Merriam-Webster defines motivation as “the act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something : the act or process of motivating someone.”

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to hear a motivational talk from Mizzou’s head wrestling coach Brian Smith.

He was AWESOME, and I definitely felt motivated after he was done.

Coach Smith talked about the importance of living an uncommon life and nine things we could do to live an uncommon life:

1. Write or see your goals every day. I keep a list of my 2016 in my planner so I can see them.
2. Have a daily to-do list. My best friend got me started on doing this over a year ago. It’s extremely helpful!
3. Reflect or pray every day. I didn’t start doing this until a couple of years ago, but there aren’t many days where I don’t do this. It’s all about getting into a pattern.
4. Tell someone from your past how they positively impacted your life. Maybe it’s a teacher, friend or relative.
5. Try to meet someone you don’t know and get to know them. This might require many of us to step outside our comfort zone, but it’s probably good for us.
6. Read every day. Some of the smartest people in the world read for at least 10 minutes a day. I try to start my day with scripture and read before bed every single night. I switch the types of books I read, too. I try to read something good for me then something fiction (usually murder-mystery).
7. Get inspired. What inspires you? Maybe it’s music, the arts? Scripture?
8. Do your best every day. I’m going to add make good choices to this, too.
9. Be humble. Be kind. Be someone you can be proud of.

To some of us, these may seem like pretty common things to do, but I have to agree with the Coach. Not a lot of people make time to let someone from their past know how they impacted their life. How many of you read (for fun) on a daily basis?

I challenge you to live an uncommon life.

Aunt Bubba