I remember having a very heated discussion with someone a while ago about motivation, and how unmotivated meanwhile a lot of people are……especially in the corporate world. Since then I have made it a point to be a bit more aware of this term “motivated”, and be more sensitive to people being motivated / unmotivated in general. I have to admit that just by looking at what most people get motivated by, it came as no surprise to me that in general they are very unhappy and unmotivated by their current situation.

My personal experience is that the more we focus on material things, the unhappier and unmotivated we get! The truth is that in today’s society it is so easy to get lost in this “perfect, have it all” type of life. If we look at the different social media channels, it is all about presenting the perfect life to the rest of the world! It is all about the material things, the destination of our vacations, and simply having the perfect image! But is all these sustainable? Is all these what truly motivate us to get up each morning and do our best? Is this what motivate us to strive for more and better life each day?  Who are we doing all these for?

Of course material things are nice, and I am no exception to wanting to have certain material things. But over the years (especially since having kids) I have learned that there are things that are of much greater importance than the material things! Just to give you an example – when our son was born, I decided not to go back to work and a lot of people couldn’t understand why! These people couldn’t understand why I am willing to give up the very well paid job, and be a full time mom! They couldn’t understand what was my motivation behind it! For me personally as nice as such a financial aspect can be, it meant nothing if I couldn’t be with my kids.

I think that every parent will agree with me when I say that being a parent is the most amazing and at the same time frustrating job in the whole world! The truth is that even in the most frustrating moments I don’t regret my decision not to go back to my corporate job. So what motivates me to:

• be stay at home mom – there is nothing more important in the world then my kids and family! Being able to be with my kids is something I am not taking for granted and I feel very fortunate and I am very grateful for that. I will be working for many years after the kids grow up and don’t need me as much. But for now I want to make sure that I am there for them every step of the way. For us (and according to many studies and reports by experts that I have read) giving them my full attention is much more important than where we can take them on vacation, or any other material aspect that we can give them.  
• live a healthy lifestyle – a lot of people ask me where do I find the time to workout every single day. The truth is I don’t find the time, I MAKE the time – whether it will be getting up at 5.45 to go for a run, or doing a workout during our kids’ nap time, I simply MAKE the time! We have two young kids, and my health is a priority for me because only when I am healthy I can give them my all and care for them 100%. I also want to teach them the importance of taking care of their own health by eating healthy, staying active, getting enough sleep, and I think that the best way to do this is by example!
• start my own business – for a very long time I have wanted to start my own event management agency. The truth is that without the amazing support that I am constantly receiving from my husband I would have never been able to do this! Even though it is not always easy to balance kids and building up a business, I love the fact that I can work on achieving my personal goals while having a full flexibility to cater to our kids’ needs. What motivates me here, is not only my personal ambitions, but also teaching my kids that they should follow their dreams no matter what. Teach them to dream big, and go after their dreams!
• start my own health blog – I have always been very interested in healthy lifestyle, but due to number of different circumstances, in the recent years this has developed to a pure passion. I love educating myself about healthy nutrition, healthy workouts, healthy lifestyle. As I believe that we are all different, and one type of diet or lifestyle won’t work for everyone, I love trying out different directions when it comes to nutrition or workouts, and figuring out what works best for me……and along the way write about my experiences. I think that too many of us take our health for granted until (in some cases) it is too late. My motivation behind the blog is to educate exactly this people that despite busy and successful careers, they can still take good care of their health and be mindful about their live.
• living mindful life –  this is something that I am still in the process of learning myself, but the experiences that I have made so far is that living in the moment is truly the happiest possible way to live. We spend so much time crying over the past, or worrying about the future that we simply forget to live and enjoy the NOW! And this comes back to the material aspect I was talking about in the beginning – I am so much happier when life is simpler! There are so many little things each day that we take for granted or meanwhile don’t even realize they exist simply because we are all the time focused on the next material thing that we want to get! The problem is that material things make us happy for a moment, but then what? A huge motivation here is not only my own happiness, but this of my children! We want to teach them that material things don’t make you happy…..at least in the long run! We want to teach our kids to go after their dreams and goals……but enjoy every step of the way, enjoy the NOW!

Based on my personal experiences so far, for me happiness and motivation are very closely correlated. When I am happy with myself, with my surrounding, and with what I have I am also truly motivated to work on achieving my goals, on becoming the best version of myself. That’s why I think that it is so extremely important to be motivated by aspects other than just the material aspects. For me it is so important to be motivated by authentic things that truly mater in the long run – that’s when the true happiness and gratitude starts! That’s why I think that it is so important to review on a regular basis what are the things that make you truly happy…..and what is the motivation behind you going after certain things!

Stay healthy,

Anna