Walking in Tenerife Mountains by NJ King
Recently, an ex-client contacted me feeling really disheartened and describing her business progress as climbing a mountain.
Knowing her to be a very active, outdoorsy person, I used her own metaphor of climbing a mountain and asked her to imagine herself halfway up a mountain having lost all motivation to get to the top, because it seems just too far and too hard a climb.
I then got her to think about what may have inspired her to climb that mountain in the first place, and to recapture some of that motivation.
Achieving success in business is not so different to walking and climbing in hilly terrain, where paths sometimes wind and dip down before they eventually lead us to the summit.
When motivation is high, you may be driven by lots of positive energy, perhaps without knowing exactly what it is that’s driving you.
Crucially though when getting through tough times, it is easy to lose this positive energy and our motivation levels decrease. If this means we become stuck, as did my client, it can really help to identify WHAT it is that drives you.
In the story of the two frogs that fell into some cream, one gave up and drowned and the other paddled and paddled until the milk had turned to butter and he climbed out.
If that was you, what would make you start to paddle again?
Sometimes paddling is easier when you have external support and encouragement, but since this may not always be available exactly when you need it, do ask yourself what potentially deep, internal reason would encourage you to keep paddling?
Now probe a little further: Why would you want that, or why are you doing what you are doing?
It seems that when internal motivation is really strong, any mountain can be climbed.
It’s no good, therefore, looking to other people and seeing what motivates or drives them, as we are all different- what motivates you will be very personal to you!
Ute Wieczorek-King is an experienced trainer, mentor and business coach who specialises in helping busy women to be more focused, efficient, visible and profitable in business.
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Copyright 2011, Ute Wieczorek-King
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Sometimes a break in the normal routine is enough to encourage or stimulate a solution to a problem, but also a complete change in direction will provide a wealth of new information and skills that could make a huge difference to your business or life. It all depends on what direction you wish to take, how far you want to climb, how long you have to do all of this, and what you want to gain at the end of your expedition!
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I love the idea of frogs paddling in cream!
When I run out of motivation, it’s usually time to go and do something completely different. Walking the dog or riding the horse work best, as they give me a break and some fresh air. I usually get great ideas or solve problems when I’m doing something completely different. Then I can go back to what needs to be done, with renewed motivation!
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I wish I could remember where I first heard the story about the frogs, Chantal!
By the way…. Horse riding – what a great way to have a break! I agree, taking time out when motivation is low can be very inspiring and give us new energy as well as new ideas. Also sometimes we just forget the bigger reason why we do what we do so it’s good to know what helps us to connect with that again.
Thanks for your comment!
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