Military to Civilian Fitness

Definitely something I need. But how do we find it? Where do we get it? And how do we keep it? These are all questions I’ve been wondering lately. So where do we go to find answers? Well, I decided too look up a few ways and try them out to see if they work for me. I Googled “Motivation Boosters” and came across this eHow website and they had some tips for me to start out with.

First up, I thought about motivational quotes. I decided to read one each morning and see if it helped. One of those quotes were, “Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need.” -Voltaire. Well I’m not bored, that’s for sure. And the only vice I have is sleeping, which I don’t think counts. Needy? Well, I guess my needs are pretty well met (I could use some health insurance though!). I guess I agree with this quote. I could put more focus on the blessings of my crazy life. They say “idle hands are the Devil’s workshop”, and I’ve seen that happen. Too many good people have fallen into bad habits because of boredom. Whether it be drugs, pornography or self harm, too much free time is a bad thing. I’m grateful I haven’t had these problems. However, a little free time to relax and unwind is certainly healthy. I guess it’s just the principle of “moderation in all things”!

Our next quote: “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson. I like Emerson’s quotes. I don’t really know what he did besides saying quotable things, because they are all I’ve ever heard about him. Anyone know what else he actually did? Post a comment if you know! Now back on topic, I like to think of enthusiasm as ‘overflowing with motivation’. I’m still working on getting motivated at all, much less enthused! I guess this is where the “fake it ’till you make it” idea comes into play; if I pretend to be super enthusiastic, I actually will be soon (hopefully!).

Well these quotes were nice, but they didn’t help much with motivating me for school. So back to that website I mentioned earlier, here are a few of the ideas it had and the luck I had with applying them.

The first thing it lists is to figure out my motivation style. I’m not sure how that motivates me for school, but I guess it’s a start. For me personally, I always get done the things I absolutely have to do, and if I see my school attendance and assignments that way, then it’ll be taken care of.

Secondly, it says to be aware about the correlation between a low self-esteem and low motivation. Again, this isn’t necessarily a motivation technique. This sounds more like a list of information about motivation rather than techniques.

Three: make a list of everything you want to accomplish, and look at this like every time you feel discouraged. This one actually sounds like a real technique! And I agree with it too I have found this technique effective in the past with other situations, and I think motivation for school is also a good thing to apply it to.

The fourth thing is to eliminate stress. Well, my un-motivation is what’s causing me stress, so I think that’s a little bit implied here.

Number five says to read inspirational stories, and number six says to enlist the help of a professional. What a waste of time and money if you ask me! Unless they are referring to hiring a tutor. I can see how that would be helpful. But otherwise, they seem like ineffective ideas. It also mentions hypnosis, which I thing is a load of crap honestly. I think I’d rather get the tutor.

Well, the only useful thing on this website is to keep your goals or reasons in mind. If you put your focus on the end goal, the little steps become easier. I’ve found this to be true in the past, and I think I’m going to put it to use again. Motivation is all about willing yourself to get up and get it done, whatever it takes. Just keep your goals in mind! That way you don’t have to waste your money on a hypnotist.