Motivation seems like a magic elixir.

If we could bottle it and take a swig every hour or so, we could move mountains, build empires, accomplish great and small things daily.

When motivation is running through your veins, your energy is high and your focus is intense.

Think about times when you’ve procrastinated or failed to do something you wanted to do. Most of us announce sadly, “I’m just not motivated enough.” Or “I’ve lost my motivation.”

That’s a victim mentality.

“Motivation” is just a word. It represents an emotion — an amorphous, biochemical reaction in our brains. The emotion behind motivation can be enthusiasm and excitement, or it can be fear or dread. Those intense emotions drive us to take action. When we lack those intense emotions, we often fail to act — even if we really desire the outcome.

For now, let’s pretend that motivation is not available to you at all.

How can one create momentum and stimulate the energy to take the actions necessary to get the job done without motivation?

Take exercise as an example. You know it’s good for you in so many ways, but you just don’t have any real motivation to get your butt out  the door. You don’t feel enthusiasm about huffing and puffing through a workout. Nor have you been threatened with imminent death if you don’t get your body moving.

In situations like this that aren’t charged with fear or excitement, must a lack of motivation serve as an on-going excuse for lack of action? Absolutely not. In fact, the vast majority of successful people in this world rarely rely on motivation to achieve great or small things.

In situations like this that aren’t charged with fear or excitement, must a lack of motivation serve as an on-going excuse for lack of action?

Both the lack of motivation and the reliance on motivation to take action are addictive and deceptive. They are fear-based reactions. But you can take charge of your fear when you shift your thinking about motivation.

The more you focus on your need for it, the stronger your need becomes. So what if you changed your thinking about motivation? Instead of being addicted to motivation to generate action, what if you didn’t count on it at all?

Think of motivation the way one might consider a perfect, sunny day in Seattle. You don’t expect it, but it’s nice when it shows up. Motivation is just one small tool in a toolkit of mental supplies that can generate action.

How to replace motivation

What other mental and emotional tools do you have at your disposal?  There are plenty, and here are just a few:

• your intelligence
• your common sense
• love for yourself
• your concern for those you love
• your integrity
• your values
• your dreams and goals

Let’s use these tools to start to break the motivation addiction, snap out of apathy, and find other ways to get things done.

Try this 12-Step Recovery Program:

Step 1. Choose something that you want to do or accomplish — something that previously required the “M” word for you to take action.

Step 2. From the list of tools above, determine what makes this achievement or goal important to you.  What tells you that it is a valuable endeavor?

Step 3. What kind of person will you be if you accomplish this thing? How will it improve your own self-image and/or the perception of others? Use a bit of out-of-the-box thinking here and write down your ideas.

Step 4. In what ways your life will change for the better if you accomplish this thing?

Step 5. Visualize yourself accomplishing this goal, moving forward on the path to your passion. How would feel if you accomplish it?

Step 6. Are there any negative emotions attached to this endeavor such as lethargy, fear of failure, agitation or anxiety, hopelessness, or avoidance? If so, what are they? Write them down.

Step 7. For now, mentally put these negative emotions in a box, and remove them from the equation. You can deal with them later. Push them back in the box if they start to pop out. Force yourself to ignore them. In fact, write them down and literally put the list in a box and place it out of your reach.

Step 8. If you have determined that it is valuable to pursue this endeavor, write down the first action that you must take to accomplish it. It might be putting on your sneakers, writing the first sentence, typing “business plan” at the top of a page, or getting a storage container.

Step 9. Pick a time within the next 24 hours to take that one action. Don’t think about it or acknowledge any feelings about it. Just take that one action.

Step 10. After you have taken the first action, think about and then write down the 2nd and 3rd actions.

Step 11. Again, pick a time in the next 24 hours to take those two actions. Don’t think ahead about finishing the endeavor. Just take the actions.

Step 12. Repeat the steps with all subsequent actions, doling them out to yourself one, two, or three actions at a time. Nothing overwhelming. No emotional commitments. Just small actions, one after another in your own time.

By this stage, you will see that it doesn’t take motivation to create momentum. You can overcome perceived barriers to your passion without it. It just takes small, manageable actions that are not weighted down with the addictive powers of emotion. If you use reasoning to determine the value of an endeavor, you can use incremental action to start the ball rolling.

With each step, you are propelling yourself forward and replacing motivation with action. Repeated actions become habits. Repeated habits create successful accomplishments.

If you use reasoning to determine the value of an endeavor, you can use incremental action to start the ball rolling.

The first action is the lever. The next action generates more power, and by the third or fourth action, you might find that motivation shows up unexpectedly. Even if it doesn’t, that’s OK. Motivation is not necessary.

Does motivation help? Of course it does. Having the added boost of enthusiasm can skyrocket any endeavor. But steady, slow, focused forward movement is enough to get the job done. Don’t become addicted to motivation. It is a fickle friend who will seduce you with power but rarely appears when you need it most. It is one of the passion myths.

Instead, replace the need for motivation with common sense and small, manageable actions. Box up your limiting beliefs and emotions, and put them away until you reach your goal. Before you know it, you will be on the road to motivation addiction recovery — and success toward your life passion.

How have you used a “lack of motivation” as an excuse for not taking action? How have you accomplished something in the past without relying on motivation? Please share your experiences in the comments.

If you want to take the first action toward your life passion, please check out my book, The 52-Week Life Passion Project.

Please share this post with other life passion seekers with the social media buttons below.

October 2009 . . . Why am I feeling this?

What is wrong with me?

I pulled over to the side of the road.

Los Angeles, California, middle of a Saturday. Cars are flying by, people walking past.

And here I am, in my car, head down — with tears falling down my face.

What am I going to do?

To the outside world my life was perfect. I was in my 4th year teaching, in the midst of getting my masters degree in education. Soon I’d be qualified to run my own school. I had a secure job, a fantastic resume, and was making more money every year.

Friends would ask: “What are you going to do with your life?” I’m going to run my own school and change the education system.

But there was a problem…

I hated my life.

I was depressed, stressed, and overwhelmed.

My friends thought my life was wonderful, my family thought I had made all the right choices, my coworkers praised my ambition.

But inside I was dying.

As I sat there on the side of the road I was left with one thought. What am I going to do with my life? Will I continue to live a lie? I was 26-years-old, dealing with low self-esteem and self-confidence.  The pain was too much, too deep. I could no longer live like this.

I finally admitted it to those I loved. I’m not doing well. I need help. I sought guidance. I read books. I tried new hobbies. I volunteered. Friends would ask “Izzy, if you aren’t going to be a teacher, what are you going to do?”

I want to be a ninja….

It’s a funny response. They would laugh. I would laugh. But there was something my friends didn’t quite understand. I wasn’t joking.

I’m now 30-years-old. I live in the historical capital of Japan, Kyoto. I have given my life to Aikido. Aikido is a martial art that uses the momentum of the attacker to neutralize the situation. I train 5 hours a day, 25 hours a week, over 1,000 hours over the next year of my life.

There is no word in English that appropriately explains what I’m doing. In Japanese, it’s called “shugyo”. The direct translation for this word is “training” — but that doesn’t do it justice.

Shugyo is a philosophy on life that can only be understood and developed by going through intense training. There’s no magic here. I identified what I wanted to do, learned what I needed to learn, and took action every single day.

My life is evidence of one thing: dreams are possible. Which means your dream – no matter how absurd — is possible.

How to pursue your passion (no matter how crazy it is)

Step 1: Admit “I don’t know”

You must be willing to admit that you don’t know what you want to do. Sometimes you just have no earthly idea what your passion might be. It’s not an easy thing to admit. Our nature as humans make it so we will often choose depression over ambiguity. By admitting you don’t know, you give yourself the opportunity to discover your true life passion. It’s just the reality — the only way to discover your passion is to sit with “I don’t know” for a little bit.

Step 2: Make “discovering your passion” your passion

I decided to make it my passion to discover my passion. My life turned into a massive experiment. I devoured books, volunteered in my community, interviewed people I admired, and tried new hobbies.

I found myself wanting to spend more and more time at the dojo (where I trained in Aikido). The more I went, the more I enjoyed it. My passion was revealing itself.

Discovering your life passion doesn’t happen overnight. Notice that Barrie’s 52 Week Life Passion Project isn’t named “The 1 Day Life Passion Project.” You must commit to the time to figure it out and have patience as your explore.

Step 3: Reflect, adjust, act

Taking action in and of itself isn’t enough. You need to set some time aside to reflect on your life. I started to use Sunday as my reflection day. I would ask myself these questions:

• What did I do last week that I enjoyed?
• What about it did I enjoy?
• Can I do more of it?

As time went on, martial arts revealed itself as a passion. I discovered that I had loved martial arts ever since I was a small child. I kept hearing this voice. I want to be a ninja.In time, I realized it was a childhood dream. My childhood dream.

After you reflect you must make the necessary adjustments in your plans. Then you must take action. Then do the process over and over again. Reflect, adjust, act.

Step 4: Save money

One of the major dream killers is “I don’t have the money.” You have to clean up your finances and prepare for your passion. I began to save money every month. Initially it started with a $1 a day. Soon that changed to a hundred dollars a month.

Within 3 months I was turning down a night out on the town and instead using that money towards my dream fund. This step is practical as much as it is psychological. Every month as I saved more money, my dream felt more alive. Not only did it feel more alive, but I was taking real steps towards turning my dream into a reality.

Step 5: Define the dream

As I saved up money I started to explore my dream on a deeper level. Now this is a childhood dream. So, I defined it by childhood standards. According to my childhood brain, a ninja does 3 specific things:

1. Moves to a faraway land;

2. Trains extensively in martial arts;

3. Challenges the traditional rules of work and life.

So that is what I decided to do.

I would move to a faraway land — Japan.  I would find a martial arts dojo where I could train. I would quit my career in education to follow a crazy dream, hence challenging the traditional rules of work and life.

How you define your dream is up to you. But it is very important to make it as clear as possible.

Step 6: Identify and take the first step

Once I had my dream defined, I asked myself this question: “What is the first step I can take?”

I decided my first step would be to research other countries where I might live and work. Yes, it all started with a Google search.

Here is the key — just focus on taking one step at a time. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck. Continue to create momentum toward your passion. It has taken me three-and-a-half years to get to this point in my life. If I had overwhelmed myself with all the little details, I never would have gotten this far.

I focused on two things:

1) My long term vision for my dream (the definition of my dream), and

2) Taking action on the next step.

I just put one foot in front of the other and kept moving forward. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. I believe there is nothing more important in this world than uncovering our life passion.  After the discovery of your passion comes the next most important step — to live it every single day.

It’s your choice.

Follow the dream, live your passion . . . or accept the life you have right now.

What will YOU do?

Izzy is living, breathing proof you can pursue your dream. Izzy Arkin is a former teacher who quit his career in education to follow his childhood dream: to become a ninja. He now lives in Japan and trains extensively in martial arts. He shares his story and ideas on living your dream at The 30-Year-Old Ninja.

If you need some help taking that first step toward your life passion, please check out my book, The 52-Week Life Passion Project.

Please share this post with other life passion seekers with the social media buttons below.

I was recently having a conversation with a dear friend who is experiencing financial hardship.

She’s a single mom trying to provide a loving, stable home for her children while juggling their various activities, her job, and the basic demands of running their lives.

My friend is so intelligent, well-educated, curious, and hard-working. She would love to uncover her life passion and live passionately every single day. She is genuinely a positive, optimistic person who always has a beautiful smile on her face and a desire to seize life and live it to the fullest.

But in recent years, she has had a series of unfortunate events that have knocked the wind out of her. Although nothing hugely tragic has happened, right now her life is stressful and demanding, with very little time or wiggle room to think about finding her passion.

Every day is packed full of tasks and obligations. Every day she is faced with worry about money and her future. It can be soul-crushing.

As much as I preach about the power of finding your life passion, I’m not ignorant to the realities of life. We have hardships. We have real difficulties that feel insurmountable. And there are some periods of our lives when just putting one foot in front of the other is the best we can do.

When you are in this position (and believe me, I’ve been there too), you want to drop-kick anyone who suggests that the cure for what ails you is to simply find your bliss and run off into the sunset. Puh-leese.

So this begs the question, is life passion reserved just for those who can afford it?

Is it possible to have a really tight budget and find a way to live your passion?

In fact, is it even worth searching for your passion if you feel overwhelmed and stuck financially?

I think it is quite possible to create a passionate life when you are in this position — and in fact (hang on to your socks here), in some ways it’s easier for someone with financial restraints to move toward their passion than it is for someone with plenty of money.

Financial hardship limits our choices and forces our hand on priorities.You’re able to clear away a lot of extraneous distractions and clutter simply because it isn’t affordable. This frees up some amount of time and emotional energy (if you don’t tend to dwell on what you can’t afford).

Tight times afford fierce clarity. When you are forced to choose, you choose. When you have lots of options, you often remain stuck.

Some of the choices and decisions are clear and easy (do I buy the new dress or pay for groceries this week?) and some are painful and difficult (should I let my son have guitar lessons even though it’s not in the budget?). But tight times afford fierce clarity. When you are forced to choose, you choose. When you have lots of options, you often remain stuck.

Now you might be thinking, “I don’t want to be forced to choose the stay in a job I hate, or never take a vacation, or remain in the same day-in, day-out drudgery of work and tasks without the ability to move my life in a forward direction.” I get it my friend. However, even though you might be in a tight spot, I promise you do have some wiggle room.

Yes, it will take more time and require a bit more patience than it might if you were flush with cash. But then again, as I mentioned before, you might be able to skip some some of the angst and mental machinations that too many choices seems to foster.

Let’s take a look at how you might move your life closer and closer to your life passion in spite of your financial situation.

Mindset

I have experienced times in my life when money was really tight and other times when I’ve been comfortable financially. And truth be told, the only real difference in my level of happiness during these times related to my mindset about my finances.

When money was tight, I worried and fretted, thought about what my friends were able to do that I wasn’t, and spent beyond my means on things I believe my children or I really “needed”. But in reality, I had plenty of food, a decent place to live, great friends, and wonderful experiences. There was nothing I needed except to view my life through different eyes.

Financial guru and author of the NY Times bestselling book The Total Money Makeover Dave Ramsey opens his radio show with the line, “Debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the new status symbol of choice.”

He also suggests that you “live like no one else so later you can live like no one else” – meaning he values a lifestyle of sacrifice over comfort in the short-term because he knows from personal experience it is worth it in the long run.

So many people who have followed Dave’s financial philosophy have discovered a passion for streamlining their lives, getting their financial house in order, and becoming debt-free. The sense of taking control over their lives, making the difficult financial decisions in order to set themselves up for passionate living, is deeply rewarding.

So rather than slogging through financial hard times, fretting about your lack of cash and your inability to live your passion, view this time as a critical phase in your life passion journey. Get passionate and intently focused about making the best decisions to pay off debt, earn some extra case, and build up your savings.

And even though this may be a time of financial sacrifice, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your life and your family. There’s so much to be grateful for, so many things in life you can enjoy that cost little or no money. For every thing there is a season, and this is your season of preparation. Find passion in that.

Priorities

Having the cojones to prioritize and make difficult choices in life is an essential skill both in getting your financial house in order and in living your passion.

• You can’t do everything or have everything at one time.
• You don’t need all of the things you think you need.
• Your children won’t fail in life if they aren’t participating in every expensive extracurricular activity.

But you can have all you really need and much of what you want to live a wonderful, passionate life. In fact, we only have the time to focus deeply on 4 or 5 top priorities in life given the number of hours in a day. And yet we continue to run ourselves ragged chasing after things and opportunities we don’t have time to enjoy.

When I was in my 30′s and early 40′s, I thought it was critical to live in the “right” house in the “right” neighborhood. We spent beyond our means to make that happen, which of course caused stress and anxiety. It took a lot of time and energy to clean the house and manage the yard — time I could have been spending on my passion. We enrolled our kids in various  activities because we thought we “should” — which meant I was in the car many hours a day.

Were I to do it all again, I’d live below my means, in a smaller house with fewer rooms, simple furnishings, in a neighborhood with less pressure to “keep up”. I’d give my children more down time with fewer planned activities and lessons and more family time. I’d offer them more experiences and fewer things.

I wish I’d had the wisdom and courage to define and live my true values and focus on those rather than falling victim to societal pressures and ego-driven desires. I would have found my passion much more quickly, without the filter of all of these extraneous distractions. And my children would have been just as successful and happy.

I wish I’d had the wisdom and courage to define and live my true values and focus on those rather than falling victim to societal pressures and ego-driven desires.

This is challenging but powerful stuff. It’s hard to look at your child and say, “No, you can only choose one after-school activity one day a week.” Or to look at your spouse and say, “I think we need to downsize and move to a different house.” Or to say to yourself, “I can live with this old car for another couple of years.”

Get crystal clear on your core values. They should guide your every decision.

Get ruthless on prioritizing your choices. Measure them against your values so you have a benchmark for making the difficult decisions.

Become passionate about the hard decisions. You’ll feel empowered, and they will pay off in the long run.

Passion

As you are working on getting your financial house in order, streamlining your life, and prioritizing what is most important during this time of financial difficulty, you can start doing the work of uncovering your passion.

You can begin to learn more about yourself, your skills, what brings you joy and enthusiasm. You can research, volunteer in an area of interest, find a mentor, join a group of like-minded people. You don’t have to feel pressured to make any choices right now — because you can’t afford to! This gives you the freedom to dip your toe in the water of a variety of interests that intrigue you and which might hold the promise for a future career or business.

Just this bit of exploration will generate excitement and motivation. You may not be able to afford to start over with a new career or go back to school right now. But there are so many resources and opportunities available for free online and within your community.

Carve out time every week to work on uncovering your passion. Give that time to yourself as a gift. You never know what opportunities might arise from becoming engaged in something you enjoy. It’s amazing how passion and enthusiasm open doors of possibilities that you didn’t previously know existed!

Don’t allow this time of financial hardship to thwart your desire to find and live your life passion. You aren’t stuck. There are things you can do, actions you can take to move forward toward your dream. And it can happen sooner than you might believe.

How is your financial situation impacting your ability to find and live your passion? How have you learned to prioritize and make difficult decisions and what has been the impact? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

If you need some help taking that first step once you’ve tipped, please check out my book, The 52-Week Life Passion Project.

Please share this post with other life passion seekers with the social media buttons below.