IV/24. Motivation
Motivation is not an attitude or an instinct; it is a way of life.
To respond to motivation has its difficulties: some of us don’t like to be told what to do by others; and it is too easy to ignore our own good advice. Accepting the certainty of future death, and dealing with it when it suddenly grows nearer, does not mean being resigned, tired, and lacking in the motivation to fight in every way. Motivation is, by definition, overcoming obstacles with necessary strength, even if you have to dig it up from the center of your earth.
––John Roberts
To have his path made clear for him is the aspiration of every human being in our beclouded and tempestuous existence.
––Joseph Conrad, The Mirror of the Sea, 1906
Motives are causes experienced from within.
––Arthur Schopenhauer
Focusing on success is important because willpower can grow in the long term. Like a muscle, willpower seems to become stronger with use. The idea of exercising willpower is seen in military boot camp, where recruits are trained to overcome one challenge after another….Consistently doing any activity that requires self-control seems to increase willpower — and the ability to resist impulses and delay gratification is highly associated with success in life.
––Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang, “Tighten Your Belt, Strengthen Your Mind,” New York Times, April 2, 2008
Remember that a kick in the ass is a step forward.
––Unknown
The world is composed of only three time zones––the past, the present and the future. Focusing your mind exclusively on the past or the future will get you into trouble and render you ineffective while you are in the present. All of your power to accomplish, your ability to be effective, make decisions, be happy, and to exert maximum personal control over your life, lies only in each succession of present moments.
––Charles J. Givens, SuperSelf, 1993
Fighting cancer while suffering the mental and physical problems it causes is clearly a situation calling for strong motivation. The greatest need for motivation occurs at the time when we least feel like motivating ourselves to do difficult things. The greatest need occurs when the greatest effort is required to take the next step. I have been there in every one of the races in my 50 years of running. That is a simple situation. When we are ill, however, there are many alternatives and uncertainties, and suffering from cancer is a lot worse than suffering from oxygen deprivation. Successful motivation derives from being informed and organized. Then, we find it easier to make choices and work hard at succeeding in simultaneous battles.
There is something funny about the human mind: It likes to think negatively before positively. It is easy to find a million reasons not to do something, but more difficult to find those that will get you up off your backside and on the attack. Only a small minority of people seem to have that built-in desire to seek solutions, to get things done, to concentrate their effort, to achieve the maximum. So, if we can learn to do that, we are already ahead of most of the world and very likely to succeed even if our other resources are limited.
People with strong self-motivation are minor miracles. They do not just see things they want and make an effort to get them; they have a strong desire to improve their lives, and they know how to create a stronger persistent will, a means of achievement, the ability to avoid obstacles, and the understanding of what must be done by themselves to reach their loftier goals. They don’t sit back and wait for others to give them reasons and ways, they charge ahead alone, the manager of their own effort and in control of their own lives. At the same time, they are probably strong leaders who can inspire motivation in their followers.
What we believe, and then what we believe with intense conviction, defines what we are. If we don’t know what we believe, we are an empty shell, vulnerable to easy influence. The gradual search for conviction, consistent with character and goodness, is the foundation of a good man or woman. That allows for flexibility as we learn and grow. It does not allow for freely changing our mind to suit the situation. Conviction is best when married to principle. The fight for life requires that effort.
