How do you generate yourself to do what you know you ought to? How can you generate yourself to take the actions that are consistent with your declarations of who you say you are or what you say you are committed to?

You know how it works. I just don’t feel like going to the gym today, or I should study today but I just don’t feel like it. I should call my brother, take my kid out to play, etc. etc.

Acting from how we feel rather than our word is the biggest challenge most of us will face in our daily lives, and this is where the seeds of love, happiness, success are planted every day in the choices we make.

So “Ok” you say.   “I get that! But come back to your original question. How do I generate myself to act despite my feeling that I don’t want to, or better yet, how do I change the way I feel about doing something so that I’ll want to do it?”

Well, there are many books, coaches and therapists that have answers to these questions, and I don’t intend to do a treatise on the subject of motivation in this post.   What I can offer is that it’s important to remember that you already know how to change your moods, or how you feel.

What happens to you when you listen to different types of music, or when you watch movies? Certain songs or movies can bring you up, bring you down, scare you, inspire you and so on.      There are certain passages of certain books that give you strength.

If you’re committed to living the practice of your life start noticing what changes your mood, and what is the mood that results.   How do you feel after you read from that passage in your religious book, listening to that song by Sinatra, or eating the hot fudge sundae. Start looking for new mood altering experiences that you can count on.

They can exist in many forms, and affect you through all of your senses: sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.

Noticing your moods is a fundamental exercise in your life practice, in keeping yourself motivated.

Photo by greg westfall.