Motivation Talk ~ Gerry Duffy
Of course motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on a regular basis.”
I was really looking forward to this motivation talk we would be having today with the fifth and sixth years, and my expectations were fulfilled! I sat with my friends near the middle of the room. I say this because the first thing the speaker, called Gerry Duffy, mentioned was that the front row was completely empty. It is true, it does take a certain amount of courage to sit in the front row, where you are quite exposed. His point was that it takes courage to do most things in life, but the people who make it in life are the ones who have that courage and ‘sit in the front row’. I found this a powerful beginning to the talk. It was also an eventful beginning to the talk as Gerry drew our attention to a five euro note, pinned to the wall. I actually hadn’t even realized it was there! Immediately a few boys scrambled towards to five euros and fought for it, eventually one of them got it! The metaphor was that the five euros represented the opportunity, everyone in the room could see ‘the opportunity’ but few had the courage to grab it. I was honestly in awe during most of the talk as this man was so inspirational. Gerry was also a great public speaker, the way he changed the dynamics of his voice and used pauses for emphasis were very effective, he had my attention for the full duration of the talk. Throughout the talk Gerry told us about how to achieve our goal and potential. He made demonstrated to us how to do this, again using metaphors. I find metaphors very simple and effective as they help me to relate to something. When i can relate to something it automatically sticks in my mind. We all had to raise our hands as high as we could. We all did what he said, some with a little more enthusiasm than others. I found that my hands generally didn’t reach as high as others, since I am quite small! However one 6th year stood on a chair, he reached his potential. Everyone has the ability to stretch. You will never achieve more than, unless you stretch. The ultimate competition is with yourself, once you beat yourself, you’ve won.
I was quite astonished when Gerry told us he did nothing close to working hard when he was at school. He failed most subjects and smoked. That was possibly the last thing I would've expected from him as he seems such a hard-working and determined man! This goes how you can change your lifestyle completely by making the right choices. This really inspired me.
Next he asked us to all swap seats with the people on the other side of the room. This laborious trek to the other side of the room was very awkward. It took a while as all the students trudged behind each other and searched for a seat. I was slightly confused how this may refer to the motivation talk. Again Gerry managed to turn a simple activity into a useful metaphor. When trying to reach your goal always get out of your comfort zone, and we sure did! I quote the speaker: “My success in life will be determined by how uncomfortable I am prepared to get”. I will try and put this concept into action during my TY year, to achieve my goals.
I learned many valuable things about goal setting, for example it is vital to be specific about your goals. Instead of saying I want to make the most of Transition Year, I pshould say I want to create a great blog, do as at least 2 work experiences and 1 community service, I want to make new friends and finish all my projects on time! A goal without a plan is just a wish. Basically what Gerry was telling us is that the future has nothing planned for us, therefore we need to plan our future. This information is very important for us students, as it ensures we are prepared for the future. When we lack motivation we should visualize what we want to achieve, the speaker used the example of Dan Carter, the All-Blacks rugby player. When Carter takes a kick, he visualizes the ball going through the bars and the crowd cheering. We should visualize ourselves entering our dream university for the first time, and do all we can to achieve that dream.
Finally Gerry concluded the talk by showing us a video of a man with no arms or legs. This man is as happy as he could be despite his condition. When the man falls down, most people would say it is impossible for him to get back up, without arms or legs. However he never gives up, and keeps fighting. Eventually he get himself up. What Gerry was saying is that you must be willing to work hard and keep fighting if you want to achieve your goal. I admire this type of mindset, at times during the Junior Cert I thought I couldn’t complete all the work and started making simple things complicated. Though I never gave up, and kept working till the end. I will definitely do the same during my Transition Year. Last quote of from our talk is “actions speak louder than words”.
I will remember this talk and the methods to achieve our goals and potentials. I will take Gerry Duffy’s words and put them into action.