The metaphor of the rat race as a way to talk about the nature of contemporary life is instructive. I wonder about its origin. And just what is a rat race? I picture a maze in some scientific laboratory with a dozen rodents scrambling in all directions, trying with great frustration to find their way to freedom. Is that a rat race? Did anyone tell the rats they were in a race? Is there really a winner in a rat race?

And that we should choose this metaphor as a way to talk about the way we live our lives is……what? Alarming? “Well, we have got to get going and join the rat race.” We do? Well, that is what we have always been told and tell everybody else. That is how we were educated in school to understand that life is a rat race. We did not have a choice to choose what we want to hear since we were born.

The metaphors we use not only reflect the way we live, but create the way we live. If we call life a rate race, it will tend to become one.

So let’s change the metaphors. Here are a few suggestions:

Life is a cat prowl. I envision slow and care steps, a calm awareness of what is going on in my neighborhood, and a pace that suits my needs.

Life is a dog walk. I move now with lively interest, with stopping and goings, encounters with other dogs, trees, and people, always ready to respond to a friendly petting.

Life is a fox trot. Here is a bouncy-stepped way to dance through life. Find a partner! You can always sit the next one out.

Life is a monkey march. Life is a pony canter. Life is a whale breach. Life is a swallow soar. Life is a pig parade. Life is an elephant lope. Life is a panda bear excursion (I pick this)

Motivation is thought to be an action from the heart; to be capable of finding it from inside your self and to have the capability to move ahead on a belief is something larger than yourself. It is conceivable for most human beings to become motivated, but not necessarily to be able to motivate themselves.

Whenever the question is asked, does motivation come only from within ourselves or not? We must be able to foresee what it will take for somebody to personally succeed in their life. There are indeed a lot of facets to motivation. In almost all cases, motivation is a personal determination. It calls for determination and purpose. There is no elbow room for buckling under to damaging conducts or ideas. Being successful is a crucial factor in the idea of yielding to the reality of how a person evolves into becoming motivated.

Then the inquiry, “does motivation only come from within a person or not” would seem to be the most prevalent answer to these elusive concerns. It vividly manifests itself in the case of an athlete. Even though an athlete prepares for a sporting event, he or she must dig deep within themselves to stay competitive in the event. Discipline and training can become a very tedious and some of the times discouraging due to the stringent agendas and difficult work demanded.

A reason to come to one of many conclusions concerning the resolve to the question, “does motivation come only from within the person; is inspiration. Someone additional that you may want to emulate has the ability to also inspire you. If it is conceivable to acquaint yourself with what has inspired that person to become successful, then you are able to make efforts to find out if these are the forms of inspiration you need to acquire for remaining motivated.

Searching From Within

Motivation must first begin with the understanding of why you are commencing something. Therefore to obtain that resolve, you have to search from within. The following step is to arrange goals to achieve the task beforehand. This will call for you to do a lot of thinking and the thinking process must include a look from within yourself.

You must always be faithful to yourself and ascertaining the truth requires that you search honestly from inside yourself so that you are able to evaluate the inquiry, “does motivation come from within yourself.” Whether or not you are prepared to understand what you have discovered by your evaluation will ascertain if you truthfully believe that the question, “does motivation come from within yourself,” isn’t necessarily a means to force you into a conclusion. It is designed to make you think about motivation and how it bears on your mentality in the agreement that you will have to search from within yourself to find the answers to your desire for motivation.

Since the procedure of evaluation has allowed for us to ascertain the resolution to the inquiry, “does motivation come from within,” we now understand that the thought process and the need to achieve is the key to keeping us motivated.

Motivation for those who work alone or who work from home is always a large factor in achieving true success. But it is not one that is difficult to achieve.

Research has shown that foods containing high amounts of simple carbohydrates, like sugar and white flour, affect the chemical balance in your brain. These foods increase the level of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that makes you feel calmer, more confident, and more relaxed.

When the sugar level in your blood goes down again, as it does shortly after a high-sugar snack, your serotonin levels also goes down. This will cause you to feel nervous, irritable and stressed, so you reach for another snack. This up and down rollercoaster in moods can lead to sugar addiction, without you even being aware of it.

It’s impossible to maintain a healthy weight loss diet if this cycle has actually become a full-blown sugar addiction. To see if you’re addicted to sugar, take the following quiz:

– How often do you eat high-sugar foods, noodles, bread or pasta? Is it every day, or even many times a day? Could you imagine a day without these foods?

– What are your comfort foods? When you feel down or depressed what kind of foods appeal to you? Does stress or depression lead you to the breadbox or cookie jar?

– Do you find potato chips, crackers or popcorn in your grocery cart, even though you promised yourself you wouldn’t buy any snacks? Can you imagine watching your favorite TV show or going to a movie without having a snack?

– Do you actually feel a bit uneasy or defensive if someone suggests that you may be eating too much sugar? Do you think you could cut down any time you wanted to, but just haven’t decided it’s worth it yet? Do you find it difficult to stay on any nutritious, healthy diet because you start obsessing about a candy bar or sandwich?

– Do you feel “strange,” or slightly woozy, about the same time every day? Do you “fix” your uncomfortable symptoms with a trip to the candy machine, or by grabbing a muffin at Starbucks?

– Do you sometimes feel bloated or get indigestion after eating certain foods, but still eat them anyway?

– Do you have any difficulty sleeping, or wake up around 3 am? Do you often feel lethargic, moody or depressed?

If you answered “yes” to two or more of those questions, you’ve probably tried at least one diet in the past. Even if you manage to lose some weight, you probably gain it back, because you unconsciously crave sugar. A healthy diet is almost impossible to maintain until we overcome the addiction, since sugar has lots of calories, but almost no nutrients. If you conquer your sugar addiction, you’ll have a much better chance of losing weight and regaining your natural vitality.