by Dr. Lauren Outland

I am sure that some of you work like fiends, without embracing even one of my six secret ways of feeling energized. I am here today to beg you to reconsider.

Feeling driven, guilty, or fearful are certainly powerful motivators for action. There are just two major problems with using them to get the work of life done.

The first problem is that it is difficult to sustain momentum that is based on fear or guilt, or any of a myriad of negative feelings. Avoidance of the negative tends to lead to exhaustion over time. Even if you seem like the energizer bunny, frantic behavior could be wreaking havoc on your body, and your body might give up. Some people have this happen cyclically and get every flu that comes along. For some people their backs go out. For others, they might get cancer.

The second reason to shun these negative motivators is that when you're focus is avoiding the bad, you don't often see the good. One of the principles of Attraction is that you receive what the universe is giving. If there's so much focus on avoiding fear, worthlessness, or guilt, you may not see a perfect solution to your problems.

Ultimately, even if your driven behavior allows you to get a lot accomplished, you may still crash and burn. I had a friend once who built a business that became quite successful. He had over 10 employees, he was making a lot of money.

He was fueled by fear. Fear of dissappointing his dad. He was living his father's dream. Sadly, at the top of his success, he started to panic that he would outdo his dad. A few months later his business took a dive and he had to file bankruptcy.

To me, using negative motivators to get work done is akin to selling your soul to the devil. Ultimately, the good backfires. Wouldn't you rather go for pure, good, sustainable, fun energy? I would.