Plant the Seed

Motivation Monday article by Jon Gums

 

“Plant the seed,”

 

Many of you have heard this saying, and at times in life we all have experienced it.  Today, I want to motivate everyone to plant the seed that you want, plant the seed for success, plant the seed that you would love to harvest tomorrow, but can’t because you know the fruit is not ripe yet.

Here are the five seeds I want you to plant today or for sure this week I based these seeds on all human needs, wants and desires not just wrestlers or athletes.  These are not ranked in any order so pick the order which fits you best, I have a goal and am challenging myself and others to join.

 

 

Seed #1 “Seed of Happiness”

The first missing seed I see in society is: Happiness and it has become so hard to achieve, and even harder to maintain. I teach high school students almost every day and I’ve seen that happiness continually escapes many of them because, first, they don’t really understand exactly what will make them happy. They just don’t know themselves well at all. Secondly, they search outside themselves for happiness in a boyfriend or girlfriend, a teacher, a family, a title, a paycheck, a fancy car, a trophy, or in video games.  As a result, Happiness is constantly out of their control and a perpetual moving target that never stands still long enough for them to grasp. I’m not saying that these things don’t bring happiness of course, they can but it is usually temporary.  The key point is that if everything you’re searching for remains outside of you, you’ll always be scrambling and chasing.  Harvest Happiness from within.  What will spoil this harvest: “Not knowing what I want to do.”

 

Seed #2 “Seed of Peace”

Take a long breath of fresh air, we long for peace, anxiously. Peace from noise, social media, chatter, school pressures, job, responsibilities. We also want peace from the ache and thrashing inside our own heads: the conflicts and strain we inflict on ourselves every minute to be better, stronger, smarter (prettier, thinner, better parents, __________ [you fill your inner conflict]). Peace, I’ve found, doesn’t come from being better at anything, or even figuring anything out. Attaining peace is a practice that we need to cultivate and commit to. Peace today will never just fall in our laps, it’s too chaotic a world. We have to develop this space within ourselves and in our lives to bring forward the experience of peace, then do the work to expand peace as a feeling and experience that we will commit to daily, regardless of what’s around us. You don’t have to know your purpose to be at peace – you just have to commit to being at peace and building daily practices that will support you in that commitment.  I do mine before I go to bed and when I get up.  What will spoil this harvest: “Absence of clarity who I am and my purpose.”

 

Seed #3 “Seed of Confidence”
This seed is as important as any other.  Not having or planting the seed of confidence can have a dramatic effect on your life, career, people who you associate with, and much more.

And when we’re in situations that are hurtful, demeaning, challenging and worse, we lose confidence. We get rocked, we lose, I heard a good coach once say, “Get out of your head.” We overthink.  We forget who we are, and what we are capable of, and see only the opponent (physical or mental) in front of us who’s yelling you’re not good enough or who’s tearing us down. It’s a tough world out there, but there are many ways we can stay true to our gifts and capabilities and build our confidence.  For that, we need support from others who believe in us without fail. We need to build our “tribe” “our brothers” who will do anything for us. And we need to believe in ourselves without fail, despite the evidence around us that says we’re not “ready” to soar.  What will spoil this harvest: “Self-doubt, being afraid of failure, hanging around pessimists and people that don’t believe in you 100%.”

 

Seed #4 “Seed of Passion”

What does passion mean to you?  The Webster dictionary says: “a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something.”  What people often mean when they say “I want to feel passionate about something” is this: They want to feel alive, not exhausted, stressed and demoralized. They want to feel that there’s a reason they’re on this planet, a reason for the talents and abilities they were given at birth and have cultivated. They want to believe that they’re here for a purpose and finding that purpose will give their lives the meaning and passion they’re missing. Passion can be tapped and uncorked, for sure, but only when you allow yourself to believe that your life and your work mean something more than merely existing for a paycheck an “A” in class or doing the “safe or secure” thing.  I have a passion for wrestling, and I believe I am a life-time learner.  I find to be passionate about something you need to follow through.  “To do” or to “Live your passion” is the answer. What will spoil this harvest: Lack of passion into yourself, your self-improvement, and future development.

 

Seed #5 Seed of Success

This for many people is the hardest seed to harvest, it takes that longest time, and does not always taste the best, but when cooked with family and friends it is sweet and makes your whole body shake with ecstasy.  First of all is figuring out what success means to you and it is truly different in every person and that is why it tastes so bitter if the other seeds are not harvested too.  This seed is all up to you, if you depend on other people for your success, you will be greatly disappointed. Some key points to success are: Success has no deadline, success much match your soul, success is truly not money, success comes in small steps, success overnight is rare, and people cannot expect winning lottery to make you successful.  I heard from Dave Ramsey once a few keys to success (doing this from memory) put in the hours, say yes when people ask you for help, have a mission, figure out as you go, keep learning, create a culture around your mission or passion, stick with it, separate work from family life, do not fear success.  I know if I went online, I could find hundreds of experts telling you what you need to do to be successful.  I would say “do”, instead of wait!  What will spoil this harvest: Waiting for your success to happen to you.

 

What seeds do you need to plant today?