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Venoms that kill your motivation and their antidotes
It’s hard to keep motivation alive sometimes
Here’s a short story that may or may not sound familiar. One day an enticing and fresh idea knocks on your door, you welcome it into your life and soon it blossoms into an exciting new project you can’t wait to start working on.
So you get down to business! All hands on deck. You feel good, motivated, unstoppable and inspired. Everything goes well…at least for a while.
Somewhere along the way, things start to go south. The motivation that fuelled you at the beginning is gone and without it your project can’t survive much longer.
After this, a wave of frustration invades you. You don’t know what went wrong and honestly you are too disheartened to perform an autopsy on the ‘dead project.’
After grieving for a while, you move on to the next one, excited and motivated like before. But soon afterwards the next project dies too! And before you know it, you have a pile of dead projects buried in your backyard.
At this point you can’t help but wonder why it is so hard to keep motivation alive? Most of the time the cause of death was one (or a concoction) of these venoms listed below.
SELF-COMPARISON
Nothing drains your energy more than comparing yourself with others. Seriously, it’s an incredibly exhausting task. That’s why it’s no surprise that at the end of the day, you have no energy left to invest in your projects and personal goals.
Comparison is a natural process the human brain has been doing for ages and it’s a key feature of our species.
If you want to achieve the objectives you have set for yourself, the first thing you have to learn is how to be energy-efficient and reserve your precious and limited mental energy for the things that really matter and that will bring you something useful or productive in the long run.
For example: comparing a stunning shot of an Instagram model basking in the sun on a tropical island against ourselves on a Sunday morning is not only unfair and irrational, but also unfruitful, pointless and incredibly toxic.
And it’s called self-destructive comparison. That’s the type you don’t want to engage in.
On the contrary, comparing your habits and lifestyle with a well-planned nutrition and fitness programme, actively seeking and identifying our weak spots and be willing to improve them in order to live a healthier life, is meaningful and productive and it’s self-evaluation or constructive comparison. And that’s the type you’ll want to invest your precious and limited energy in.
In short, self-destructive comparison weakens our motivation while constructive comparison nurtures it.
STAGNATION
Think of motivation as a house plant. You need to constantly water it and nurture the soil for it to grow healthy. It will wither slowly and eventually die if you don’t dedicate time to take proper care of it.
“So what can I do to stimulate my motivation every day?” you may ask. The answer is pretty straightforward and it’s something you probably have heard about before: vision boards.
Remember that humans are visual creatures, so it’s no surprise that sometimes we need to see the things we want to achieve in order to keep moving forward. And what vision boards do best is helping you visualise your goals.
So what about creating one? They are incredibly simple to make on your electronic devices or you can even go to greater lengths, print it and hang it on your wall so you can see it everyday.
IMPATIENCE
We have to come to terms with the fact that good and worthwhile things take time and it’s imperative that we learn to cultivate the increasingly rare virtue of patience. Sometimes, especially when we are just getting started on a new project (which could be referred to as the “honeymoon period” of our projects).
While being high-spirited is important, things get dangerous when we start setting unrealistic goals.
Feeling constantly disappointed for not being able to reach the unreasonable milestones we set for ourselves, creates a sense of defeat that gradually weakens our motivation and causes us to get frustrated, disheartened and end up abandoning our projects altogether.
So what can you do to protect your motivation from the devastating effects of impatience? Start by allowing yourself to work slowly but surely by dividing tasks into small chunks and while you are at it, remember to watch out for the goals you set. Setting unrealistic goals can end your whole career before you even start.
Make it a habit to acknowledge and praise your progress, no matter how small the victory. Because seeing how much you have accomplished can give you the reassurance you need to know you are doing things right, and this knowledge helps keep impatience at bay.
PERFECTIONISM
Perfectionism slows you down and puts an unnecessary amount of pressure on your shoulders. It’s extremely time-consuming. Perfectionism affects your motivation the same way impatience does.
So, instead of sweating every little detail, worrying about every tiny thing and overthinking every small aspect of your project, try to focus on what’s really important.
Focus on the things that will really pay off and make a difference in the long run.
Being detail-oriented is a good thing, but don’t overdo it. When it comes to achieving your goals, the most important thing is to be consistent, not perfect.
Perfection is an illusion we can spend all our lives chasing after and never achieve. Instead, strive to find satisfaction in knowing that you are doing your best, learning and improving every day.
Source : Pickthebrian
He once sold kenkey to pay his school fees, and now wears the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police. DCOP Kofi Sarpong, police officer and award winning gospel musician is charting a journey few could script.
In an interview with The Spectator chronicling his rise, the newly promoted DCOP took us on his journey through the ranks.
Early Life
“I was born in Berekum in the Bono Region, then Brong Ahafo, to Comfort Yeboah, affectionately called Maame Yaa, and the late Chief Inspector Kofi Sarpong,” he said.
His family story is one of resilience. His mother had two children before her husband died in an accident. She later married Kofi Sarpong’s father, a police officer, and had two more, himself and his junior brother. “So we are four, unfortunately one is deceased, just last year, so we are three now.”
School and struggle
He started at Berekum Methodist Primary under the old ‘Sito’ system. In Form Two, he moved to Obuasi to stay with a guardian for his Form Three education, then returned to Berekum for Form Four. He later attended Berekum Senior High School where he studied General Arts and shone as an athlete, a sprinter in the 100m, 200m and 4x400m relay.
After O-Levels, his batch was the last to write the exams, his dream was to become a teacher because of his love for children. But financial hardship forced a detour.
“I decided to help myself by going to buy maize and started preparing kenkey to sell at lorry parks and markets in Berekum,” he recalled.
According to him, the people from Berekum know this story. “I can make all types of kenkey, Fante Kenkey, Ga Komi and others. Don’t be surprised to see Kofi Sarpong Kenkey one day.” The proceeds paid his upkeep.
For this reason, he advised the youth “Don’t see life as a smooth journey but find something prudent to do to help yourself in difficult times.”
After grinding his education to a halt due to financial challenges, he now holds a Degree in Public Administration from GIMPA, a Master’s in International Relations and Diplomacy and Project Management, plus other higher certificates, with more in the offing.
The Police Call
When teaching did not materialise immediately, he moved to stay with his father at Osu, Accra. In 1994, he visited former IGP Nana Owusu-Nsia at Police Headquarters, who told about ongoing police enlistment.
In his head he declined, but outwardly he accepted to try reluctantly. Later, watching TV news and seeing long queues of young people aspiring to join the Police, he was inspired to reconsider.
He went to Berekum for his certificate. Accra enlistment had closed, so he joined the Kumasi exercise. He was selected, passed the exams and went to the Koforidua Police Training School, Galloway. After passing out, he was posted to the Logistics Unit at Police Headquarters.
At Headquarters, a senior officer encouraged young constables to further their education. He took a course in Purchasing and Supply via distance learning from a UK institution. 
Upon completion, the Police administration promoted him from Constable Class One to Chief Inspector, a leap that paved the way for him to enrol at the Police Academy. He graduated as ASP, and the climb to DCOP began.
“The officer corps starts from Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) from the cadet,” he explained. “When you graduate from the Police Academy, you are awarded ASP, and you move to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), that’s when I released album to start my music career professionally.”
From there, he rose to Superintendent of Police (SP), Chief Superintendent, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), and now Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP). Next is Commissioner of Police (COP).
Music found him in Sudan
On peacekeeping duty in Sudan, officers from different nations came together to hold fellowship led by a Nigerian officer. In December that year, with top-ranked officers present, Kofi Sarpong led the service to the admiration of all.
On his return to Ghana, a Colonel, who was a Matron at 37 Military Hospital and a member of the 37 Methodist-Presbyterian Church invited him to their harvest service. He ministered, and as he stepped out of church, a man approached him with an offer to record him. He declined.
Days later, at the office, the man, Ernest Kwesi, who owned Media Excel Production sent an elderly man to pursue him. He still declined. This compelled Ernest Kwesi himself to visit him at the office. “He told me he had seen something in me.”
Just after Ernest Kwesi left,Kofi Sarpong wrote to then Director General/Welfare, Mohammed Alhassan, and Paul Tawiah Quaye the Inspector General of Police (IGP) at the time. “He opened the letter and said he had been waiting all this while because he had seen me perform at police officers’ events.”
He was summoned to the IGP’s office, a call which scared him, however, it was a good news; his request was approved. Against this backdrop, he informed Ernest Kwesi who quickly visited that evening with highlife musician Akwaboah Jnr., who taught him his first song, ‘Me ko nso hw3 mu’, and they went to the studio.
A song earlier recorded in reggae by Zapp Mallet was totally transformed by Nacee, so they released both versions on the album. Nacee, he says, hugely supported promotion, as did Mark Okraku-Mantey.
He also acknowledge Oware Jnr. who also wrote songs for him.
After his maiden album’s success, police leadership congratulated him. He says he is happy to have inspired other officers to write to the Service to pursue other interests.
An autobiography, he reveals, is in the offing.
Family and food
He is married to Mrs Salomey Sarpong with three children, two boys and a girl: Nana Nketiah, Maame Afia Yeboah Sarpong and Papa Kwabena Aseda Sarpong.
His hobbies are watching athletics and being with family. His favourite foods are fufu and konkonte with groundnut soup.
On music, he teased a collaboration with a top Nigerian artiste, promising fans “hot praises” soon.
He concluded by thanking Ghanaians for their support since his promotion, and thanked the Inspector General of Police for his guidance.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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WHEN some of her pupils failed to show up at school, Mary Adotei did not always assume they were absent. Sometimes, she went looking for them.
In the communities where she taught, getting a child into the classroom could require more than preparing lessons. Mrs Adotei remembers occasions when she had to visit the homes of pupils, bathe them, prepare them and bring them to school herself.
“There were times I had to go to the homes of some of the children, bathe them and bring them to school,” she recalled.
It is a memory that captures much of her journey over the years as a teacher, a profession she entered without knowing it would become central to her identity.
Now, after years of working with children and communities, Mrs Adotei is taking lessons from the classroom into a new arena.
She is contesting the position of Women’s Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa (AOB) Constituency in the Central Region, hoping to use her experience working with people to contribute to the welfare of women in the constituency.
But her story begins in the classroom.
After completing her basic and secondary education, Mrs Adotei spent 12 years working as a pupil teacher before she had the opportunity to receive professional training.
In 2006, she entered Fosu College of Education and completed her training in 2011 with a Diploma in Basic Education.
She returned to the classroom and has remained there since, teaching in different communities before moving to her current school, Catholic Boys Basic School in Breman Asikuma, in 2019.
The years have given her a front-row seat to the transformation education can bring.
Some of the children she once taught have grown into professionals, carrying the lessons they learnt in her classroom into hospitals, schools, offices and other workplaces.
Mrs Adotei said she had encountered former pupils who were now doctors, nurses, teachers and even a lawyer.
For a teacher, she said, such moments bring a special kind of satisfaction and reinforce the reason she remains passionate about education.
Her journey, however, has not been without difficult moments.
Teaching in local communities sometimes meant dealing with circumstances that went beyond academic work. Some pupils needed encouragement, personal attention and practical help before they could even settle down to learn.
Those experiences taught her that the challenges confronting people cannot always be solved from a distance. That understanding has followed her into her political activities.
Mrs Adotei has been involved in the NDC for years and previously served as a branch treasurer. She has also supported women in her branch, including assisting some to access medical treatment and providing help to families when the need arose.
She is now making her third attempt at becoming the constituency’s Women’s Organiser.
Her motivation is linked to what she has seen around her.
Mrs Adotei wants women in the constituency to have access to skills and opportunities that can help them become more economically independent.
She believes her years as a teacher have prepared her for the work, too, because the profession has taught her to listen, communicate, understand different circumstances and work patiently with people.
For her, the transition from teacher to political organiser is therefore not a complete departure from the path she has followed.
The classroom taught her to work with individuals. Politics, she hopes, will give her the opportunity to work with a wider group of women.
If elected, Mrs Adotei intends to continue teaching while taking up her political responsibilities. She said she would organise her time to attend meetings and constituency activities without abandoning her duties to her pupils.
Away from school and politics, she is a wife and mother of two sons who are pursuing their degrees at university.
Her message to young girls is shaped by everything she has seen education do for the children she has taught.
For Mrs Adotei, education remains one of the strongest tools available to young people, especially girls seeking to build better futures.
She wants them to stay in school, pursue further education and acquire skills that will prepare them for the future.
“Nowadays, you cannot go forward without education,” she said.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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