From Ordinary to extraordinary

“From ordinary to extraordinary, the difference is little extra”- Jimmy Johnson. Now the question arises, how to bridge the gap of that ‘little extra’. Aren’t we motivated enough to win that little extra? Motivation is powerful, yet hard to retain. Sometimes it’s easy to get motivated if you find yourself wrapped up in the excitement of achieving something. Other times, it gets next to impossible to figure out, how to motivate yourself and you get entangled in the knitted web of procrastination.

There is no secret mantra for motivation, we all are aware of motivation, but sometimes the catalyst for motivation is difficult to identify, that catalyst reminds us of get going every time. Sources of motivation could be anything human or material, petite or grand, etc. The Japanese book ‘Ikigai’ talks about the inner motivation that focuses on the happiness of being busy. What keeps these Japanese working? In Japan, there is no concept of retirement. The centenarians of Japan work as long as they can. They believe their work keeps them happy and is the key to their longevity. Now you must be wondering, what this word Ikigai actually is, Ikigai is something which motivates one, to get up each morning and follow their passion says centenarians from an island Okinawa, Japan. Some people have found their Ikigai, while some are still looking for it, though they carry it within themselves. Ikigai is hidden deep inside, and finding it requires patience. Ikigai revolves around vocation, mission, profession and passion. What a wonderful lesson these Japanese teach us. Isn’t it?

Motivation cannot be found only in the speeches and self-motivational books. It can be found in our daily lives as well. Like Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan said in one of his interviews. He gets inspired by looking at the ordinary people, the way they live their lives, their struggles, and how they surmount those struggles is a source of motivation for him. Once in his interview he was asked who else inspired him the most, he said his abba(father) and further elaborated, his father was an example of successful failure to him, he told his abba used to work on his toes all day and night, for success. He invested money in a business, which didn’t turn out well and strived hard whole life, and passed away very soon at a young age.

One day me and one of my friends were having a discussion on an alumni talk, delivered to us that very evening through a webinar. It was quite motivating, because the speaker had a great journey, and he had proved himself to be quite successful. A random thought just popped up in our minds, and I asked him “can’t success after failure be a source of motivation for the listeners”. Then he shared a failure story preceded by a success story impacts the audience most. So it's not that always success story makes its way to motivate others, but failure stories too mark up its impact. It’s very rare to figure out a person who has seen all the ups throughout his life. Ups and downs are the part and parcel of life. As after the darkest night there is always a bright sunny morning similarly after the fall there is always a rise. It might take a little long, but it will definitely.

Motivation is a strange thing, because we never know when a source of it, hits the chord of our heart, and propel us to achieve that one thing which we aspire to achieve for so long.

The source of motivation may differ, from person to person. Even an ant climbing a wall with a particle of grain may motivate us. It teaches us a never give up attitude. What might be motivating for me, might not be enough motivating for you or vice-a-versa. There are numerous examples of great personalities and their source of motivation. One such story is of a boy from Rameshwaram, the boy was just 13 when the teacher took his whole class to a shore of the Bay of Bengal near his school, where birds were flying with the sweet chirping sound. Their teacher took the main focus at the sea birds, and asked the class, to study the technique they used for flying. The 13 years old boy watched the birds closely and found, they changed their direction whichever way they liked. The teacher asked the students to look at the tail portion with the combination of flapping wings, and the class was asked where the engines of these birds are. After looking closely, the class found that birds were powered by their own life and motivation of what it wants. The class understood the whole working dynamics from this practical example. The 13 years old boy pondered over that simple concept of flying birds, it fascinated him so much that he decided that he should pursue studies in aeronautical engineering. That 13 years old boy was none other than the ‘The missile man of India”, Mr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Mr. Kalam became an extra-ordinary man from an ordinary man.

Who doesn’t need motivation? I guess everyone does, even to follow the daily routine, we need motivation. For Roger Federer, motivation is multitudes of spectators, he says in one of his interviews, “I get motivated, looking at the crowded stadium rather than partially filled stadium”. The source of motivation for the winner of twenty times grand slam singles is none other than the spectators.

The roads are not that often easy every time, life throws a lot of challenges, it requires great deal of motivation and will power to surmount those challenges. But the quest is from where to borrow that will power and motivation. There was a man, who used to swim to and fro in the Ganges from his school, as he could not afford a ferry ride due to his poor financial conditions. He was motivated enough to learn and complete his schooling. He didn’t let his vicissitudes ruin his schooling. Can you guess who that man was? He was Mr. Lal Bahadur Shastri. He was also known as “Man of peace”. He was the epitome of simplicity and integrity.

My aim is not to exemplify all these great personalities, to make you feel motivated. But to make you understand, the mojo of motivation. Motivation is like a talisman, if you wear it, no power of this universe can stop you to achieve that thing, which once was your dream.

Why to go far, let’s look at today’s scenario, we can vouch for the level of motivation our police force, doctors and medical staff owes to bring a relief to the nation. Isn’t it a motivation to stay at home and contribute to our nation by keeping us as well as others safe? I think it is, we as the citizens of India are holding a lot of patience and motivation, to chip in with these great warriors, who are helping us to fight this pandemic. From lockdown 1.0 to 4.0, our patience has been tested well, if we weren’t motivated enough. I guess we would have ended up moving out while making the situation exacerbating.

It will require a lot of efforts for the economy to revamp and for fruitful outcomes; it requires further motivation in the workforce to work in this new reality. All of us are hoping that we will be back to our normal lives very soon, by keeping it in the mind that, though the tide is high, but we will definitely survive this high tide of pandemic.

What keeps us motivated is that one ray of hope that reminds us of get going, hope becomes the source of motivation sometimes, and that hope makes us think positive and push us to work hard to turn our dreams into reality. I am a millennial, and motivated enough to face, the challenges and turn those challenges into an upcoming opportunity this is the teaching of possibility thinking that rather than mourning at the lost opportunities, we should always be ready to grab the coming opportunities, by always finding an alternative, to a problem. Possibility thinking is very well explained in a book named “Success is never-ending and failure is never final by Robert H. Schuller”. This book enlightens us by breaking all the shackles of pessimism. 

Your only limit is your mind, as said by Lord Buddha-“What you think, you become”. Are you looking for motivation? Watch yourself closely, it’s within you. Will you let the motivation flow in your vessels and invite that change in your life. Believe me, if you do so, you will see the change in your daily lives. I have found my motivation, Have you? If you had not, you will find it soon!