Go On Flying Anyway
“Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn’t know it so it goes on flying anyway.”
-Mary Kay Ash
And humans weren’t made to fly either. Have you ever flapped your arms and taken off the ground? Have you ever jumped off a roof and thought you could fly. The Wright brothers were told again and again that man wasn’t able to fly.
There were others at the time of the Wright brothers that were trying many different methods and all had failed. Did that stop the Wright brothers? Did they just stop doing what they were doing and give up? I’m quite sure that they had plenty of reason to stop and give up. I’m absolutely sure that they contemplated quitting a time or two. But they didn’t know better and so kept on going.
Maybe that’s the key – not knowing better. From a young age we are all put on a track because we are told that is the best track to be on.
We are made to feel from a young age that many of the things that happen in life can be filed under the category of, “that’s life”. We go through these things, like hard times, weak moments, sad days, and arguments and such because, “that’s life”.
So maybe the Wright brothers just didn’t know better. They kept on trying because they weren’t told that you shouldn’t keep trying because you’ll fail and you won’t have the success you want.
Which brings me to another thought – how many times did Thomas Edison keep trying?
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”
-Thomas Alva Edison
10,000 failures? Wow, that is almost too much to keep going. What happened? If taken in a nutshell and if created in a vacuum I bet at attempt 99 he wanted to just give up and throw in the towel. But that is not how it works. You keep doing because of why?
- Vision
He had the end vision in mind. He clearly knew that he wanted to create a light bulb. The light bulb was his creation. It was the end destination, and he wasn’t about to stop, or give up until he arrived.That would be like going on a trip to a far country and being content with only getting half way there. “Oh, I went on vacation to the Bahamas, but only got half way there, the plane kept making a funny noise and wasn’t working, so I decided that I’d stop right there (in the middle of the ocean).” - You can build on failures just as well as you can build on successes
Each time he failed he learned important lessons not to do, or things to do the next time, each time was a lesson to prod him on to the next. It was a journey. Not failure after failure, but lesson after lesson. He learned from each lesson one more detail that was necessary to reach success. - You keep on going till you reach your destination
You don’t quit or give up because the road less traveled is hard - Stay the course and enjoy the ride
So stop listening to reason. Dream big. Go for your dreams. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t – not even you. You don’t know better – so keep going till you arrive at your destination – your creation!
Creators Create don’t you know?
A Has Was Once An Are
“I’d rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are; because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star. I’d rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far; for a might-have-been has never been, but a has was once an are.”
-Milton Berle
Oh, that we would all do what we want to do or even dream about. I have often looked back on my life and wondered why I did or didn’t do a certain thing. Although I’m afraid, most of the time I am wondering to myself why I didn’t do a certain thing.
It’s not that I didn’t want to do it, or that I wasn’t capable of doing it, but that I just didn’t do it. The many things that I could have done, or should have done, or might have done just keep piling up. And when I look back I get sick to my stomach just to think about it. I hate the “I could have” or “I should have” thoughts.
Go to any health club and ask one of the trainers what the busiest time of year is, they will all tell you that the busiest time of year is January. Why? Because everyone is making a New Year’s resolutions to get fit and trim. They go religiously to the Gym on the first of the year and start fresh to get fit and trim. They do it with all the vim and vigor of a fresh new start. They try with all their might to keep to it, only to fall back to the old habits by February. Another “would have” “could Have”.
One year I said to myself that I would record an album for that year. I sing, many people have asked me over the years when I was going to or if I was ever going to record an album. They’d surely buy it if I did. Well that year came and went and NO album. Funny thing is, not even a single song was recorded.
I have so many excuses why it didn’t happen – but who cares about why it didn’t happen. The fact is it didn’t happen. I can’t go back and make it happen – into the past that is. I could have made it happen then but I can’t go back and make it happen in the past now. I can only be in charge of what happens in my life now.
That’s just the point – your now’s create your futures. Your has was once an are. And only you can decide what your has-beens or was’s were/are. Understand? Only you can choose. Only you.
And along with that if you are not happy with what is – you must recognize it was you who chose you to be right there. Only you. Play the blame game. Go ahead and point your finger at someone else for your discontent. Go right ahead, but no matter how much blaming and finger pointing you do – the truth is still the truth. You chose – only you!
Get it? Got it! Good!
How to be Perpetually Enthusiastic Forever
When you are motivated you approach your tasks with enthusiasm. What is enthusiasm? The Greek meaning of the word means to be inspired by a god.
en – in, or possessed
theos – god
en+theos = inspired, possessed by a god
Can you imagine if you were always doing things that were inspired by a god? Think you’d ever want to do things any other way?
Take the converse: A lack of enthusiasm can make everything seem like hard work. You will feel like your driving force has gone and you just can’t be bothered to do what you need to; so you procrastinate.
Sometimes you don’t want to do anything at all when you lack enthusiasm. This feeling can hold you back and stop you achieving your best, which in turn lowers your enthusiasm even further.
Excuses are Like Noses
With a lack of enthusiasm it’s easy to come up with excuses for not getting done with what you need to do. But this just increases the problem as you dig yourself deeper into a pit of lethargy.
Why do you suffer from a lack of enthusiasm? It may be that you lack confidence so you don’t feel that you will do well at something.
It is far easier to explain it away to yourself with the excuse that you didn’t try because had you tried you might have failed. A lack off effort is way easier to bear in oneself than a lack of ability or possibility of failure.
Ability to Make It Happen
Perhaps it is not ability you lack, or feel you lack; perhaps you don’t have enough interest in the project at hand to really put your full effort into it.
Maybe you don’t perceive the task ahead as very important; many of us would lack enthusiasm to do something which we considered to be pointless or at least that there are far more important things to do.
If there is no incentive for you to do something, then very often you will lack enthusiasm to do it. That could be as simply solved as you needing to look a little deeper into the project to understand it better.
Beyond Lazy
Many people are just plain lazy. More likely, though, procrastination and putting things off has just become a habit for you; reinforced each time you do it – so it gets easier each time.
If you are scared about what people might say about your efforts you may lack enthusiasm to complete a task and have it open to scrutiny. If you are stressed or nervous about tackling something, that saps your enthusiasm to begin it.
Search Within
All of these reasons can lead to a lack of motivation and enthusiasm, but it is important to recognize that they are only excuses which you make to yourself to stop yourself from action.
You can learn to overcome any of these reasons for a lack of enthusiasm if you recognize them within yourself; like with all problems, you need to recognize them before you can change them. Only then can you learn to think differently and re-discover your enthusiasm.
Decide to be Enthusiastic
It is much easier to become enthusiastic and motivated again if you are able to decide what is important to you in your life. This can be little things that you enjoy doing every day or it can be long-term plans you have.
If something is important to you, it is much easier to maintain the enthusiasm needed to complete the task.
It may be that you are motivated by extrinsic rewards or by intrinsic satisfaction; you will need to think about what works for you, so that you are receiving some pleasure feel inspired and get things done. That is where your enthusiasm lies – in the inspiration from a god.
