A motivational post which I hope helps :)

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Hello everyone.

I would like to raise a few points for motivation and explaining a bit about what has been working for me recently, and points that I will make that I feel really are good points... both have helped me - I will write them in two separate collumns. I am not an expert or anything approaching one on the points I make, but I think what I say could be good information. If I say anything that is a mistake or isn't correct, it's not intentional, and feel free to add any input or correct me if I'm wrong: -

1. General motivation tips that I feel are important points to make

Mindfulness... being in the present moment. Mindfulness is often associated in Buddhism, but can be used without being someone who has practised meditation for years say, and can be used in general.

This is an extract of what wikipedia says about mindfulness: -

The Buddha advocated that one should establish mindfulness (satipatthana) in one's day-to-day life maintaining as much as possible a calm awareness of one's bodily functions, sensations (feelings), objects of consciousness (thoughts and perceptions), and consciousness itself. The practice of mindfulness supports analysis resulting in the arising of wisdom (Pali: paññā, Sanskrit: prajñā).[2] A key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that meditative stabilisation must be combined with liberating discernment.[3]

Personally I find Buddhism inspiring but I am not a Buddhist, and the point of this post isn't so much about Buddhism per say... this is meant to be a universal post to take or leave the bits of advice and information one wants to take. Mindfulness can be applied without being a skilled Buddhist per say... anyone can use it.

Meditation
I find meditation helps too. Meditation doesn't have to mean closing one's eyes, attempting to empty the mind and concentrating to great lengths... it can also mean listening to specific music and getting physically comfortable, focussing on relaxing and feeling calm with the music... it can also mean playing an instrument, and focussing on that... it can also be a Spiritual thing too, say Chakra meditation... it can mean controlled breathing exercises, yoga, dancing, Art, writing... it can mean a lot of things...

I like to read inspiring quotes, and topics like wisdom.

Harnessing energy
If a negative feeling arises, then maybe it would be a good relief and also productive at the same time to write it down by way of a diary, or to physically work at something, or to get creative with something... harnessing energy, turning negative energy into positive energy.

Focussing on your strengths
I do not think Asperger's is in any way a problem, a disability, or anything of the kind. I do not think it is correct for people to assume mental differences are always disabilities... I know there are a lot of strengths associated with Asperger's, and I bet there are too with AD/HD, Dyslexia, Bi-polar, etc. I think it is wrong that society labels these differences and how a lot of it seems to have a default view that anything different is a problem... I don't think it's as black and white as that... I think the mind is far more complex than most people may ever think about, and complex doesn't have to mean bad... some incredibly skilled people have harnessed these differences and their potential with them. Sorry if my thinking is a little simplistic here, perhaps... I mean I do understand that there are traits that could be difficult in these differences, it's true... it can be hard, I won't deny that, but what I mean is - do they have to be problems per say, in general, the overall difference traits?
Do you know your strengths, your areas of ability? I am sure there are many. Human potential is amazing.

Total belief, confidence, and grabbing what you want by the horns... not in an arrogant or selfish way... I believe after all, the most important feature for humanity is love and compassion, so I don't mean that in an arrogant way when I say grabbing what you want by the horns... I do not encourage anything like ruthlessness or competitiveness personally... I don't agree with that stuff... I simply mean for oneself, getting what you want to get by way of determination, but not in a greedy way... not in an arrogant way.

Sometimes an emotion is just a passing emotion that doesn't need attachment to it
I sometimes get envious of people and feel a little irritated because that isn't logical that envy... it's just an emotion... emotions do strange things and when I feel that emotion it doesn't need to be a problem... I can just let that emotion pass through and not affect the poise of my mind.

Physically warming up
I think physically warming up, even if just a few short jogs even in the house can help my body literally feel at a nicer, more comfortable temperature if it would otherwise feel cold say, and probably help with energy levels too.

Independent thought
Being independent in mind, thinking about what you want to do, and all the potential things independent thinking entails.

2. Miscellaneous things that have helped me too

This section is a little quirky... it's basically explaining what I have done since new year that has helped me... if there are parts people can use from it, then great.

Since new year I wrote a resolution, which was quoted like this: New year's resolution: There's only one person I need to answer to, and that person is me.

I enjoy fantasizing and getting creative, so when I was watching a dart's tournament, I imagined one of the commentator's voice saying in a determined way "Dogged tenacity" to associate with myself to help give me a thrill to want to get determined and focussed on music say.
Other ways I'd fantasize are by pretending to be a Star Wars Pod Racer character, and wondering how determined they would be feeling before doing what they must do, etc.

I hope this post is generally well received, for it is with intent and heart felt care to be helpful.

Thank you! These are all good ideas.

I have a tip to add, and I've only started trying it recently so I don't really know if it works yet or not. I find that it is helpful to talk to myself, out loud. When I am alone, of course. I know it sounds crazy, but try it.

If I need some motivation, or there's something I need to think about, I just talk to myself about it, in great detail. When nameless fears are put into words, they are exposed as silly speculation. When a situation is put into words, the solution becomes obvious.

If talking aloud to yourself doesn't work, you can try talking aloud to God, explaining to God what you are going to do, and imagining him watching you achieve your goals. Convince yourself that God wants you to achieve your goals. It doesn't actually matter whether or not God exists, since you're not asking him to DO anything. You're just talking to him for encouragement and supervision.