Have Some 'Ganas' in Your Life

?HOLA MI GENTE!

Consider this your Latin American wake up call to tackle great things! (Queue the Salsa brass). Here we go:

One of my favorite words of the Spanish language is the one and only: GANAS.

?It’s one of those words that if they were going to be translated into a single word in English, it would fall short. It's motivation, desire, determination, grit, joie de vivre, intention, all into one. Let’s look into each of these meanings, and maybe you’ll find you already have ganas, or at least you know how to get them in your life.

Motivation

Growing up, my psychology teacher told me that motivation is an internal process. If I were to invite that process to take place, I’d try to establish connections to things that I already know to help me create motivation within me. In other words, create a neural pathway with something that you like.

Start with a memory, where you ever in a similar spot? What took you through the funk? What got you out of the funk? Can you recall how you got to that point?

?Try to reconstruct your own path to motivation. The small traces of recollection will still help you be at a better place mentally and emotionally. Once you’ve identified that path, write down what get you through and let that be your call to rally.

Grit

When I interviewed fellow podcaster Isidro Salas, he said something that’s ingrained in my culture:

“So, I think the word resourcefulness is what comes to mind [when] we just figured things out. You confront a situation, and you don't have time to cry.”

Many of you might have heard the Spanish noun associated with grit: El Coraje. Similar to the English “Courage”, the French word Courage (this one accented in the last syllable) and the Italian vocable Coraggio, the word implies being valiant in while facing adverse conditions. I’m going to let you in a little secret that I’ve learned as a Venezuela/American translator. There’s a word in Venezuelan lore that translates directly to the word “Grit” in English. Ready for it? Here it comes, it’s Guáramo.

?Just like its English counterpart, Guáramo implies a solid determination to accomplish. It also means having the courage to overcome obstacles and get things done. (Warning: just like El Coraje, this word can also mean “ire”, don’t mess with that).

Desire

This is one of the most human words one could ever encounter. It expresses your innermost wants as a person, and that can define your existence or your emotional state. I’d like to call our attention to the nature of our desires.

?One of my favorite songs from the wonderful Bob Marley & The Wailers was Exodus. In it we find the phrase:

?“Open your eyes and look within

Are you satisfied with the life you’re living?”

?Along with this question, I’d add: What is it that we want the most out of life? Are we on a path that will take us there? How much desire do we have for it? Are we willing to make the changes we need to make to get it?

Joie de Vivre

This French expression literally means “The Joy of Living”. One of the greatest teachings & notions I‘ve received in my life is that we live to experience joy.

No, it’s not a simple and ephemeral pleasure. I’m talking about that inner flame that makes you feel alive and see the positive in existence. Don’t have it right now? Please, allow me to share a couple of actions that might re-ignite it:

Ask for Help: Whether it’s divine or human, don’t be afraid of asking for aid.

Help someone: It’s going to help you get out of your own head and obtain better perspectives.

Gratitude: It’s a key to happiness, need I say more?

Fill up the well: Recharge yourself with good content, stuff that will fill you up with positive vibes and great knowledge.

Take a break: Thank heavens for the Hispanic concept of siesta. Sometimes a small break will help you keep going and eventually get to the finish line.

Add Some Spice to Your Life: Add something different to your routine. Adopting new flavors can provide the sensorial stimulus we need to keep going. Here are three of my Spotify playlists that might help you taste new stuff. I hope you don't mind my sharing:

My Jolt’s Hits List: This one has my favorite Rock & Roll hits that give me that boost for the day

My Latin Fusion Hits: A mix of traditional rhythms with other genres. Really cool stuff.

My Salsa Power List: Salsa is my favorite Latin music genre. ?

Intention

Ultimately, you need to truly want to take action. And here comes the dilemma: How can I do that if I really don’t want to do what I’m supposed to?

May I suggest a pragmatic approach to solve this conundrum: CHOOSE TO BE MOTIVATED.

?Whether you’re at the start of your road, or midway there, I invite you to keep going. Choose to give the next little step, and then the next one. Yes, monitor for signs of burnout and make sure you have still more to give before going further.

If there’s any fuel left within you, the act of taking the step will in itself create a spark. Sometimes it will translate into picking up the pace all the way to sprint. Sometimes it will lead to a couple of steps before stopping again to take a break, because it's all you’ve got within you, AND THAT’S OK.

?A good friend and one the “Leadership Comadres” is a Latina Executive by the name of Martha Ni?o invites us not to be too hard on us to dare to do something new:

?“It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be done. And that's what I think you and I were like, I don't know what we're going to do, but let's just get it out into the world and see what happens.” ?

One of the most famous boxing fights in history was the third bout between Mohammed Ali & Joe Frazier. Lore says that by the 13th round these two titans were so spent that they both were ready to call it good. Ali won because he did the only thing he had enough energy to do at the moment: getting up.

As heroic as both pugilists were in this fight of the century, only one fighter answered the call of the bell when it came, and that was Ali. Choose to do your best, even if it seems like your effort will yield little to no results. As small as it might appear, the action you take next might make you win the fight.

?By the way, in Spanish the verb “to win” is called Ganar. If you want to ganar, get some ganas, Mi Gente.?