The Link to Motivation

Is there a link between motivation and success?

Wisdom from Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti, a successful Italian American racing driver, said, “Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal — a commitment to excellence — that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”

So, if you have desire do you then have motivation?

Mr. Andretti points out it is more than just desire, you also need determination and commitment to your goal to achieve success.

Let’s take a few minutes and see what is revealed by Mario’s statement. Maybe, there is a lot more to his encapsulation of success than obviously first appears.

Desire to accomplish something is one of the main keys to move towards success. However, before there is a desire, there must be a thought. From this thought, comes a desire to accomplish. Secondly, once you have a desire the next step is to decide how you are going to get to where you want to go.

Unfortunately, having a desire leads nowhere unless you have a plan that will guide you along the way. In other words, you must detail a sequence of steps to move your desire forward. In Andretti’s case, he may have had a desire to be a champion race car driver but his desire cannot be immediately transferred to success. In the same vein, just because you have a desire to finish college or university or a training certification doesn’t mean it automatically happens.

And, while Andretti is correct in stating that one must have determination to achieve the goal an even bigger factor is expressed in the word commitment. Commitment means that regardless of what obstacles, problems or roadblocks bar your way, and there will be many no matter what you endeavour to accomplish, it is an everlasting commitment to reach the end goal.

Problems Along The Way
And, in regards to roadblocks or obstacles, commitment doesn’t mean that every problem will automatically be overcome through this commitment. What the other ingredient is that also must become paramount is the ability to see solutions instead of being caught in the trap of only focusing on the problem. Sometimes, this means that what you had envisioned as a perfect set of plans to get where you want to go has to be readjusted, to be rewritten, or to be revised even if this means taking a rather circuitous route to bypass the obstacle. Part of this rewriting or readjustment might mean that you have to seek the expertise or guidance from another person or persons who have already succeeded in the very thing you want to accomplish or at the very least have experienced similar types of problems or roadblocks.

Help Is Available
In Andretti’s case, this may have meant that he had the wisdom to seek guidance from other successful race car drivers in how to overcome a problem or to improve his technique. This seeking of advice doesn’t mean that he failed; it means, instead, that he had the understanding that many things in life cannot be accomplished alone or that one can seek advice without compromising your initial desire.

Commitment To Excellence
If a desire is worth achieving, it must also mean that you are not satisfied with being mediocre. It means, in other words, that when you set out to accomplish whatever it is you wish to achieve it won’t be satisfactory until you have given it everything you can possibly give one your way to a level of excellence that is worthy of your time, energy and passion. Or, let’s look at this in reverse order. If any level of accomplishment will do why bother doing it at all?

Here is a rather silly example but I think it serves to clarify my point about excellence. Let’s say that your goal is to drive a car well. You take your time to learn the rules of the road, you get a driver’s education course under you belt, and then pass your driver’s exam. So far so good; you are now a licensed driver. So, you get out on the road and start on your merry way. But, your first time out, you bang into another car in front of you who stopped suddenly to avoid hitting a dog that had run out in front of their car. Not so good. Did you fail to leave enough room in front of your vehicle so you could stop safely? Maybe not.

The next day you go out again. This time out, however, after making a left hand turn onto another road you get pulled over by a police officer because you failed to signal a left hand turn. Great; now you have a ticket.

The question then becomes this: was the fact that you got your driver’s license sufficient to qualify as totally reaching your goal and also operating a motor vehicle well? Not so much, right?

The same applies to any goal. If you barely accomplish your goal but fail to accomplish it with the best you can do, accomplishment meriting excellence, you still have not accomplished your complete goal.

You Will Find A Way If You Have This
If you have the desire, determination, and commitment to excellence, you’ll find a way to achieve your goal. Your commitment will determine your chance of success. It allows you to see the finish line because you believe that you will reach it. You will reach it once you have completely achieved your stated objective. However, just as in my example of learning to drive a car well if your only goal is to get a driver’s license then you have achieved your goal. But, if your goal is to achieve your license and to be a well accomplished or excellent driver, then you have missed your goal.

Does Your Goal Stretch You
That brings me to another point that is certainly worth mentioning. It has to do with setting a goal but a goal that is far too easy to accomplish. In this case, what I mean is that if a goal does not push you to accomplish something that you currently possess than you have not stretched your ability or added a new skill or learnt something new and valuable. In short, did your new goal really accomplish anything? Or, does it improve your life; does it help somebody else; does it make you think like you never had to think before; or, does it involve hard work, sacrifice, time, or energy.

Feebleness Doesn’t Get It Done
But, if your commitment is feeble, or your determination is unsteady, then your chances for accomplishment are slim. You may find yourself using the excuse that it is impossible to accomplish, it’s too hard, or I really didn’t want to accomplish that anyway. And, if you think that someone else will accomplish your goal for you, than it really wasn’t your goal at all.

“Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything.” Francois La Rochefoucauld

With a powerful desire, with a strong determination, and with an everlasting commitment you can find ways to achieve your goals and overcome challenges. If you have one without the other than your chances for success are diminished.

Ask Yourself
When determining your goal and your motivation, ask yourself:

– Do you have a burning desire? Is this something you can’t wait to do? Do you will want to do this in all your spare time you have? And, will you enjoy doing it?
– Are you determined to succeed? Do you believe that you can do it?
– Are you ready to make a commitment? Will you prevent other daily interruptions distract you?

If your answers to the above are all yes, then you are half-way to success. And, you do have all the links to motivation!

“You are what you think. You are what you go for. You are what you do!” Bob Richards

Inspirational Quotes for Reflection:
“Motivation that is intrinsic, meaning coming from within, is always going to be much greater than extrinsic motivation, that which comes from outside sources.” Joe Zeller, How To Wake Up Early: For Super Lazy People

“Just like a typical road, one road may cross paths with another or some may just lead to so many twists and turns. The roads to success are not one and the same.” Aji R Michael, The Next Maverick

“The winners in life think constantly in terms of I can, I will, and I am. Losers, on the other hand, concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have or would have done, or what they can’t do.” Denis Waitley