Today, people will pay from thousands to tens of thousands dollars a year to employ people to ‘motivate’ them. From personal trainers, to life coaches, to accountability partners and a plethora of other websites that promise to have the key to give you the right amount of ‘motivation’ to get you where you want to be.
Motivation: a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way – (Oxford English Dictionary)
Determination: the quality of being determined; firmness of purpose – (Oxford English Dictionary)
Having spent years upon years examining and experiencing individuals’ reasons for trying to achieve, I believe that it is time for an important line in the sand to be drawn. There is a difference between motivation and determination – and there is a huge difference in the effectiveness of people who are continually motivated, and those who are determined. Motivation relies on external reasons and a continual reminder of those reasons to push someone forward – that is why you feel you need continual input – seminars, appointments, sessions, YouTube videos, hours on Tumblr and Instagram, looking at inspirational quotes, etc. Yes, many people have wonderful results due to these things, but if you remove the support person/group/prompts – where does motivation go?
Those who are determined are not powered simply by REASONS…it is a quality of a person…something that comes from within and doesn’t change – it is simply nurtured and strengthened in one’s character. If someone is determined, it is a character that is universal in areas of priority in their lives. Whilst some people are motivated to lose weight, they find that they often have to solely focus on that one thing in order to achieve. If someone is determined, you often see a similar amount of discipline applied to a number of different areas with a sense of control and confidence in what they are doing.
We believe in cultivating determination, rather than creating a continuing reliance on us for motivation – we will not always be here…we are human, too and have a small amount of time on the earth. Determination is a personality trait that is passed on through example – from trainer to client, from father and mother to son and daughter, from friend to friend, co-worker to co-worker and also up the ladder….student to teacher, children to parents and so on. Determination is something that people cannot help to admire – a steadiness in purpose, character, belief and action that gives those around you the permission to cultivate it in themselves. To be a certain type of person, a new breed of human. Determination is what empowers an individual to be in charge, not continually paying out for borrowed conviction that runs out of fuel. So, next time you are lying in bed, scrolling through Tumblr for inspiration – think…what actions must I do to be determined and practice this character of determination today?
LLUMI Australia 