"Para kanino ka bumabangon?"

The line from a commercial of a famous coffee brand here in the Philippines. And this is a post for Writing Prompt #2: Motivation by @JonicaBradley

Many days passed that I was thinking about what can I share about motivation. What could a demotivated person like me possibly share with others? What value from my experiences could I possibly tell so that other people can learn from them?

Actually, I can totally relate to most of what she said in her article.

Other projects I start but then might get distracted by something else. It sounds like bragging, and maybe it is, but I have quite a few talents. Writing, art, cooking, baking, candy making, gardening, crafting, etc. It sounds like a good thing, to have many skills, but it is super easy to get distracted by the next shiny idea that pops into my head.

I too have a lot of ideas in my mind. I also have some unfinished paintings and projects that became already dusty or somehow buried in the pile of my art materials. It's not that I'm unmotivated to finish them but maybe something came up that I'm more motivated to do back then. Will I ever come to finish them? Hopefully someday.

I have actually met quite a few people who really enjoy housework. I, unfortunately, am not one of them... I do like to have a tidy house with each object having its place. I like to be able to walk barefoot in the house without stepping in grit and dust. I enjoy having clean clothes and a room that doesn't smell like dirty socks... So I will start these chores, but again, I will get distracted.

Who doesn't want a tidy house? There are times that I will diligently clean a part of our house without feeling tired until all are in a good place and I can see no more dust or spider webs. And sometimes while doing a specific chore, like separating clutter into reusable and disposable, I will get distracted. Getting distracted into doing another thing that I remember wanting to do the other day. So I end up putting the remaining clutter aside, hoping that I'll remember it again in the near future.

Tiny space with a huge pile of clutters.

Speaking of motivation in doing household chores. First, let me tell you a little about my mother, as I remember her being a solid homemaker. The house was always clean, things are always in place, plates and dirty clothes always being washed. Growing up, she would always scold us if we don't do our part of the household chores, like every weekend my siblings and I take turns in dust-keeping the house, and every day we have a schedule of who will wash the dishes. So yeah, I grew up with those in mind. As I turned adult, I understand why she would scold us back then, because having a clean house gives us serenity. You can easily find things because they are where they're supposed to be.

I was kinda shocked to experience first-hand a tiny house with such a pile of clutter. Back when I was a child, I remember some of the houses of my playmates that I've entered, some you can literally smell how untidy their house are. As I have said that we lived in the slums before. Forgive me if I sound a bit harsh, I guess I'm not just used to seeing houses like that because my mom always keeps ours clean.

So back to that tiny house, the mother has 5 children and was left behind by her husband. I can only count the times that I saw the house clean. The space was small yet a pile of clothes and things are scattered everywhere. Sometimes her laundry will take 3 days before she can finish because she would either play mobile games while at it or sometimes she will go out of the house and come back later in the evening. Sometimes the dishes last a week in the sink.

I was puzzled by her actions. We can say that she might have thought to wash the clothes but then she got distracted and came up with another thing to do that she is more motivated to.

"You can be motivated by fear or reward but those are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self-motivation."

Perhaps she was more motivated to find ways to earn so that she can feed her remaining children living with her. And she may be tired after looking for side jobs during the day that she doesn't have the time to finish her household chores once she gets home.

Until I saw the same attitude with my mother just recently. She wasn't a diligent homemaker anymore. Before I moved out of the house, it was already getting dull. The weekly whole house clean-up became bi-weekly. Floors weren't being mopped anymore, windows are getting full of spider webs. Then I thought being left behind has the effect of losing motivation. The will to live the way you were before. It's like doing everything is a drag. You just want to sleep all day to forget the pain or just waste your time streaming endless cooking shows or k-dramas. She can't motivate herself anymore.

Don't get me wrong, that was a year ago. Now she is finally healing by doing videos on a famous video streaming website/app. She also started de-cluttering the house. And I think her self-motivation is growing pretty good because she is consistent in doing content. I admire her strong personality. Hoping for the success of her new journey.

As for the mother that lives in the tiny house, I know she is also doing well in what she does for her children. I just hope for her to have more motivation in moving on to a new chapter of their lives and welcome a fresh start for her inner peace.

Yay! I finished another article with words just flowing from my mind. I'm glad about this writing prompt, you never knew what stories you are to tell unless you start typing.

It wasn't fully about me because right now, I'm still fighting myself and giving a little push to do things. But we'll get there.

Thank you for taking the time to read this! Stay safe. ♥

Sponsor: @Bjorn ☺

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