Motivation During Decline

Buddhist wisdom tells us that frequently there are times in our lives where we are either touched by the winds of increase or decline.  Abundance or loss.

In my mind, this can also be thought of things either going your way or not.  Try and try as we might, there are times where the winds of decline inevitably touch our lives.  It's an unavoidable part of the life process.  So how do we continue to motivate ourselves  towards our goals during these times?

When things are going really well for us, it's easy to be motivated.  When the winds of increase touch us, everything just works.  It's easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel, as we get a sense that our dreams are becoming reality.  These are times of breakthroughs and good fortune.  During these circumstances, synchronicity is high, and success is a continuous flow of positive events. 

But during times of decline, it's more important than ever to push forward towards your goals.  During decline, there are factors which can be both internal and external, causing struggle or loss.  It's difficult to remain calm during these times, but that's inevitably the right course of action.  Reactive behaviour is common for most, as it takes effort to develop a consistent (positive) response to the events of life.  So how do we proceed, what is the "right" course of action?

In the Taoist Book of Changes, The I Ching - Hexagram 11 (Peace), there is the following wisdom:

"Everything on earth is subject to change. Prosperity is followed by decline: this is the eternal law on earth. Evil can indeed be held in check but not permanently abolished. It always returns. This conviction might induct melancholy, but it should not; it ought only to keep us from falling into illusion when good fortune comes to us. If we continue mindful of the danger, we remain persevering and make no mistakes. As long as a man's inner nature remains stronger and richer than anything offered by external fortune, as long as he remains inwardly superior to fate, fortune will not desert him."
Hexagram 55 - Abundance / Fullness, also has this to say:

"It is not given to every mortal to bring about a time of outstanding greatness and abundance. Only a born ruler of men is able to do it, because his will is directed to what is great. Such a time of abundance is usually brief. Therefore a sage might well feel sad in view of the decline that must follow. But such sadness foes not befit him. Only a man who is inwardly free of sorrow and care can lead in a time of abundance. He must be like the sun at midday, illuminating and gladdening everything under heaven."   

The above is meant to lead us towards abundance and a peaceful return from decline.  It is also telling us to remove inner sorrow and sadness during these times, and illuminate ourselves and others.  Easier said than done of course, but at least knowing the path gives us a chance to walk it.  I also think that working to stop random reactions (usually negative) to events during times of decline is important, and instead choose a positive response ahead of time.  Knowing that these times are an unavoidable aspect of life, arms us with the ability to choose our responses before misfortune occurs.

Motivation is ultimately a choice. The more consistently we make the highest choice towards a positive response, the more resilient we become during times of struggle.  It's also important to not abandon the vision or passion during times of decline.  Instead, focus on the dream even more, as that's the quickest way to lead back to happiness.  A positive inner experience, leads to a positive outward one, ultimately leading to success. 

"When you squeeze an orange, you'll always get orange juice to come out. What comes out is what's inside. The same logic applies to you: when someone squeezes you, puts pressure on you, or says something unflattering or critical, and out of you comes anger, hatred, bitterness, tension, depression, or anxiety, that is what's inside. If love and joy are what you want to give and receive, change your life by changing what's inside." --Dr. Wayne Dyer

It's Important...

It's really important to be well grounded in life, in all aspects, but especially your thinking.  I suppose one of the greatest secrets I have about life is to fix my thinking.  What I mean by that is I actively work on removing mental barriers, blockages, impediments, or negativity so the way is clear for me to focus on my goals.  This is really important... it's critical in fact.  So many of us have our lives completely side tracked or even derailed entirely by wrong thought.

Our life is a reflection of what we think about it, and the people, places, and things around us are proof of this.  And if you're thinking is misaligned, unfocused, or out of control... your life could spiral out of control as well.

Science has shown and proven that repeated negative thinking simply draws your death closer to you.  Illnesses show up, and so too does the lack of motivation deepen as negative thinking takes hold.  Who wants to write a book when their depressed?  Who has time for self development when bills need to be paid?  Or who wants to date a guy who doesn't even have the self love to take care of himself?  I'm not talking about myself necessarily, but simply providing some examples about the typical cause and effect of our thinking.  Negativity, worry, and fear causes us to shrivel up and die... making us miss all of the opportunity life has to offer...  so who needs it?

This is why so much of my time is devoted to removing these mental obstacles.  I actively work on, what Buddha would call "Right Thinking."  Thinking without struggle, deliberately focused on a task, which for me... are my chosen passions.

My passions are family, writing, martial arts, self development, and career.  Each category of my life gets priority... there is no hierarchy in this, they are all balanced on a very important table.  Time and effort is allocated to each area to reach specific personal goals. I see all of these areas as needed aspects of who I am and who I seek to be, hence all very important to me.

Consequently, time management has become an important asset.  Being able to divide my time up so efficiently, is a direct result of my thoughts regarding my life and what it's about.  I realize that life is an opportunity for me to define myself, and reach towards the grandest vision of my life possible.   The grandest vision is then broken down into a series of objectives that I actively work towards.

Removing any obstacles of mind has become an important step in the process of reaching these objectives.  The journey, as a result has helped me tremendously, and also aided those around me as well.  Will I get there?  I don't know.  Whether or not I reach my grandest visions or dreams is all part of the fun and the mystery of the experience... but I'm ok with that.

3 Things I've Learned From Publishing A Book

I've learned many things from writing, publishing, and promoting the Seventh Journey Series.  From a pure writing perspective, I could write an entire article simply on how I've improved over the last seven years.  There are several other discoveries I'd like to share... for example about how it's affected the people around me, about the various processes you have to go through, and the various methods of publicity available.  But in this article, I'd like to discuss the key ideas I've learned that lend the most towards success.  I hope that you find these ideas useful as well.  

1 - Patience.  Whatever your goal may be, it's important to have some patience.  Have patience with yourself, patience for those around you, and patience as you inch closer and closer towards your goal.    The road to any great success is usually long, and full of challenges.  But that's why so few really make it, they lack patience.

2 - Perseverance.  The ability to overcome, get back up, climb over, walk around, or smash through any obstacle is a key quality of successful people.  Through training, and deliberate mental and/or physical effort, you can push through any challenge and achieve your objective.  People have proven this time and time again, when the will is applied, miracles are achieved.  I have had my share of challenges during the publishing process, but I've always persevered and never given up.

3 - It's not about the money.  At some point, all of it has to be about something more than just money, because honestly it can take time to reap the rewards of writing.  Essentially the motivation has to come from something greater.  Personally, I enjoy the challenge of publishing a book, and I also love sharing my series with others.  Creating and writing novels is really fun for me, I enjoy the development of each scene, and visualizing each character's perspectives and responses.  I love developing action scenes, epic battles, and emotional connections.  So ultimately, I love the creative process and sharing of subsequent works... financial success is a by-product.