“Kites fly highest against the wind.” Winston Churchill
I’ve been thinking about motivation a lot lately. When I used to work in retail the rough days were a “fake it till you make it” mentality. Lately though it’s a struggle to motivate my motivation.
The above quote came from an app I downloaded which sends me daily sparks with the goal of igniting a bout of creativity I can’t ignore. (That is my goal for it not necessarily the app’s stated goal.) There are words, questions, quotes, phrases, and I shuffle through each morning until something clicks for me.
This morning the above quote brought me back to my dilemma with motivation, from a variety of angles.
One angle had me contemplating the wind as our passion carrying us to new heights. That passion allowing us to see the world from new perspectives, consider what is around us from a new lens. Allowing our passion to bolster us, when we catch that wind just right, we truly soar living our best life.
Another angle had me considering the kite as our passion and the wind our support networks. From friends and family—online, near and far, from day jobs and side hustles. We could do what we do, pursue the dreams and stars, without the wind beneath us.
Yet another possibility had me thinking about our pursued passion as the kite and the wind our motivation. Which created a domino effect of thoughts.
First I remembered a panel I attended at the Dahlonega Literary Festival years ago where Cherie Priest was a panelist. I’m paraphrasing a bit but someone in the audience asked the panel about finding the motivation to write. Some authors shared about their characters talking to them and such but when it got to Cherie she said simply, “I have a mortgage. I have deadlines. I write because it’s my job.”
Then I thought about surfers. Surfers don’t sit on the beach waiting for that perfect wave. They spend countless hours practicing and pursuing their art in the hopes they are in the right place at the right time to make magic with that perfect wave when it comes along.
From Cherie’s comments to the randomness of surfers, I realized I can’t sit around waiting to conjure my motivation. I can’t wait for the perfect wind to come along and catch my kite. When the wind is right, I’ll soar. But if there is no wind, that doesn’t mean I’ve failed or that I’ve given up. It means it’s time for my to pick up my kite and start walking. That way I’ll be ready when the wind comes along.
Here’s to hoping you catch the wind you need to soar.
(Author’s note: This is round two as I didn’t save the original and am still kicking myself. So, for anyone reading this go save whatever it is you’re working on.)