How are we all doing with our New Year's Resolutions? Or any of the changes or new habits we've decided to make in our lives, whether we made actual resolutions or not? Very often we set out with great intentions of something good we're going to do to better our lives, or a big project to accomplish, and run out of steam before we get to the finish line. We need more than good intentions, we need powerful motivation. A purpose and a why that keeps us focused when we get distracted or discouraged.
Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek. ~Mario Andretti
Some men have thousands of reason why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why then can. ~Martha Graham
All of us perform better and more willingly when we know why we're doing what we have been told or asked to do. ~Zig Ziglar
That is certainly true for me. My attitude is not the greatest when I'm told to do a thing a certain way that doesn't make sense to me, but never told why it needs to be that way. This happens a lot at my job. They are constantly doing 'updates' to processes that we're told are going to be 'easier, better, more efficient' but in my experience that is not true. There are more steps to the task instead of fewer, and it takes longer. There are a number of tasks that seem to be monumentally inefficient, with me gathering information from a couple of different places, filling out a spreadsheet, attaching the spreadsheet to a smartsheet after putting most of the info from the spreadsheet right onto the smartsheet, and then waiting for someone somewhere else to perform the task I wanted done. There's got to be an easier way! Also, accounting jobs are like many other jobs in that you're never fully caught up. You can close the books at the end of a week or month or accounting period, but you will have to do the same tasks starting the next work day. So what motivates me at work? Often just the daily game of seeing how much I can check off the to-do list, and how clean I can get my inbox.
People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily. ~Zig Ziglar
I'm often in need of motivation in my personal life too. I tend to procrastinate, and I often want to avoid starting a task or project that I don't think I'll have time to finish in the time I have available. Which is silly, of course, but I'd rather finish than pause and have to figure out where I left off when I come back to it. And like most people, it's hard to stay motivated to work on something when I don't feel like I'm doing it well or don't see progress.
Honestly, sometimes it is helpful to frame it as a competition. Even if I'm the only one I'm competing against!
Work hard in silence, let success be your noise. ~Frank Ocean
Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motiviation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. ~Lou Holtz
I think the satisfaction of having done a job well is great motivation. I want to give it my best effort, and maybe learn something along the way, and often challenge myself to do a little more or get outside of my comfort zone a bit.
Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go.
~Ecclesiastes 9:10~
That may sound a little fatalistic, but we only get one life and we aren't given a guarantee of how long it will be. The good things we want to accomplish won't always wait until another day, and we don't want to get to the end of our time and have regrets because we didn't do our best at the things that really mattered.
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
~Colossians 3:23-24~
That's often my motivation, especially for the tasks that it doesn't seem others notice or appreciate. It helps to remember that God notices when I do the right thing for the right reason. To bring honor and glory to him, not to me. Motivation boils down to knowing my purpose. The purpose for small day-to-day tasks is often hard to know, but the overall purpose of life is to know God and to live for him.
Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work. ~Robert Orben
What helps you stay motivated? Leave a comment and let me know!
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Quoting reminds me there are other people in the world besides only me.
And other thoughts besides mine, and other ways of thinking.
~Gregory Maguire~
Wednesday Quotes 2026 Themes
January 7 - Resolutions
January 21 - Motivation
February 4 - Eating Out/Restaurants
February 18 - Being Responsible
March 4 - Libraries
March 18 - Perserverance
April 1 - Simplicity
April 15 - Conquering Fear
April 29 - Making a Difference
May 13 - Family Ties
May 27 - Courage
June 10 - Teachers/Mentors
June 24 - Connecting with Nature
July 8 - Milestones
July 22 - Sunrise
August 5 - Patience
August 19 - Taking a Break/Rest
September 2 - Learning from Mistakes
September 16 - Best Friends
September 30 - Elegance
October 14 - Reaching Goals
October 28 - Dreams/Nightmares
November 11 - Integrity
November 25 - Generosity
December 9 - Beauty in Nature
December 23 - True Love
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