By T. Harv Eker
A question I frequently get asked by students from around the world that is so simple, yet very powerful is: How do I go from being unmotivated to motivated?
Unmotivated and Unsure? Find Your Purpose
The answer always boils down to just three letters and one word: Why?
Many people are unmotivated because they don’t have a why that resonates with them. They don’t have a REASON for being motivated. In other words, the lack of motivation is a kind of inertia.
The law of momentum states that a body in motion will tend to remain in motion and a body at rest will tend to remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. This means you’ve got to get yourself moving in the direction you want! Furthermore, that’s why you’ve got to have your why. You need to have your reason for why you want to do what you’re thinking of doing.
This can relate to wealth, health, relationships, moving cities, and changing jobs; it could be about anything, but the bottom line is you’ve got to have a why.
Jim Rohn once said, “The bigger the why, the easier the how,” meaning that if we have a good enough reason or a good enough purpose for doing something, the how will come. You’ll get it done, even if it doesn’t make sense right away.
There’s a story I once heard about a slender woman who was driving with her son. Something happened with the tire, and while the son was trying to fix it, the jack fell and it pinned him under the car. He was losing his life, but somehow this woman lifted up the corner of the car for him to get out. How crazy is that?
Scientists have done research on this. It turns out we have the extreme and unique ability to push ourselves in times of need. It’s the why, or our reason, that prompts this ability.
Miracles can happen when you have a big enough why. Why is whatever you want important to you? For example, why is money important to you? Or why is wealth important to you? Why is freedom important to you?
My ‘Why’
People ask me this question all the time. They say, “Harv, you went through so much struggle early on in your career. Why didn’t you give up?”
The answer is because I had a bigger why than any struggle that I could entertain or have come over me. My why, although not overly enlightened, was very simple: I needed to prove something to my parents.
I needed to prove that they were wrong when they told me I’d never amount to anything, and that I’d be broke and begging them for money.
Again, my why is not enlightenment, because it stems from fear. However, once I started getting a little bit of a financial security, my why turned into something different.
I wanted to be able to do what I wanted with my time, my energy and my life. I didn’t want to have to be beholden to anyone or anything, and I just wanted to be free. All I wanted was freedom, so that became my why. Then I became fully financially free.
Let me give you one more clue here about your why, because it’s one of the most important things you can ever discover. First, your why should have two sides to it. First is you. Your why should serve you. Second, your why has to be bigger than you. Whether it’s for your community, your country, or the people in your business, your why needs to be big.
If you have those two why’s, one for yourself and one to help others or the world, you’ll be motivated.
Without a why, you’ll be unmotivated. It’s as simple as that.
What is your why? Why do you do what you do? Further, why do you want to be successful? Why do you want freedom? Leave me a comment below, I would love to hear from you!
