The Types of Motivation:
Everybody has something, or someone that motivates them. Ask your peers what motivates them.
As I see it, most people have a combination of two forms of motivation. One is what I will call survival motivation, and the other is emotional motivation.
Survival motivation is motivating because if you do not take action (to find food, shelter, water, and warmth) your survival is at risk.
Emotional motivation is motivating because if you do not take action (running a marathon for charity, working hard to support your family, becoming more successful than your father and grandfather), you let yourself down, and this is very troubling to most people.
Survival motivation is innate and most of us are lucky enough to satisfy our basic needs.
But each of us can choose our emotional motivation. If you are like me, you embrace in, and believe in the ability to improve yourself through rational choice. If you choose the right emotional motivation (for you), you will improve your life in wonderful ways neither of us can predict.
The trouble with emotional motivation is that there are so many types to choose from.
Some, like revenge, can be destructive. Some, like fighting for justice, can improve and strengthen. Which one seems more common to you?
The Template of Motivation:
There is a template for what our emotional motivations should be that is fed to us by the media every day, and most of us buy into it. A lot of our friends, family, and co-workers do.
This template says you have to compete. It says you have to challenge yourself. It says your sense of self depends on how you measure yourself against your peers. It says there are winners and losers, and that being famous is more important than being unknown.
Do you buy into it?
I don’t have a chip on my shoulder. Nobody tells me I can’t do something (I don’t want to prove anybody wrong). I understand it’s OK to lose sometimes. I am not obsessed with dying with the most toys. I don’t want to rule over anybody. Fame just doesn’t seem that cool.
The template for emotional motivation doesn’t say you have to love. It can’t tell you how you will feel when you look back on your life in 60 years.
Loving and caring don’t necessarily or easily result in awards, titles, ego, cars, inflated self-esteem, and restless determination. They also don’t easily result in good TV ratings or in fitting in with our peers.
It’s hard for us to accept the guarantee that love will result in the satisfaction we seek because the world we live in doesn’t showcase it.
Look around you. How many people buy into the emotional motivation template?
What motivates you? Can you replace it with love?
Well, one needs motivation to take the love to the next level and motivation in love is essential, hence they go hand in hand. Without motivation there is no hope, and without hope there are no possibilities. Hence stay motivated and keep loving!
I just like helping people out. Knowing that I helped someone motivates me. They don’t even have to know it was me; in fact, I often prefer they don’t. I’m not looking for acknowledgement, I just want the satisfaction that somebody is better off than they were before.
What motivates me is freedom, I work for myself because I hate depending on someone else for a living, I work online a lot because I hate being ‘tied down’ to a physical location and I write my blog to help encourage others and build a community around that same philosophy of freedom and living the life you want.
Thanks Maren Kate,
Freedom is definitely one of the most powerful motivators for us as individuals. I’m glad you realize that it leads to helping others and building a community. Without that piece tied-in, the motivator probably wouldn’t be as sustainable–the community holds you accountable!
My main motivation is FEAR OF FAILURE. I hate to fail, hence I try my darndest not to.
Thanks Sid…
I honestly don’t know how I would handle crazy money, fame, glory etc. I guess I kind of feel like I’m not mature enough to handle it! But its just not in my DNA to work hard if the only end point is money, fame glory.
I love how you understand you have the freedom to enjoy the life the way you choose. Everything is our choice. How we live our life, what we value, what motivates us…
I totally agree with Sid – passion for the things you do can be major motivation.
For example, I run my website out of pure passion towards wanting to make a difference in people’s lives – no more, no less. It just is a part of me. Which means maybe it isn’t even motivation since I don’t have a reason that I use to get myself to do it, I just do it more because I feel a calling to do so than anything else.
Thanks for the article!
Sam
Sounds like you love what you do Sam!
I don’t necessarily need fame, money, glory – though I will take them if they come 😉
What motivates me though is being better than I was yesterday, and the freedom to enjoy life the way I choose. I enjoy improving myself and constantly creating things, though I see your point – for me, it’s not about showing off and putting someone else down. A big part of my motivation is just passion for the things I do, and doing them well.
Me, I’ll just take the money. I don’t want fame or glory.
Thanks Carlos,
But you might be mis-reading me a little bit. I’m not saying any motivation is good, only that we have the capacity to choose if something is not working for us. I suggest looking into “love” as a motivator but if not love, perhaps something that IS NOT revenge, jealousy, etc.
I don’t think that my motivation can be replaced with love, considering that I don’t believe in love so much. But what I do agree with here is that any motivation is good motivation. Revenge? Money? Jealousy? Everything works, as long as you do good things with them.