Do You Need a Little Motivation?

Hello, I hope you’re doing well. OK, that may be a bit too formal, so let me be real with you for a moment.

Life is kind of a bit hard, isn’t it? Although our problems may differ, the concept of hard times is something that most people can relate to.

Financial woes, health issues, barriers to success, and feeling unfulfilled at work or in general are but just a few of the things that plague us during life.

Sometimes a word of encouragement helps to get through some of the toughest situations we will ever face. But sometimes, people just want to be left alone, and that’s completely valid.

If you are someone that needs a bit of a boost, maybe one of the messages I leave below will help.

A Different Approach

You know there’s a quote that’s often misattributed to Einstein:

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Definitely not Albert Einstein

Its origin is still a bit of a mystery, as there is no specific author, but a close match to the quote above was found in an article in a newspaper from Knoxville, Tennesee in October 1981. The article was about a Twelve Steps group called “Al-Anon”, whose mission was to help the families of those who suffer with alcoholism.

There’s a lot of decent advice that can be taken from Alcoholics Anonymous and other similar groups, whether you are addicted to something or not.

Basically, what I am trying to get at is – if you know something isn’t quite working, trying a slightly different approach might make all the difference. Even if you switch just one thing around, you may be able to reach the resolution you are looking for.

For example, if you feel like you aren’t able to keep up with certain targets, you may feel demotivated to actually work towards them because they seem impossible to reach. Instead, try lowering the target to an easier to reach level. If you reach that new level, well done! If you exceed that new expectation, you’re doing amazing!

Over time, you may even see yourself reach the target you were aiming for in the first place. I find this to be helpful, especially when you are trying something new, so extend yourself some grace, take things slow and allow yourself to grow at a reasonable pace.

Plant the tree

I have another quote for you!

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” 

Anonymous (who sometimes says 30 years ago, 80 years ago and yesterday were the best times to plant a tree)

I’m not a botanist, but this quote is from those sorts of circles. This one is misquoted as an ancient Chinese proverb, even though there is no evidence of it ever being one. Maybe some sort of marketing tactic?

I think this quote works in two ways, although they can be easily linked. The first is that starting something right now means you don’t have to bring yourself to take the plunge later. In fact, you are stopping yourself from procrastinating on something that you know you need or want to do.

The second way it works is more oriented towards growth and progression. If you planted a tree two years ago, it’s going to be bigger than one you planted two days ago. Whether you are working on a seedling, a youngling, or a fully-fledged mature tree, the earlier you start working on something, the more time you can give it to grow and flourish.

A common regret of mine is not starting and staying consistent with streaming on Twitch early enough. I was streaming here and there in early 2020 before the pandemic hit the UK, but I didn’t keep it going often enough. I feel like I could have had more experience, knowledge, and confidence by now if I had.

But the great thing about this realisation is that I can still achieve the goals I’m aiming for – they’ll just happen later.

As they say, better late than never!

15 Minutes Can Make All the Difference

This last message is one of my own. I said it at the beginning of one of my Twitch streams a month ago and it will be forever relevant to me.

OK, I guess it’s time to quote myself?:

“Message of the Day: Even if you can only commit to 15 minutes a week, pursuing your passions is always a good idea. Those 15 minutes can make all the difference.”

SimpleThimbles (AKA Adeola) 28/01/2022

Whether it’s practicing playing the guitar, writing a book, applying for jobs, exercising, or learning something new through a bit of online research, 15 minutes can really make an impact.

If you did 15 minutes a day of writing, depending on the type of thing you are writing and your typing/writing/speaking speed, you could get a couple hundred words on the page. Do that for a week and you could be hitting the 1400 word mark!

15 minutes is a negligible amount of time for most people. If you don’t have 15 minutes, maybe 10 minutes will work better for you. It doesn’t even have to be every day either. Go at your own pace – but any amount of time you can actively put towards bettering yourself is time well spent!

A Little Call to Action

So you made it to the end of what was either a great read or not quite what you were looking for. If you have any suggestions for certain messages that can help us get through the tough problems we face in life, or just want to say hello, leave a comment below. You can also reach me via email or via DMs on Instagram!

Thank you for reading! Stay safe and…

Stay Thirsty!

Ade

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