Earlier this week I was reading an article by Eknath Easwaran in the Blue Mountain Journal (for information, go to www.easwaran.org). The article, Will and Desire, made me think about the first element in my model for self motivation, the vision. Easwaran writes that a person’s desire can be compared to a river. If the person has many desires, it is like the trickling of many little creeks, flowing all over the place with no direction. He contrasts this with a person with one all consuming desire who can be compared to a mighty river like the Colorado. Like the Colorado River which carved the Grand Canyon out of solid rock, so too can a person with a focused desire do miraculous things.
In order for a person to be motivated, he or she needs a worthwhile pursuit. In the self motivational model that worthwhile pursuit becomes the vision. The vision is our authentic self, the manifestation of our potential, our gifts. Authenticity is extremely motivating, as if our unconscious knows that it is being called into play. When we are authentic, we get in touch with our true, heart felt, desire.
In order to manifest that potential, that authentic person, and satisfy that heartfelt desire, many of us are going to have to first find out what our potential is and discover who that authentic person truly is. To assist us in that discovery, we undertake the vision quest, with its four strategies, my waking dreams, my inventory, my philosophy statement and look to your desires.
The vision quest is so important, because when we take the vision quest and discover our authentic selves we stop being a whole bunch of little creeks, wandering all over the land, and feeling frustrated because nothing ever gets accomplished.
Instead we become a roaring river.
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