Secrets of True Motivation: Understanding Your Themes

Discerning your life themes can help you tap into a wellspring of energy and motivation

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One of the biggest blocks to creating our best self by making lasting change in our lives comes down to energy and motivation. All change requires effort, and motivation is one of the fabled secrets to success.

Without that boost for our energy, we tend to encounter blocks, such as procrastination and over-thinking. The end result is that change doesn’t last, and we feel we’ve failed to step closer to that potential we know is possible.

Uncovering Motivation

When we sat in English literature classes, we were often expected to recognise a core themefor the story. As a writer myself, I look back on those lessons with rolled eyes. Although seeking themes in literature can be a mixed experience, one of the best places to start outlining your potential path to an empowered life is to reflect on the themes of your life.

We spend much of our life feeling out of control, unable to craft our ‘Right Path’ — either through different self-help techniques, or due to the doubts and unhelpful thoughts that fill our minds. Each thought, every doubt, and even the attempts to make sense of what step we should act on next, are all part of the stories we tell ourselves. When we can connect to that core theme, we find ourselves with almost infinite energy and motivation to help fuel us in making changes stick. And if that story theme can motivate and energize us to make lasting change, it’s worth a bit of space to uncover and identify it.

My Main Theme

When I look back at the themes running through my life, there is one consistency from my single-digit years up to this age, a theme which has never wavered: the capacity of humans to harness inner strength.

As a child, I was increasingly worried about being ‘weak.’ In hindsight, I began studying resilience at the age of twelve. I was drawn to study psychology by the idea that we don’t use all of our mental capacity. I read (and now write) fantasy novels, with magic that may one day be explained by science.

In 2011, I began my first mentoring business, and as the face of it has evolved, I’ve noticed just how many of my core underpinnings remain the same. In my blogs, my business, and my daily opinions, my core theme is that of capability, resilience and inner strength. It is this thread that makes me passionate about fighting back, about speaking up and about taking action.This unwavering theme gives me an infinite wellspring of energy. If I can live out my truth and act in some way to teach people about accessing that capability within them, I end the day feeling more energized than I began it.

When thinking about your potential and what will help you connect with your best self, it can be helpful to pause and consider what you’ve done before.

How to Find Your Theme

The first place to look for your life themes is to reflect on your early decisions — especially ones that may not quite fit with how you were expected to behave. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. Have you ever felt drawn to try something that you couldn’t explain, even if you didn’t question it at the time?

I took Tai Chi and Yoga classes as 12-year-old because I wanted to learn how to still my mind. I began learning Karate because of a fascination with discipline, and getting my body to move in flow. I read a book on Neuro-Linguistic Programming in my early teens. At a time when most people my age liked music and fashion, I was obsessed with emotional regulation and what the human mind could create.

2. Thinking over the key decisions you made in the past, what themes have run through most of them?

Another way to find that theme, especially those that may still be strong motivators even now, is to let go of your expectations and ask yourself, what calls to you right now?

3. If you had a month to spend as you liked, what would you do beyond the ‘I’d rest and relax’ answer?

We change as experiences move through us, but some of those core beliefs and guiding values are dictated by those decisions. Our intuition guides us to act, to take a specific direction. Building upon the foundation your intuition has guided you through could be a good way to uncover those themes and core beliefs that fuel you to keep moving forward. And those motivations are worth your time and energy.

4. What nudges have you felt that might have been a little sign from your intuition that suggests a certain direction?

At the end of the day, finding your theme is not a simple quick-fix process, but once you find that consistent motivation, you will feel more energized. When you follow your intuition, you tend to feel in flow, with a sense of achievement bolstering any energy already in that well.

When you have energy in your well, you can act. And only through action can we change the world.

For more tips on accessing your intuition, head to MapYourPotential.co.uk

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You may also enjoy reading Freedom from Our Un-Serving & Negative Thoughts, by Annette Quarrier