I’m motivated! I’m motivated!
This is the other side of the paradox
God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites, so that you will have two wings to fly not one ~~ Rumi - Sufi
Randy,
Can self-esteem improve motivation?
Yes. Let’s look at something, from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:
Self-esteem and Motivation – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Let me quote a bit:
How are self-esteem and motivation interrelated with each other?
You might ask if self-esteem and motivation are related to each other. The answer is, yes. If you happened to have poor self-esteem, a little improvement in this aspect can take you to believe that you are not inferior when compared to other people. A strong level of self-esteem can make you feel better and gives a boost to your confidence that you can do many things as most people do different things. A high level of self-esteem can make you feel empowered and perhaps, even improve your social relationships. Furthermore, highly improved motivation can increase your self-esteem. If you do not have the right level of motivation, then you will not have the needed self-esteem to be able to reach your goals. For example, you are not motivated to do routine clerical tasks because you believe you can do much more with your skills and abilities. Your tendency is to get less motivated or not motivated at all to go to your office every single day because you may feel that others do not see your true abilities and that you can do more than the routine clerical tasks. Now, what you can do is double your self-esteem by saying to yourself that you have valuable skills and that you can do more than the routine job. This can probably help you increase your motivation to go to work and show other people that you can do more than the clerical type of job.
Here’s another related article, you can read:
P.S. I might be signing off shortly. So it might be until tomorrow, to continue any dialogue.
I just figured out part of my problem in my lack of motivation. I’ve been brainwashed by certain religious views that I’m worthless and nothing. This explains my lack of motivation to get active physically. On top of that I’m schizoaffective and it affects the part of the brain that causes lack of motivation. I’m now taking Wellbutrin to improve my motivation to get active physically.
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Hi, Hollytree. It’s good you are talking medicine and working with physicians. I encourage a holistic approach: Where you work with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, medical doctors and Christian clergy…who are also state licensed, in their appropriate categories. We are NOT worthless and nothing - in Christ.
P.S. I might be signing off shortly. So it might be until tomorrow, to continue any dialogue. Here’s a cool sign, I saw on LinkedIn today!
I’m letting it go. I’ve been tearing myself down for a while. I was wanting to be humble. I lost my motivation to be physically active. I am working with my case manager, psychiatrist and mom (psychiatric nurse). I also got me this workbook:
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To fall in love with yourself is the first secret of happiness ~~ Robert Morley
Randy,
Is it normal to feel Wellbutrin in 6 days? I think my focus is improving and when I walked today my legs didn’t feel lethargic.
I am not an expert, with that medication. There are three sources to inquire. And I would do it, in this order:
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The pharmacist from the pharmacy, that dispensed the medication.
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One of the nurses, assisting the doctor - that prescribed the medication.
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The doctor himself.
It’s been my experience…that one of the first two sources is much easier to assess…and they usually have the right answers.
Been reading the book. Two of the pillars for self-esteem are unconditional worth and unconditional love. The book speaks of the core self or true self. This is the Child within. It’s the good lovable essence of love that is eternally significant and infinite in value and worth. It’s intrinsic. It’s the image of God. We fall in love with our true self. It’s the kind of falling in love a mother has with her baby not the kind that is sexual. The same concepts are described in this book:
Self-Esteem in Christ
I am nobody special in the worldly sense of the term. But in dying to self and coming to faith in Christ I have eternal significance. I am special to God. His love is a holy love. Holy means to be set apart (special). I don’t earn my worth but it is a gift of God received by faith. My sense of belonging and sense that I count comes from being a child of God. The ego is nothing. The paradox is that we are set apart and special because we are united to all. We are light in a dark world. What the world considers special God doesn’t. What God considers special the world doesn’t. When I’m nobody I’m somebody. When I’m somebody I’m nobody. We become nobody so that Christ will be glorified in us - our true self. In and of myself I’m nothing so that Christ can reign in my heart. I’m covered and infused in God’s righteousness. Therefore, I have intrinsic worth because I’m in Christ. Everything I have; family, friends, possessions, health, all comes from my heavenly Father (Job 1:21). Knowing this, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). I am “fearfully and wonderfully” made (Psalm 139:14). In Christ, I have my true identity, apart from Him, I am nothing (John 15:5).
From the “Self-Esteem Workbook”
“Unconditional human worth” means that you are important and valuable as a person because your essential core self is unique and precious, of infinite eternal, unchanging value, and good. Unconditional human worth implies that you are as precious as any other person. ~~ page 33
When worth is separate from externals, human worth is intrinsic and unchanging, irrespective of outside events of circumstances. ~~ page 39
There is within each of us a light…a core of peace, wholeness joy, goodness, innate worth, and feelings that are good and make us human. The core being is sometimes called the “inner child”. The inner child possesses, in embryo, every attribute it needs, plus the inborn tendency to grow and polish the rough edges. ~~ page 84
From “Healing The Child Within” by Charles L. Whitfield, M.D.
Charles L. Whitfield, M.D. is a physician, psychotherapist and internationally recognized expert on mental illness, behavior problems and recovery.
Real self, Child within, Inner Child, and Higher Self are all used interchangeably. It has also been called our Deepest Self, our Inner Core. No matter how distant, evasive or even alien it may seem to be, we each have a “Child Within” - the part of us that is ultimately alive, energetic, creative, and fulfilled. This is the Real Self - who we truly are. Horney, Masterson and others call it the “Real Self”. Some psychotherapists including Winicott and Miller, call it the True Self. Some clinicians and educators call it the “Inner Child”
Our Real Self is spontaneous, expansive, giving, and communicating. Our True Self accepts ourselves and others. It feels and expresses those feelings.
Page 9
Just ordered me a copy
All too often, pastors or professional counselors try to “rescue” people from a low self-esteem using approaches that either dilute the reality of sin or distort the biblical demand for humility. Where does the balance fall, especially as you consider that God’s Word commands us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought? How do we properly recognize our self-worth without falling into self-worship?
It is in God’s Word that we find the true worth of human beings. This book, now updated and in its second edition, develops a genuinely scriptural approach to the question of self-esteem, showing that Christian confidence rests totally upon the work of Christ. A proper understanding of how Christ’s death on the cross dealt with sin and enables our salvation gives believers a healthy view of contentment, humility, and affirmation. His redemption allows us to “attach” to God and live out our status as His adopted children–a truth that has implications for the entire body of Christ.
The authors, one a theologian and one a psychologist, speak from their individual disciplines to honestly confront some of the tensions between the Gospel and most secular psychotherapies. But they clearly demonstrate that while modern psychology has some validity, it is the Christian view of human nature that ultimately yields proper perspective on who we are in Christ.