Motivation from within

How do we achieve self-motivation? Allow me to share my story of waking up before daybreak as an example.

Everyday we have to wake up from our sleep and start our day. Do you have to wake up at a specific time? How easy is it for you to wake up? Do you use an alarm clock? Do you need someone to pull you out of bed?

What is your reason for waking up at that particular time? If you experience difficulty in waking up, there could be some very fundamental causes, for example, insufficient hours of restful sleep. 

If that is not the case, then it could be a deeper reason. Perhaps you are not motivated to get up. Do you view it as a responsibility or is it your choice to wake up at that hour? 

Do you drag yourself out of bed even though you're tired but have to wake up and get things done, for example going to work or attending to your kids? Do you jump out of bed if you have something fun to do, for example on holidays? 

To make yourself wake up at a specific time consistently every day, you have to find the meaning or value of doing so. At least I had to. 

I love to sleep, and I love the idea and luxury of waking up naturally after a good long sleep. For me, waking up before sunrise was very unappealing & was not necessary. However, after I decided to do so for every school-day, I've been able to persuade myself to continue.

I asked myself: how did I manage to do it? Originally I thought the motivation came from outside, for example, to prepare breakfast for my son so he eats better, to have some time in the morning for chatting and bonding, and not to be late sending him to school. But though meaningful and valid, I realise that those reasons were not my strongest motivation.

Then I saw the deeper cause of my perseverance. It was a challenge to myself, to do something which I've determined to do, to overcome my inner resistance, to achieve a breakthrough in my weak area.

Motivation from within is a more sustainable motivation. I've the freedom to become a better person. If I want to do it, I can do it. I've many mentors and they've all taught me a lot. But ultimately it's my choice. Nobody can motivate me better than myself. This is not meant to be arrogant. In fact, it's my mentors' success if they've inspired me to achieve self-motivation. 

情人眼里出西施，儿子眼里出厨师

妈妈煮了一锅杂菜鸡汤，儿子最后一个吃饭，看了看，问道：“我可以吃完这整锅吗？”

妈妈：“可以呀，不过你不用先试一试味道吗？”

儿子：“是你煮的叻，当然不用啦。”

妈妈：“喂，这句话可以有两个意思喔：
1）是你煮的，当然好味道，不用试了；
2）是你煮的，当然不好吃，不用试了。”

儿子被逗笑了，回道：“那我拿完整锅，你说呢？”

妈妈也被逗笑了。

简单的生活，窝心的母子情。

或者说，情人眼里出西施，儿子眼里出厨师，哈哈哈。

Our life fuel

went for a parenting talk. Good sharing of experiences & insights from the speaker Edmund Wong. I was thinking-

Are we putting as much efforts in ourselves as our cars?

Our car has an indicator for fuel level. Once we see it's low, we are reminded to top up. When it's time to be serviced & maintained, we send it to the workshop.

But we hv no visible indicator for our competence or wisdom level, in various areas of our life. We may not be doing things the best way we know. There may be things we "know" but not putting into practice. Our energy gets depleted. 

Which is why we should actively seek positive input & build positive habits. Learn something in our area of interest. "Top up" our life fuel. 

两岁半的幽默

我们跟朋友聚会，朋友一时兴起，问女儿：“我是好人还是坏人？”
她说：“你是叔叔。”
他再问：“叔叔是好人还是坏人？”
她说：“你不是坏人。”