Motivation

A lot can be said about motivation. In criminal cases, a crime is committed, the CSI crew comes to collect evidence, then it's presented to detectives who attempt to piece together the crime in a backwards sort of sense. They start with the end results and work their way backwards. A prosecutors job is to present his/her version of what happened and the key to the case is motive. If you have motive and opportunity then the case being presented is probable and could have happened that way, true or not. It just needs to be probable beyond reasonable doubt. In the case of motivating a person to do a certain thing in a certain way is not as simple as a criminal case where you study what happened, interview witnesses and go backwards. In the case of trying to motivate someone, you are intentionally trying to produce a certain result based on motivating that person to act in such a way to produce that desired result. I learned a very long time ago you can teach someone how to do something, you can teach them the reasoning behind doing it the way you have instructed them to do it, but you cannot, however, teach them how to be motivated to want to do it at all. It is different for each person. I work, maintain a home, family, schedules, keep gas in the car and food in the cupboard. Why am I able to do the things I have to do on a daily basis? Motivation. I would argue sometimes selfish motivation, or at least to make my life easier. Why do I make sure Jonathan makes the bus in the morning? Sometimes to the point I will yell like a drill Sergeant to ensure he's out there in time? I don't want to sit in the traffic at Lakeside! Selfish, I know, but motivation all the same. I wish I could offer some advice to those going through their motivation issues who are at the beginning of their adult lives. It's difficult. When you're in the "in between" age of being an adult but being very reliant upon parents for most everything you are motivated to be independent. You want a place of your own and to be able to make all your own decisions. That independence also comes with all the responsibilities of paying your own bills, providing for your own household, and at times suffering the consequence of the results of those decisions. The only thing I can say with a great deal of certainty is when you are trying to decide what to do with the rest of your life, do what you love. You can be motivated to do something for awhile. You might do it for the sake of your family (I have done things I hate for the betterment of my family many times), or for the sake of lifestyle. Those things will only last so long, and if you hate what you do, you will become an angry person, aware of it or not. There is no worse place to find yourself than resenting the job you have, the reason you do it or the attitude you have because you hate it. I loved music. I could play the piano or sing all day long when I was younger. I found out very quickly that a real living couldn't be made off my talents, what little they are or were. I would have to find a job to pay the bills. I navigated a gazillion different jobs over my lifetime. Retail store clerk, sewer in a shirt factory, medical assistant, restaurant server and manager, car sales and now insurance. It took over a decade of my married life to find what I loved and want to do it everyday. I can truly say that I do now. I love helping people and enjoy the customer contact. I think I'm good at it. Finally, I have found my niche. It took Mark even longer. He started to complete his Bachelor's about the same time I started in insurance. He completed knowing it may not take him where he wanted to go, but would eventually get him there. He loves teaching. He will be finished with his Master's of Arts in Teaching in just a few weeks. He would not have been able to do this straight out of High School. He had no motivation. He thought he wanted to be in management in some capacity in retail. He never would have wanted to go into teaching at that time. He wasn't ready, but now he has found something he loves and is doing a fabulous job! How I wish we could all acquire the crystal ball to see the future, but at this point it does not exist. You have to determine what motivates you and move forward from there. Motivation. What a complicated thing.