HOW TO FIND MOTIVATION IN TIMES OF WAR AND IN TIMES OF PEACE

Once I read an advice by an author I do not recall, but at the end of this text I will search for it.

He said that a writer to be a good writer had to write everyday.

No matter the energy of the day, no matter what he could be passing through; just sit that ass on a chair and write, whatever comes to your mind, whatever you are feeling or living, whatever is brought by the wave.

I always thought it was not an advice for writers, but AN ADVICE FOR LIFE, COMING FROM A WRITER.

How to find motivation in times of war, in times of peace, in high and low vibes days…

CURRENTS, TIDES, AND WAVES

I suppose we gotta start with the currents, the tides and the waves.

IT ALL COMES IN CURRENTS, TIDES AND WAVES.

The calm and the stormy waters, the deep and the superficial dives, the agitation and the torpor, the enthusiasm and the boredom, the “I can’t wait for” and the “I don’t want it to end”, the lack and the plethora…

Temporary and long lasting currents, high and short waves, mild and strong forces, meek and bold challenges.

And while you are living the big, wide currents, there may also happen the smaller waves and you never know how you are going to deal with this web of tendencies, and you cannot control any of them.

In the past, I used to believe that we should hold the breath and wait the bad waves to pass; that we should swim or sail the good currents.

But my mind and my experience have changed, and I have learned a lot with the ones I love.

LIFE IS NEVER STAGNANT.

THERE ARE NO STILL WATERS IN LIFE, BECAUSE IT WOULD MEAN DEATH AND PUTREFACTION.

Then, holding the breath is important to dive the good and the bad waves, but we gotta be always sailing, paddling, surfing, swimming all the waves and currents, no matter their quality and characteristics.

AND TO ENTER IN A STATE OF FLOW WITH THEM, BUT NEVER IN A STATE OF INERTIA.

THE STATE OF INERTIA

We probably have an idea of what means to be in a state of inertia. This concept comes from the study of the physics of objects.

Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its state of motion. This includes changes to the object’s speed, direction, or state of rest.

It is an innate property of matter and it corresponds to a psychological state in which we get so used or comfortable, adapted to a situation that we do not want to change or end it, we don’t want to develop or transform it, because it will require additional energy, effort, dedication, study. We get stuck in some situation or modus vivendi because we fear the challenge, the unknown, and the possibility of failure or frustration.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.

Albert Einstein

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

Jiddu Khrishnamurti

THE STATE OF FLOW

The idea of the state of flow does not belong to the common sense, though.

The state of mind named FLOW was first described and studied by the Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the main expert and authority in the topic.¹

It can be characterized as a state of total absorption and focus on action.

In the state of flow the sense of self perception and self imposed worries, fears and limitations are substituted by a dynamic integration with the activity or task being performed.

The sense of time is also altered and the motivation is found step by step, in a beautiful dance between achievable challenges and the development of skills, without the need of a resulting reward, but with the ecstasy of becoming entire, one with what is being done.

This dynamic integration and ecstatic feeling is called AUTOTELIC experience.

The word “telos” means end, goal or purpose, and “autotelic” defines the experience, the work, the activity, the creative act that has an end or purpose in itself.

The mind becomes absorbed in action, and one forgets the distractions, the fears, the worries, the prejudices, the expectations, anxieties and frustrations of the daily life.

It is like having a salutary break from your rational monkey mind which jumps from one branch to another without having clear goals nor accurate self perception, moved only by the constant stress of reacting to situations and people, of fighting or fleeing.

Free from this cage of the mind, one changes one’s established preconceptions and plateaus of limitation and can develop one’s abilities and skills in an unpredictable, admirable way; achieving surprising, unexpected results and having the sense of fulfillment and capacity of self-learning, self-control and self-transcendence that makes us feel worthy and sterling.

THIS STATE IS AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF HAPPINESS, SELF-ESTEEM AND FREEDOM.

The detachment from the expectations of the results of one’s activities or enterprises can be considered the most important gate for the operation of the intuitive perception and the expression of the genuine self.

Recalling our initial proposition, in times of war and in times of peace, motivation can be found along the way.

Sometimes we need to deep dive into the waves of life searching for change and new levels of comprehension, BUT LIFE IS NEVER STAGNANT.

Holding the breath does not mean to wait the wave to pass in accommodation or inertia.

We gotta always be sailing, paddling, surfing, swimming all the waves and currents, no matter their quality and characteristics.

AND TO ENTER IN A STATE OF FLOW WITH THEM, TO BE TOTAL IN PRESENCE, TO BE TOTAL IN ACTION, developing our capacity of self-learning, self-control and self-trascendence; finding inspiration, motivation and beauty in the next step, in each detail and in every achievement along the way; freed from preconceived ideas of limitation; detached from the fear of failure and frustration; detached from the expectation of results or rewards; with clear goals and purposes; respecting and discovering our natural abilities and skills; enabling the conduction of the intuitive perception and developing the expression of our genuine self.

By the way, I think it was Bukowski or elsewhere in Guimarães Rosa

It is simple, you either get it down on paper, or jump off a bridge.

C. Bukowski

When nothing happens, there is a miracle we are not able to see.

Guimarães Rosa

Reference:

1 – Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

By MissKhaosland