In Athletics, the runners line up on a starting line. The crowd becomes silent and everybody is holding their breath. And then …Bang ! And the athletes take off like a rocket. In life also, we need a trigger to fire that pistol so that we can also take off to fulfill our dreams. Motivation is that trigger that drives us to achieve our personal and professional goals of life.

Everyone is not born with self-motivation. This article shares THREE Golden tips that can help anyone to boost their motivation and become a champion in their chosen field.

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Get Energy. Simple fact is that no energy means no life.  Exercise everyday for at least 15 minutes. Walking, Jogging or Gymnasium. Do Yoga for 15 minutes. Play a sport like badminton, tennis or swimming. Make it a habit like brushing teeth or doing makeup.

Skip your food, skip your office, skip your business but NEVER NEVER skip this daily ritual.

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Targets & Triggers.  Motivation comes and goes in waves. And it may not come when we want it. We need to setup systems to kick start the motivation. Motivation requires a target. You can be more motivated if you define your goals and break them down into smaller, mini-tasks that you can put up in your weekly To-Do-Lists.  Meeting these small targets will provide a sense of achievement and motivation to keep going.

Another trick is to setup daily TRIGGERS. For example, to make a habit of going to Gym, put your gym clothes and shoes next to the bed. Put them on first thing in the morning even if you do not go to the gym. Another example.  Write down your next day’s tasks on a big paper and stick it on the wall so that it stares you in the face. And so on.

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Get Inspired. Nothing inspires better than a role model. Let me now share the story of my own role model from whom I have drawn inspiration from the age of 16 and till today. Group Captain Douglas Bader. He was a British Air Force pilot.  He lost both his legs – one above knee and another at the knee – in an air crash in 1931. In Hospital he refused help and learned to walk on his hands to go to toilet or outside.

He was retired from Air Force on medical grounds. Once artificial legs were fitted he applied to fly fighter aircraft.

Air Force rules had to be changed as he beat every parameter including the time to get into the cockpit and take off.  In World War-II, he shot down 22 German aircrafts in dogfights and was awarded DFC – equivalent of Vir Chakra – twice.

His Spitfire aircraft was shot down in France and he had to parachute by freeing himself from one of his artificial legs.

He was made a POW. He escaped from the Hospital through a window but was caught within 2 days. He was then put in a high security prison. He, with few others, dug a tunnel with spoons and forks and escaped again. His posters were put up in Germany and he was caught again.

After the victory in World War-II, he was asked to lead the Battle Of Britain fly past.

He became a good dancer and played Golf to a handicap of +7. At an older age, he travelled around the world ALONE without a co-pilot in a small plane including a touch down at Kolkatta.  What a man.

THE TAKEAWAY

Whenever I faced a big problem in life I thought about the will power of Douglas Bader and then the problem suddenly looked so small. Follow these Golden Tips including finding your own role model. You will never be short of motivation in life to achieve ANY goal that you set for yourself.

Regardless of what others may say, the reality will be that you will need to fire your own Pistol to take off from that starting line. So step up and just do it.

You will never regret it.