Motivation - A New Discovery

It has been over a month now since I posted my last article. There is no specific reason though, when a senior member of my family following my blogs shot me a mail asking why I had stopped, if at all I had stopped writing blogs on this site, I told him even though there is no dearth of ideas, I lack motivation and asked if he does not know of my moody nature. Being a senior man, having immense regard to whatever little writing skills I have, he pleaded, nay, advised me to resume writing, else I may totally lose interest, in which case he would be highly disappointed. That made me think deeply into that so called mental process of motivation.

We invariably use this term 'lack of motivation'. That woman has very good skills in cookery, quite capable of preparing very tasty dishes, but she is happy preparing the same simple saambaar day in and day out. Ask her why she is not interested in making those mouth watering dishes anymore. "I am fed up, there is no motivation as it used to be during those early days in my kitchen. Ask that middle aged man next door why he is not coming to the badminton court these days, despite being such an enthusiastic and good player of the ball, yet at that age. Or, ask that young man why he is not attending the kite festival, in which he used to regularly participate in competitions every year and winning prizes for both the kite presentation and his abilities to fly it to invisible heights. Lack of motivation!; not interested anymore! This standard reply you get.

What exactly is motivation? Why do you need it to do a thing which you can easily do? You are lazy, to put it very simply and bluntly, isn't it? You do something with some inherent skills and people appreciate it. You get motivated and do the thing again and again, every time giving it a new twist, a new color, a new garb or totally a new soul. You get more and more appreciation; you do more. Soon the quality of appreciation slowly diminishes and finally stops altogether. You still do the thing, but without the original verve. It becomes lack-lustre and finally you stop doing it. You put the blame on lack of motivation.

That brings me down to think that motivation, in fact, is the process of strengthening your ego. Because you long for appreciation, praise. It makes you to do things which are of your natural skills to you, to such an extent that you don't do the thing without appreciation! It is not merely about special skills like various art forms, sports, and successfully managing adverse situations, but even ordinary things like your profession to earn your living; you need motivation, otherwise it is a routine bore!.

Motivation is imaginary, a sound hide out for the lazy!

So instead of simply telling I have been blissfully lazy and so did not write articles, to my good elderly relative, well wisher and friend, I shamelessly lied - lack of Motivation! I do have the courage to say I am lazy when I am, lazy! I need no motivation to do that!!



(In this article I have tried to expose just one facet of Motivation; in my next I will try to show one more powerful facet of Motivation)