Full of It - How to Turn Doubts Into Motivation
Have you ever been doubted? Most have. Doubt comes in many forms. To me, the key is where it comes from. If you doubt yourself, good luck. But some good timed doubt, from the right person, can give you all the motivation you need.
Motivation is defined as the reason one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. Doubt; the feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction. Are they antonyms? No. Synonyms? Absolutely not. They are, however, related in some way.
My titular question refers to that which fills your mind and not how truthful you are being (as the well-known colloquialism suggests). I find that those who frequently concentrate on their own understanding of things often tend to have a limited scope of knowledge. This might sound rather obvious, but it’s not they haven’t heard or experienced other ideas. It’s that they haven’t taken the time to understand them. Thus, their knowledge is limited and motivational sources are few.
The human mind is so intelligent that we really have no idea how it works. Yet, we “think” we do. Try searching Amazon for a psychology book. Have fun narrowing that down. A study published on statista.com shows that the number of philosophy/psychology books published per year nearly doubled from 2002-2013. I would project that we haven’t slowed down too much over the past seven years.
I say this not to discredit those who have studied the mind. Actually, there have been many great works that we all can learn from. Maybe start with some classic Aristotle? My purpose is to indicate that there is an endless supply of knowledge for us to draw on. But, there’s no absolute understanding. By anyone.
One should not limit their thoughts to their own. Fill your mind with many ideas and perspectives. I’m neither a psychologist or a kinesiologist, but I feel like “movement’ of the mind is imperative to one’s health. It’s similar to exercising the other parts of the body. I see the brain as a muscle. It can be trained and strengthened.
I love a good list. See the article How to Promote Brain Health: The Healthy Aging Checklist. Here Dr. Leslie Kernisan lays out some bullet points for healthy aging. What’s the first on the list? Promote brain health and emotional well-being! This is even before physical health.
If nothing else, I’ve learned it’s at least healthy to think critically. Even if it doesn’t help me accomplish something, I’m getting some good mental exercise.
What is a healthy mind full of? Options. To put it in a modern context, a healthy mind has a vast digital library that it can easily navigate. It can reference anything from that library, whenever it needs, for whatever purpose it has.
As I previously referenced, self-doubt is draining. It’s limiting. It feels insurmountable. It leads to pressure that actually limits one’s performance. But what is its source?
Self-doubt comes when you’ve limited your options. Not only are you under confident in your abilities related to the subject matter, there is a compounding effect of general under confidence in yourself. The best way to limit this is to allow those around you to provide education and motivation.
If you listen intently to doubters, they’ll tell you why they truly feel that way. That is great! They’re giving you the solution. Especially if it is someone you respect, you have a legitimate concept to learn about and a way to make yourself better. A stepping stone to success.
Fill your mind with those thoughts. You can thank them later. Trust me, you’ll be glad to.
I recently watched two highly discussed docuseries’ on ESPN. The first, “Last Dance” chronicled the story of the ’98 Chicago Bulls basketball team. In the 90’s you didn’t even have to be a National Basketball Association fan to know who the Bulls were. They were traveling entertainment at its finest (a legendary team too).
Michael Jordan, the unquestioned leader of the team, is the greatest basketball player ever. Please, save your arguments for LeBron James, Bill Russel, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and anyone else for that matter. I’ve heard them all. I’ve even heard some for Kobe Bryant (R.I.P. Mamba). Michael was the greatest partly because of tremendous athleticism. But, there are a lot of great athletes. Has anyone watched the National Football League combine (which I’ve heard affectionately called the “Underwear Olympics”)? This is not an ESPN commercial, but maybe check out their magazine for the “Body Issue”. Athletes.
Maybe ESPN should come out with a magazine called “Mind”. Sounds like a great idea to me. I’d love to look at huge HD pictures of the brain. Maybe not. But, I would watch another 10 part series on Jordan’s mind. What made him the best was how he used doubt as motivation. The man was cut from his high school basketball team. You think he could have doubted himself?
Jordan is certainly and extreme case, but the stories are fascinating. How about the flu (pizza/food poisoning/gambling in Vegas) whatever we want to call it) game? Or, not as recognized, but even better, using LaBradford Smith’s “good game” comment to fuel an outburst in the next game. Smith was an unknown, young player for the Washington Bullets and clearly wasn’t on Jordan’s level, but somehow his comments drove the best player in the world.
During the 1997 NBA finals, George Karl (the Seattle Supersonics head coach) apparently ignored Jordan at a restaurant. Can you fault the guy? They were in the middle of a championship series and just happened to be at the same restaurant one night. It’s not like they would not have had the chance to talk the next day and multiple times over the week.
The second fascinating series I watched was called “Lance”. Now, if “The Last Dance” was controversial, this one could spark a war. Lance Armstrong is a record setting cyclist and seven time Tour de France champion. This is one of the most grueling events in sports. Outside of Iditarod, I think it’s the last race I’d ever want to participate in. This is coming from someone who participates in Spoke Folk. I have some cycling experience, but it ends there.
Just completing the Tour de France is an amazing accomplishment that many could not handle. But, Lance won more than anyone ever did. The controversy lies in his use of performance enhancing drugs. See this simple description of Erythropoietin. I’m certainly not promoting the use of performance enhancers (I support the World Anti Doping Agency), but doping was rampant in the sport at that point. And it takes more than an estimated10% boost in performance on the drug to get to that point.
Lance’s most challenging hurdle to overcome was a medical issue. In 1996 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Now, this hits home with me as a survivor of the same disease. You may have heard me speak out this time in my life in the past. I know how easy it is to doubt oneself during this time.
To go from a world class athlete, to a struggling to move, eat, speak sickly person could break anyone’s spirit. But somehow, being told by medical professionals that you are gravely ill, is what Lance needed to spark his comeback and a dominating career.
I believe that everyone is great at something. We’ve all been put on the Earth with a unique combination of skills and talents. It takes time to recognize them. Hone them. Perfect them. Some people never get to the last stage.
You may not have identified your greatest skill. In fact, Lance even said that he wasn’t good at some of the more popular sports and it wasn’t until he discovered triathlons that he realized his great endurance.
If you can determine what you excel at, what you enjoy, and what drives you to accomplish, it will be much easier to find motivation.
You must look without in order to drive what is within.
As you can see, I think athletes are a good example of determination, but these points apply to areas of business, though, faith, and many other aspects of life.
Find what’s joyful for you in those areas and do it. Keep doing it. Hear the dissenting opinions. Respect them. But, disprove them. The more you do the better you are and the more systematic it becomes for you brain.
What are Endocannabinoids? Ask Science Daily.
I’m waxing back into to scientific studies. Not my strong suit. Maybe I should take my own advice and stay in my lane. No, this is part of me practicing diversity of thought (or at least the definition of it in this context).
I needed to do some research. See this article in Forbes by Rebekah Bastian that is very relevant to the current state in our world. It may seem contradictory to what I am saying, but it’s the interest in another point of view that yields growth. So much so, that I read another article entitled “What is Diversity of Thought” to learn even more.
It’s clear that considering the perspective of others has a greater meaning than one’s personal goals. But how else would you learn if you weren’t curious to expand your own understanding?
The point is to make critical thinking and considering multiple perspectives habitual. Especially those in opposition to your purpose. Get your mind used to being challenged. What good is it to hear what you already know or believe? “Speaking to the choir” takes little effort. Being in the “choir” takes none.
Staying with the colloquial theme, “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer”. Another favorite line of mine. I like to think that my true enemies are few, but enemies of thought arise every day. They are fuel for production.
Are you full of it? I hope so. If you are, you welcome all opinions. Your are well educated on your own. You are strong, but NOT selfish. You have conviction because you understand all perspectives. You avoid “tunnel vision” (couldn’t help another expression), and encourage others to do the same.
Here are seven ways to train your brain to habitually recognize motivation:
Set goals. Document them. Review daily.
Track progress in a way that relates directly to the end goal.
Celebrate progress publicly (don’t keep it a secret!).
Ask for assistance and show people what you’re trying to accomplish.
Remember those who said “no” or “you can’t”. Tell them how you dominated anyway (if you’re Michael Jordan).
Apply your vision to others. Meaning; look for other people that could benefit from whatever you’re reaching for. Bring them along if you can.
Remind yourself regularly what it was like when you were first envisioning the end goal.
If you can make these things habitual, you’re making motivation routine.
Next time someone tells you “You’re full of it!”. Just smile and nod. It’s good. You are.