insignificant” things, your happiness increases, you require less extrinsic stimulation for your internal happiness and you can ride the waves of life with sincerity and a smile.

Motivation allows you to recognize others good qualities, helping you notice value where you never saw it before and allowing you to be involved in opportunities where you previously saw none.

Motivation is what separates the inspiring from those who do the wishing. By being the one who is wished about, you can inspire others to come into their own power, which is the most rewarding culmination of any type of personal success. What are you waiting for?