If you struggle to find motivation to do little things such as going for a daily walk… eating a salad… getting a 30 minute workout in… or other seemingly mundane health habits – here’s a secret to tap into existing passion.
A few years back, I read former state (and federal) prosecutor, Trey Gowdy’s book Doesn’t Hurt to Ask, where he talks about the importance of being passionate about a case.
(Because if he wasn’t sold himself, he wasn’t going to move a jury to his side of the argument.)
And he learned you can’t fake those emotions – at least not very well.
Unless you wanted to come across as having ‘crocodile tears’.
He found some cases were easy to conjure up passion for because they were especially brutal or against children. But what about a less serious crime - such as a possession charge, where the victim is less identifiable?
How do you get passionate about that?
His answer: You find something else to be passionate about. Surely there is some fundamental precept you can latch on to.
For instance, former state prosecutor David Stephens, who had done hundreds of drug cases dug deeper into these less passionate crimes and found a hidden ideal he stood up against:
“[drugs are an]evil wind sweeping across the playgrounds and schoolyards of America, gathering lives in its wake.”
A little bit more compelling than a possession charge, huh?
Standing up against an ‘evil wind’ gave him higher voltage for delivering his case. Whether an “evil wind” was really sweeping America is beside the point. The point is, behind every “mundane” action is a stronger, electrified principle, precept or ideal - one you can tap into:
What Could You Stand For?
Being great. Being a person who goes the extra mile. Being a role model for health. Being a fighter. Excellence. Being a person who really went for it – who didn’t settle for less than they could be.
All you need is to remember what you stand for (and what you stand against).
This is going to take some thought, but if you can unearth a deeper why, a deeper principle or ideal - it may strengthen your resolve to do the needle-moving actions on a regular basis.
Onward,
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