Push all your own buttons

 Push all your own buttons

Have you ever peeked into the cockpit of a large airliner as you boarded
a plane? It's an impressive display of buttons, levers, dials, and switches
under one big windshield.

What if, as you were boarding, you overheard the pilot say to the
co-pilot, "Joe, remind me, what does this set of buttons do?"
If I heard that, it would make it a rough flight for me. But most of us
pilot our own lives that way, without much knowledge of the
instruments. We don't take the time to learn where our own buttons are,
or what they can do.

From now on, make it a personal commitment to notice everything that
pushes your buttons. Make a note of everything that inspires you. That's
your control panel. Those buttons operate your whole system of
personal motivation.

Motivation doesn't have to be accidental. For example, you don't have
to wait for hours until a certain song comes on the radio that picks up
your spirits. You can control what songs you hear.
If there are certain songs that always lift you up, make a tape or CD of
those songs and have it ready to play in your car. Go through all of your
music and create a "greatest motivational hits" tape for yourself.
Use the movies, too.

How many times do you leave a movie feeling inspired and ready to
take on the world? Whenever that happens, put the name of the movie
in a special notebook that you might label "the right buttons." Six
months to a year later, you can rent the movie and get the same inspired
feeling. Most movies that inspire us are even better the second time
around.

You have much more control over your environment than you realize.
You can begin programming yourself consciously to be more and more
focused and motivated. Get to know your control panel and learn how
to push your own buttons. The more you know about how you operate,
the easier it will be to motivate yourself.

I'm reading: Push all your own buttons