MOTIVATION - DON'T WAIT JUST DO IT!

This weekend will see 25,000 or so people from all across the world converge on the streets of London to run the London Marathon. It's a wonderful day, I know because I ran it myself in 2005. I ran in aid of the spinal injury charity Aspire and raised over £ 4500. Pleased as I was with the fundraising, the real winner that day was me. I learned a lot about myself during the training and the race, lessons that have served me well ever since.

As a GP I often hear my patients say that they would love to do something eg. stop smoking, lose weight or start to exercise, but they don't have any motivation. If I know them well or I've feeling mischievous, I stop and hunt around in my desk drawer for a while before saying - sorry I don't seem to have any in here for you today, I'm fresh out of it! That usually makes them laugh or at least smile. I haven't yet had my face slapped but there's always a first time.

My point is that motivation is not a thing, it's a concept. In NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) it is what is referred to as a nominalisation. Think of this as something you can't put in a wheelbarrow. So if it's not a physical thing, maybe it's something you don't need? At least not initially.

Back to the marathon. Although I played fairly regular sport, at the time I started to train for the marathon I was most definitely not a runner. An April marathon involves doing most of the long, hard miles in the winter and I trained very early in the morning. If I'm honest I didn't often wake up and think yes, it's blowing a gale out there, let me out there into that horizontal sleet! What I can say though is that once I'd got myself out of the door and a few yards down the road I always felt better for it - and then I loved it.

You don't need to wait for motivation to come before you start something. As they say on the Nike ads - Just do it, the motivation will follow.

Knowing this opens up vast new possibilities of achievement. Just start and see what happens. If you start and really don't enjoy it, then maybe it isn't the right goal for you - more of that in a later blog. My bet (and I did have the winner in the Grand National last week) is that once you've started you'll develop momentum. Do something a few times and you develop a habit. Once good stuff has become a habit then you are bound to achieve great things. It doesn't matter how small your steps are - as long as you are going in the right direction you will get to where you want to go.

So to recap:

      Motivation is not a thing.
      You don't need it to get started.
      Once you are under way motivation will follow.
      You'll develop momentum and be on your way to your goal!

So as you watch those runners plod along, spare a thought for what they've been through. Maybe running a marathon doesn't float your boat but take inspiration from them and use it to create something wonderful in your own life.

INSPIRE A GENERATION

I was fascinated by today's news story about the choice of motto for the London Olympics, now just 100 days away - "Inspire a generation." I listened to a discussion about it on Radio 5 this morning and was amazed by some of the comments. People seemed all too quick to moan about it, mostly stating that it is far too big a statement and overly-ambitious.

Well that's the point isn't it? Do we really want to publisise our nation with a motto along the lines of,

"A fortnight of running races that might get a few people into sport for a bit."
or
"A glorified sports day at the tax payers expense."

No, no and a thousand times no!

Mottos like this are all about huge ideals, about massive goals and tremendous achievement.
They've got to be big, they've got to be bold and they've got to really appeal to your heart.
The thought of inspiring a generation makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck and gives me goose pimples - in the right way. It's the same way I feel when I remember David Beckham's free-kick goal against Greece that put England into the World Cup finals. It makes me proud, it makes me want to stand up and be counted and above all it makes me want to take action. After all isn't that what any motto or goal is supposed to do?

We are all motivated by what Anthony Robbins calls big juicy goals. The things we really care about, not the small mundane stuff. I wouldn't be motivated to get up at 5:30am and go and do a commuter surgery in the practice if I did it just to pay my bills. No. What gets me up in the morning is the knowledge that I am making a difference to peoples' lives - every day. I'm lucky to get the chance to do that multiple times every day but whatever we do we can all do this in some way. Whether that's with a smile or a word or just a small random act of kindness.

So if like me you're excited by the thought of inspiring a generation, let's say so. Let's do something about it. Let's lead by example. If you want to change the world, begin with yourself. As Gandhi once said, "my life is my message." Make sure it's a message that you are proud for others to see, hear and feel.

I recently read Jonny Wilkinson's excellent autobiography - it's superb. One of the goals he aspires to is always be able to sign off a 24 hour video recording of his life, thereby always being happy about and proud of his actions. Now here's a man who takes being a role model very seriously but we can all learn from this. Become a role model for those around you - your kids, your friends, your colleagues. Make yourself proud, make them proud and "Inspire a generation!"

NEW WEEK, NEW START, NO LIMITS

The last year or so has been really exciting. As well as continuing to work as a part-time GP I've been working hard to establish my NLP Training business, NLP4MEDICS. I love doing this but it has meant I've spent less time doing the thing I really love doing and that is individual coaching. That is all about to change.

Whilst I've continued to coach during this last year I've only taken on a small handful of clients. We've had some excellent results working together. Coaching never feels like work, it feels like a privilege and an opportunity for me to learn from some amazing, inspirational people. The thought of doing more of this fills me with energy, joy and excitement.

Coaching is wonderful. It's an opportunity to achieve things you didn't think you were capable of achieving. With the help of a coach you will not only reach your potential but often far exceed it.

"The only limits in our life are those we impose on ourselves."
Bob Proctor

The limits are coming off and I'm ready for anything. I'm going to be using this blog to explore resources and concepts that have helped me in my personal journey. I've found them really inspirational and exciting and I hope you will too.

So if you're thinking about coaching or just want to share ideas and thoughts then you're in the right place. Why not sign up for regular updates and share this page with your friends?

BUSY TIME

Hello again.
It's been a busy few weeks since my last post.
I spent three wonderful weeks up in North Yorkshire studying with NLP Master trainers Susi Strang and Craig Wood and have now qualified as an INLPTA certified NLP Trainer. Since returning, my business partner Suzanne and I have been busy networking, setting up our website and generally preparing our 2011 course programme of NLP trainings. These will be up on my NLP4Medics website very soon. As well as this I've been coaching clients and working in the GP practice.

I made some great friends whilst on the course. It was fabulous to be surrounded by a group of like-minded people, who all took responsibility for their own lives. None one moaned, even though the workload was pretty relentless at times. On the contrary, everyone rose to the challenge. The evaluations were tough - two presentations, a four hour written paper, NLP technique demonstration and an interview.

Next step is to get out there and introduce a whole new batch of medics to the wonderful world of NLP.

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

Well I don't know about you but I can't wait for the World Cup to start.
First game kicks off any minute now, then a whole month of solid football - ah, life is sweet!

Maybe football isn't your cup of tea - I believe there are people like that out there - but even if this is the case there is still so much for you to enjoy and appreciate.

It is undoubtedly one of the world's great sporting events. Over the next few weeks there will be some 'where were you when X happened?' sort of moments. There will be surprises, shocks, thrills - things that absolutely no-one could possibly have predicted. Take last year's final for a start. Who could possibly have imagined in their wildest dreams that Zinadane Zidan, one of the greatest players the world has ever seen would end his career as he did. In the World Cup final, he lead France out against Italy and seemed destined to lift the trophy when a moment of madness caused him to be sent off for head-butting an Italian opponent. Amazing! A really dramitic moment.

I love the way that sport brings people together and this event, like the Olympic Games is a worldwide celebration of that. So whether like me you'll be cheering on England, or if you're a Scot or an Irishman who's cheering on 'anyone but England!', sit back,relax and enjoy the greatest show on earth !

TIME TO CHOOSE

Those of us in the UK will be going to the polls tomorrow to elect a new Prime Minister. It promises to be the closest general election for many years but how does the prospect of choosing a new leader make you feel?

Personally I love the general election, I always have done, even as a kid. I'll be staying up until the early hours watching the results come in. Somehow it wouldn't be right to not do this. It's our election, our chance to vote. If we can't take an interest in that then how can we complain when things don't go our way? I think what I find most exciting is that nobody really knows what is going to happen. They can publish all the polls in the world but when you get into that polling booth, you are absolutely free to vote for whoever you choose. It's too easy to take that freedom for granted. People died to give us that right - for goodness sake let's not waste it because of apathy or thoughts of, "oh they're all the same anyway."

A defining moment of my growing up occurred during one general election, I can't honestly remember which. The results were a real shock, not what had been predicted. I finally understood that adults, even those whom I had looked up to as being in a position of authority didn't really know what was going to happen. More than that, when I was old enough to vote, they wouldn't have any greater say in the outcome than I had. That was somehow a revelation to me. It marked something of a transition from all-accepting child to independent-thinking adult. Many years later, I've never forgotten that lesson. Democracy is priceless. Freedom is valuable beyond measure. Power is in all of our hands - don't waste it.

TWITTERING AT LAST

It's been a busy couple of weeks for me with some new individual coaching clients and some speaking engagements to prepare for too. I've also been busy networking, both in person and virtually and have finally ventured into the world of Twitter.

There's something wonderful about it, something I heard someone describe as very "democratising" although I'm not sure that's a proper word. If it isn't, it should be. I mean it's a great leveller. You can follow people you admire and send them a message direct to their account, so you know they will see it.

For example, in yesterday's Sunday Times I read an interview with entrepreneur Gavin Wheeldon. He talks about how he starts each day by watching a five minute Powerpoint presentation of his goals. I thought that was a wonderful idea, really inspiring, so I sent him a message to say so. I'll let you know if he replies although that wasn't the reason I sent it.

I'm also in the process of making a short video for the WIBN website. Regular readers will have heard me talking about this networking group before. It's a women-only business networking organisation that is growing rapidly and is soon to launch it's own internet TV channel. Members can load up videos promoting their services and benefit from the umbrella of the big organisation. I'm sure it will be fabulous and a very useful way for many business women to get their message out there.

The answers are always out there. It's just a question of talking to the right people.