"When the sun is shining, I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome." ~Wilma Rudolph

As I sit down outside to write this final blog post, the scene is so peaceful.  The sky has no clouds at all, the sun is beating down, and there is a slight breeze indicative of the summer season.  And, I feel wonderful.  Today has been an amazing day, and I give almost all the credit to this glorious sunny weather.  Yesterday, when the scene was a little less bright, and the sun a little less warm, I had a significantly less wonderful day.

Just as fiction authors and playwrights use weather and scenery to create mood, people feed off of mother nature to form their own moods every day.  Without realizing it, we have significantly more "good" days when the weather is nicer.

Wilma Rudolph said, "When the sun is shining, I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome."  This is true, but why can't we transfer these sentiments to cloudy days as well?

We cannot allow a majority of rainy days to be "bad" anymore.  The next rainy day, just imagine that the sun is out, or find beauty in different parts of the rainy day--the way the droplets hang off the trees, the ominous piling of clouds in the sky, or the sloshing noise of rain boots on pavement, for example.

The technique I just described should work for nearly anyone.  However, if just imagining sunshine isn't enough, or if you can't find any beauty in a rainy day, then you must simply create your own sun.  Smile more, find humor in little things, and seek out the people you love the most.  There is always something to smile about, and a rainy day should not be the sole cause of a bad mood.

The good news is, the next few days are forecasted to have glorious, beautiful weather, perfect for being outdoors and soaking up some sun.  Enjoy every ray of sunshine and the imminent joy that comes with it, but bottle up some happiness to save for a rainy day.

"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." ~Walter Bagehot

Everybody loves an underdog.

Photo Courtesy of Jonathan

Can you imagine a world where the super-villain wins in ever movie, the number one seed always triumphs in the March Madness tournament, and rags never turn to riches?

It sounds awfully dull to me. What if it were impossible for anyone to rise from the bottom and reach the top?  If we had nothing to work for and nothing to prove, what would be the point in trying to accomplish anything at all?

A huge source of motivation for me is the ability to prove people wrong.  As Walter Bagehot stated, "The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."  Whenever you are faced with a seemingly insurmountable task, doesn't attempting the task becomes all the more tantalizing?  And, when someone tells you that something is "too difficult," or that your goal is "unattainable," doesn't your goal become irresistible?

The other day in class, we made lists of things that motivate us.  My list included:
-When people are counting on me
-A due date
-Satisfaction of finishing
-Something to look forward to
-Proving people wrong

When I first made my list, I avoided adding things like recognition, self-affirmation, and rewards because they seemed selfish.  Yet, when I thought more about it, I realized that all of those things play a large part in keeping me motivated.  Sometimes, I try to convince myself that I don't seek the approval of others and do not care what others think about me.  However, I would bet that almost everyone is motivated by reactions of other people.  We have so many interactions with a plethora of people each day.  We'd be lying if we tried to say that we always live unselfishly and never think about ourselves and how our image comes across to others.

The last item on my list was "Proving People Wrong."  I almost didn't add it out of embarrassment, simply because it seemed petty and selfish.  But this is, quite honestly, my number one motivating factor.  As I thought about all my proudest accomplishments and what motivated me, they were almost exclusively driven by the desire to prove someone wrong.  Being the underdog in a game, competition, interview, or in achieving any goal is wonderful.  When I identify as the underdog, I take pleasure in working harder and in knowing that, by winning or achieving my goal, I will surprise people.

I determined out of this exercise that it doesn't matter what motivates you, as long as you know what it is.  Nobody will know what is motivating you, or care what drives you to work but they will notice when you accomplish a difficult task.

No matter what, there is pleasure in proving others wrong and in proving your self-worth.  Proving oneself is a vital component in motivating a person to continue to seek future successes, regardless of who the person happens to be.

Now, whenever somebody tells you that something is out of your reach, be sure to use their criticism to fuel your desire to accomplish your goal and prove them wrong.

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." ~Annie Dillard

I had an instant connection with this quote, an instant lightbulb, an instant feeling of understanding.

I, Brooke Cichocki, have reached enlightenment.  I guess I'm done here.

I'm only kidding, but the impact that this quote had on me was immediate and powerful.  I'll tell you my story.

Photo Courtesy of Joshua Aguilar

Monday, March 27 was a cloudy, dry, cool day with a dull, sleepy kind of feel--one of those days you walk around campus and everyone you see is wearing sweatpants and your only interactions with classmates include, "huh, it's cloudy outside today."  I went to my classes, did my work, ate my meals, and wound up back in my dorm room at 10:00pm, planning Tuesday, March 28.  At that point, it occurred to me that I went through my entire day just going through the motions.  No specific moments stuck out as positive or negative, and I could hardly even remember walking home.

I went to bed, and woke up.  Tuesday, March 28.  The weather was the exact same, but the air had slightly more bite to it.  I went to class, did my work, ate my meals, and wound up back in my dorm room at 10:00pm, planning Wednesday, March 29.  At that point, it occurred to me that I went through my entire day just going through the motions.  No specific moments stuck out as positive or negative, and I could hardly even remember walking home.  Sound familiar?

Now, I decided I needed some serious motivation to get me out of my drab frame of mind.  Naturally, I turned to my handy, ever-present stack-o-quotes.  I flipped through a few, feeling utterly uninspired.  But then, I struck gold: 

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." --Annie Dillard.

Wow.

If you think about it, the quote is really simple.  Our lives are just made up of strings of days, after all.  Yet, we never seem to think of it in that way.  I always used to think that my days were some minuscule unit of time leading up to some big unknown event--maybe the day I graduate ,or get my first job, or have kids, or retire, or do anything noteworthy.  I used to tell myself "you win some, you lose some" and "bad days don't mean anything, I'll have a good day soon."  But now, somehow, it's different.

Photo Courtesy of Dafne Cholet

I lived Monday, March 27 and Tuesday, March 28 in limbo--not accomplishing, or failing, or discovering, or anything.  Those are two days of my life.  Sure, life is relatively long, but I spent at least 48 hours of it just "going through the motions."  How I spent those days was, at the time, how I was spending my life.  And I'm not okay with that.

I want to spend my life laughing and loving and achieving and realizing.  Of course, some days I'll be crying and wondering and hurting and losing.  But, on those days, I'll still be working towards the large, overarching goal of stringing all my days together to truly live a fulfilling life.

So, next time you're just going through the motions, notice it, and try your best to change it so that you can spend your life the way that you want to most.