Harvey, Jason - Achieve Anything In Just One Year - Be Inspired Daily to Live Your Dreams and Accomplish Your Goals

Your reaction to difficulties is completely up to you. You will either choose to cause yourself more suffering by procrastinating, complaining, and wishing circumstances were different, or you will take steps to overcome your difficulties. You have the power to choose delight or misery. What will it be?

DAY

169

“The harder the nut, the sweeter the kernel.”

— Saying

Pam is a novelist. Her latest book caused her more problems than she could ever have imagined. None of her previous books had been so difficult to write. She almost threw it in the trash numerous times before it was complete. She gritted her teeth and pushed forward every day, even if she didn’t have much to show for her efforts sometimes. Eventually Pam finished the manuscript, and a big-time publisher snatched it up almost immediately. It was her sweetest victory.

When Pam was interviewed a year and a half later, she talked about how the book was her hardest project ever and her greatest reward. It was not just because it made it to The New York Times Best Seller list. It was because she struggled and wrestled with it from the day she started writing it. The entire project was “like pulling teeth,” as Pam liked to say. She would go for days without feeling like she made any progress at all, and then she would get a small glimmer of hope that gave her the strength to continue.

This was a victory for Pam, because she stuck it out. She ran the entire marathon, and that made her a success long before the publisher accepted her manuscript, long before the reviews, and years before she sold her millionth copy. She had an intense feeling of satisfaction, because she cracked that nut. She stuck out the hard days, and she finished.

How do you want to feel when you look back on your achievements? Do you want the satisfaction of having done everything you could do to finish the race? Or do you want to wonder if you quit before getting to the sweet kernel of success?

DAY

170

“No tree becomes rooted and sturdy unless many a wind assails it. For by its very tossing it tightens its grip and plants its roots more securely; the fragile trees are those that have grown in a sunny valley.”

— Seneca the Younger

Your fortitude develops through the storms you face in life. You don’t need to build character and spirit and drive if you will never be tested. But in this world you will most likely face a few tempests if you hang around long enough. Growing up in a sunny spot where nothing ever threatens you sounds nice, but it won’t give you the chance to build sturdy roots and find out exactly how strong you are. You must face difficult times and prove that you can weather the storm.

If you are at a place right now where you feel as though the winds are assailing you from all directions and you are battered and broken, don’t lose hope. The storms of life will strengthen you and allow you to grow firm in your convictions and the knowledge that you have the ability to endure and thrive.

If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

That question is asked by psychologists, reporters, and even potential bosses in interviews. What’s your answer? Your assignment today is to once again put your artists’ tools to work. Get out those colored pencils, crayons, or markers and draw yourself if you were a tree. Have you developed strong roots that allow you to stand firm against the wind, or are you frail and easily bent? What kind of tree do you want to be?

DAY

171

“The two great springs of life, Hope and Fear.”

— William Hazlitt

Hope and fear are two highly motivating factors. Which one rules your life?

Does fear motivate most of your decisions? It is an instinctual response to certain situations. If you are in a physically dangerous situation, then fear is a great natural response. For example, if a mugger tries to attack you, your fear instinct might help you to fight back or run faster than you ever have before. That primal intuition is valuable in fight or flight situations.

What about internal fears? Do you allow your mental fears to motivate your actions? Fear is useful if you’re being chased by a bear, but it might cause you to lapse into inaction when less-obvious factors are involved. What are your fears? List them in your journal today. Do you fear being promoted to a job where you have more responsibility? Do you fear talking in front of other people? Name your fears today.

Now let’s turn to hope. How does hope work in your life? Does it motivate you? What are you hopeful about today? Some people think of hope as a sort of vague idea, but it can be a very concrete reason to take action. What are your hopes? Do you hope you can find a new job? Do you hope that your kids will grow up safe and happy?

Look at your lists of hopes and fears, and work on crossing fears off your list and adding to your list of hopes. Hope has amazing power to motivate people. It is a positive force in this world that should not be underestimated. Fear is useful at times, too, but it should not be overestimated.

DAY

172

“We should often blush at our noblest deeds if the world were to see all their underlying motives.”

— La Rochefoucauld

Yesterday you considered fear and hope as motivating factors in your life. What are your other motives? A motive is anything that causes you to take action. Motives can be noble; they can be pure; they can also be sneaky, underhanded, or selfish. Someone may have questionable motives, and that means that they probably aren’t taking action for the right reasons.

What are your motives for obtaining success? Are your motives selfish, or are they noble? When you complimented your boss on his tie this morning, what were your motives? When you got up to grab a midnight snack after everyone else in the house went to sleep, what were your motives then? Sometimes very noble actions come out of very underhanded motives. It might not matter what the original motives were if the result is a positive contribution to the world.

What are your thoughts on motives? Do you strive to have pure motives, or do you want to get things done any way you can? Do you care if greed, selfishness, or fame is a motivating factor in achieving success? Or do you think impure motives somehow taint the final prize?

Motives are very interesting, because they are not always clear even to the person taking action. Think about your motives behind achieving success. Try to be as truthful as possible when you write in your journal about motives today.

DAY

173

“All actions are judged by the motive prompting them.”

— Muhammad

Anita didn’t care if she lied, cheated, or stole to get to the top. She was completely focused on achieving success at any cost. Her single-mindedness left many broken relationships in its wake, but she didn’t care. Anita knew that once she was a success, no one would remember her motives. She would have everything, and she would be loved for her achievements.

She was wrong. Anita did achieve success, but when she reached the top of the mountain, she was all alone. People didn’t want to come anywhere near her, because she had turned into a pretty hateful person as she clawed her way to the top. Anita’s motives had not been the least bit honorable. She forgot that she could not use the people around her as opportunities for advancement. She needed to cultivate relationships and find ways to contribute positively to the lives of others rather than only taking what she could get from them.