Enthusiasm: The Magic Recipe of Success

A note from peter@thewealthyattitude.com for Monday May 19 2008

Welcome to brand spanking shining new week.

Last week’s theme of “happiness” most certainly hit the spot with many subscribers and I want to thank everyone for their feedback. Awesome stuff.

This week we’re going to be focusing on the theme of “enthusiasm”. This most necessary element to all successes is often the most elusive. We’re going to touch your senses with it.

We get started with a piece to set the tone for the week.

Enthusiasm: The Magic Recipe of Success

Ralph Waldo Emerson was right when he said, “Nothing great has been achieved without enthusiasm.”

A lot of people confuse enthusiasm with excitement. Enthusiasm is more than just jumping up and down or shouting your lungs out. That is excitement. Nobody could sustain such feeling of excitement for an extended length of time. Enthusiasm is bringing joy into your task.

However, some people could remain to be enthusiastic for long periods of time. Being enthusiastic involves openly expressing your deepest desires and feelings. You can show this by just a simple smile or maybe several shouts of joy. You don’t have to be boisterous to be enthusiastic; you just have to be willing to show your positive feelings.

The first step to improving your enthusiasm is awareness. It is logical not being enthusiastic about things we don’t know much about. If you know the cause, reason or purpose of these activities, it will be easier to develop a sense of enthusiasm towards them. More knowledge also eliminates fear, worry and doubt which are considered the great immobilizers.

Of course, to be enthusiastic, you need to act. True, you may have to discuss, argue, plan, rationalize and do other things which could delay taking action. However, once you work on it, you’ll see that things start to happen, which can keep your enthusiasm level up.

If you find yourself losing enthusiasm in doing repetitive tasks, just ask yourself the same questions why you started those tasks in the first place. Why do I have to do this? Will this help me get to where I want to go five years from now?

Sometimes, you might find it necessary to be involved in less interesting activities. To be enthusiastic even in these situations, just associate yourself with enthusiastic people. Enthusiasm, like optimism, is contagious.

People who show positive feelings on that activity will develop your desire to learn more about that specific task. You’ll soon find yourself reading enthusiastic books and engaging on interesting conversations about that activity.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you think the activity is getting more tedious. Tiring out yourself is not the best way to maintain an enthusiastic outlook. Don’t rush. Take your time to develop an interest in what you do, and don’t forget to accept a helping hand.

Whenever you do something, it would also be helpful if you have some sort of enthusiasm index to monitor each activity. For example, you may rate your level of enthusiasm on this particular activity today and then rate it again tomorrow. You could use a scale of 1 to 10 in rating.

By monitoring your level of enthusiasm, it will be easy for you to improve your enthusiasm level. You will be able to see when you enthusiasm level is going low, and thus, you can immediately correct it. And whenever you’ve noticed that your enthusiasm level is increasing, then you just need to figure out what caused it so you can do it again and again.

Developing an enthusiastic attitude is important to be able to reach your goals. Even if others have long given up on that task or activity, if you are enthusiastic enough, you’ll still have the inner spark that encourages you to continue what you are doing. Through enthusiasm, you can turn your life into an exciting journey.