Motivation, detoured

When @JonicaBradley wrote this in her article “Writing Prompt #2: Motivation”: “I once read somewhere that people are not unmotivated. We are really just motivated to do something else.”, she got me thinking, hey she was right, it is not that we lack of motivation, it is because we have focused our motivation elsewhere or the motivation has evolved or changed to something else.

I think most or everything that we do, does need some form of motivation. Else, there is no drive and we probably wouldn’t have ventured into it. Curiosity is a motivation, monetary gain is another and let us not forget, a peace of mind and a happy heart are motivations too.

In a platform like this where earning is a potential goal, monetary earnings is one of the main source of motivation, apart from our love in writing. For some who has not tried writing before, just by a mere thought of being able to earn from writing can be pushing factor for one to start.

Someone once asked if I would keep on writing when the platform no longer rewards us. My answer back then, was an immediate yes. But little did I know, the answer was not a resounding yes. At that time, I was still able to earn quite a bit but now that I hardly do, in reality, I would have to amend my answer. I would still continue to write but at a much slower pace because the monetary motivation has decreased or none existent. I would rather shift my attention and energy to somewhere else where the monetary motivation is higher. In some parts, my motivation is to be able to keep reading a few friends whom I have made along the way.

As someone new (on anything for that matter), we would have the motivation to give it a try first, maybe for a month or two and see how it goes. If and when we start to see what we hope to see and gain, we would keep going. But if and when things do not go the way we hope it would, we would divert our attention to something else that is potentially better. We all need to earn a living and it is no wonder that people come and go.

When it comes to cleaning, it is not that I like cleaning, which I am always mistaken of because I clean an awful lot, but I like the thought of having a clean floor to step on, clean sheets to sleep on, clean surface to lean on and clean clothes to wear, plus I am allergic to dust and all sorts of unknowns. That is my motivation.

And just like @JonicaBradley, I too start many projects, at the moment, about a hill high, but I don’t finish them, plus many more planned in my head. I have motivation to start projects, usually to learn something new, like a new stitch, or a new creation, well not really new because I learn from books and online, but it is new to me or to prove to myself that I can do it. But once I work the project about a quarter or a third of a way, I lose interest when it becomes repetitive and I would move on to another project or skill to learn which is my motivation.

Sometimes, I have a stronger drive to complete the project, because I wanted to use the item created or if the project is a gift for someone on a special occasion, that would be the motivation. Surprisingly, when there is such motivation, I was able to complete the projects quite quickly but having to stay home these days, I don’t get to see my family whom I usually make things for. There goes my motivation for the projects for the time being.

In school, I studied with a goal to pass exams and I had the motivation to get good grades so that I was able to study a course of my choice in college or university and hopefully get a good job.

Then, when I started working, on bad days when the work over demanded my energy and time, working around the clock, I would think of pay day and it would help me carry on. Even on days when I got scolded by my bosses or clients or when something failed in the systems I implemented, my motivation was my monthly pay.

When I was teaching part time, my motivation was seeing happy students, who understood better the subject they were struggling with, students who excelled in their studies and succeed to achieve good grades. I remembered a few of the students I taught were failing in their studies. My motivation then was to get them to pass and they did.

When I was an emcee, my motivation was the crowd. The more the crowd responded to me in bringing them together, the more pumped up I became. There was a free flow arm wrestling competition once held at work and in order to get volunteers to participate, I pretended that it was a boxing ring. I spoke with the voice of a ring master and the crowd went crazy. The excitement and exhilaration was my motivation to put on a good show for them.

It is interesting how motivated we can be when there is a definitive source of motivation, be it one of a dream or one that is achievable and obtainable. And sometimes, a motivation need not be complicated. A simple desire to be able to enjoy a cup of coffee and watch the sky everyday is a motivation too.

This is my freewrite to @JonicaBradley’s writing prompt “Motivation”. Sorry, I am late as my motivation was elsewhere :P

All images are my own unless stated otherwise.