The other evening I was cleaning up the downstairs workout room. As I was vacuuming, something interesting happened: the cord got pulled out of the outlet. Of course, the vacuum stopped and I had to turn around to plug it back in. But as I did so, a crucial insight came through to me. I realized that when you’re not “plugged in” to your own power source, you’re just spinning your wheels.

Let’s consider the vacuum itself. Both before and after, the vacuum was perfectly setup, fully functional and in the “on” position. The only difference was whether or not power was surging through the wires. It really struck me that a lot of people are in that “on” position, doing a lot of the right things on the outside but finding that they still feel “stuck” or disconnected at some level – and certainly not achieving the results they’re after.

What you can learn from any ordinary vacuum cleaner is this: you’ve got to be plugged in. You’ve got to be connected to your own power source, your own internal drive and motivation. As I often get at, this internal drive doesn’t just affect one area of your life. Rather, you use this drive as the fuel for better relationships, more productivity, working out, preparing healthy meals and really getting on track. You can be doing all sorts of things on the outside, but if that internal drive is missing then you won’t experience the fulfillment of true, meaningful achievement. There will always be results in your life, but you’ve got to ask yourself if you’re just seeing “results” or true, meaningful achievement (which really isn’t measured in outward results but an internal sense of accomplishment).

The best decision you can make today is to start pursuing the habits and practices that lead to an increased sense of drive, motivation and direction. When you focus on the things that really “plug you in” to your own power source, all of the outward results become infused with that power as well. In other words, if you want to start seeing some real changes on the outside then start with the inside – by plugging yourself in!

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett

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