motivation

i had to write this for a class and i liked it so i thought i'd share...

I think everyone is overall motivated by their ideal self. I think everyone has a goal in mind of whom and where they want to be in the future and everything they do stems, either directly or indirectly, from the desire to become their ideal self.

When I think of various activities in my life, such as exercising, homework, and spending time with friends, I see similar, but different motivators at work. My motivation for working out is the end result. I know it is good for my body and heart, I feel more energized after a good workout, and I want to be visually appealing to the opposite sex. I do homework because I want to have as much knowledge as I can going into my future. Some of the information I actually really enjoy and thus am more likely to remember, but some of it is just to pass a class. I spend time with friends because I want to be a good friend, but I also want to matter to others.

I know that someone who is looking to pick at my thoughts will point out that whether or not someone has a ham or turkey sandwich is not really motivated by their ideal self and that could be true. But at the same time, it could very easily be an indirect motivator. Perhaps one choice is healthier or sounds cooler. I don’t know, but it’s a possibility.

I think the main way one can motivate someone else is by making the desired action matter to the other person. People are much more likely to pay attention or do something if it pertains to them. I think we are all more egocentric than we’d ever like to admit and thus if something affects us, we are naturally more drawn and involved.

I think this egocentrism draws its motivation from the ideal of ‘survival of the fittest.’ Looking out for #1 is innate in all of us and so something that affects us is suddenly more important than something that is just happening around us.

But where does having an accountability partner for various activities play into all of this? Does having a partner really encourage us or does it just motivate us because someone is there to affirm what we are doing? For example, having a workout buddy; why does this person motivate us to get out of bed? Is it because we don’t want to be seen as the unreliable person who says they are going to show up and then does not or is it because then someone else in our “circle” can see us working out and then part of our ideal self falls into place?

This whole idea can be a little depressing because technically we will never become our ideal self. There is always going to be something about ourselves that we want to improve, but actually I think it’s a good thing. If we became our ideal self, according to my thoughts, our motivation for anything would be gone. Maybe the motivation then would come from maintaining the achieved ideal self.