Getting enthusiasm is a
little like learning to breathe: Nobody can tell you exactly how
to do it, but without it you're in big trouble. No one but you can
discover that compelling purpose or exciting goal that ignites enthusiasm
inside you, but you can learn a great deal from others about how
to use it to maximum advantage.
Here are some insights I've learned from some real experts on enthusiasm;
what's more, I've tested and proven them in the laboratory of my
own life.
1. Enthusiasm is born on the inside
In the daily grind of life you can lose touch with what really matters.
There are so many routine decisions to make, so many challenges
to be met, and so many burdens to carry, that you can lose your
perspective. However, as you connect with the enthusiasm planted
deep within you, you'll feel it begin to grow and grow. Soon, you'll
be back on track.
It's not the first mile of a long and arduous journey that gets
to you - you're excited about getting started. And it's not the
last mile - you're thrilled about getting there. The miles that
get to you are the long and tedious ones in the middle where you
can't see where you're coming from or where you're going.
Always remember that enthusiasm comes from the inside out, not
vice versa. It's easier to motivate yourself from within than to
pump yourself up with empty sayings.
2. Enthusiasm grows when you focus on solutions and opportunities,
not problems and circumstances
Life for you will always be as you choose to see it. You can focus
your attention on the problems and circumstances that surround you,
or you can keep your eyes on the solutions and opportunities.
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I recently read a story
that illustrates it better than I can explain it. It seems that
a number of farmers in Pennsylvania were sitting around complaining
about the increasing cost of electricity and the unpleasant task
of disposing of all the waste their cows generated. But the Waybright
brothers and their brother-in-law, who run the Mason Dixon Farms
near the town where I went to college - Gettysburg, decided to quit
complaining about all the manure the cows were generating, and to
do some generating of their own - electricity. They built a power
generator that runs on methane gas produced from heated manure from
the 2,000 cows. Generating much of their own power, they cut their
annual electricity bill from $30,000 to $15,000.
As you might guess, most of the other farmers laughed at the project
and called it "Waybright's folly" (and other even less
flattering names). They were satisfied to see their problems and
to seek out their Congressmen to complain about their miserable
circumstances.
But no one's laughing anymore. In fact farmers, Congressmen, and
agriculture ministers from around the world are beating a steady
path to the Mason Dixon farms. Soon the Waybright brothers were
selling some of their excess power to their once jeering neighbors.
And that's no bull!
Okay, so you're not in the cow business, and your biggest problem
is not electricity bills, but the principle works in any area of
life. Enthusiasm - with all the good things that go with it - comes
when you turn your eyes from the problem or circumstance and focus
on the solution and opportunity.
3. Enthusiasm thrives around positive people
A lot of people say that enthusiasm is contagious. My experience
would indicate that negativism and pessimism
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are far more contagious.
It is always easier to believe the worst than to hope for the best
- especially if you are struggling against overwhelming odds. It's
even worse when you're tired, or have just suffered a severe setback.
Don't waste your creative energies on people who are always putting
you and your ideas down. Seek out those positive and successful
people who can give you a boost. If you want to be enthusiastic
and have the enthusiasm that produces success, always spend your
time with positive, enthusiastic, and successful people.
4. Enthusiasm recharges itself on momentum
Jerry Reed's popular song of many years ago put it very nicely:
"When you're hot, you're hot!" Believe me, it's more than
empty words. Of course, William Shakespeare said it with more eloquence
in these famous lines from Julius Caesar:
"There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and miseries."
It's when you feel most enthusiastic that you need to throw yourself into life's
biggest challenge. Celebrate your greatest victories
by plunging into even greater challenges. Take full advantage
of the momentum you gain with each hard-earned step.
Nothing feeds enthusiasm like success, and nothing can hold back
enough enthusiasm.
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Kare Anderson is the founder of the Say It Better
Center, located in Sausalito, CA. She can be reached via email at
kare@sayitbetter.com.
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