How to shake off monotony and failure...
I recently had an afternoon where I found myself tired, beat down, weary, and in all honesty, wanting to quit altogether. Luckily for me this was just a short stint, but for many folks I know this is a perpetual state of existence. I mean come on; our entire government has even called it quits recently. There is something about the American way of living that tires us out, that makes us bitter and resentful, and leaves us asking the question, “why am I even doing what I do?”
I asked this question in the hopes that my answer would pull me from this worn-out stupor I seemed to be stuck in. When I asked “why”, I began to reflect on my motivations, and I noticed a distinct difference between motivations that were effective in spurring me from my current state, and those that were not.
Effective motivators are unchanging truths existing in our lives. Money is an ineffective motivator, because sometimes we don’t make very much. The love of my family, however, is an effective motivator, it is unchanging, no matter how little money I make or how run down I get. When inevitable failures and the monotony of the American way overtake me, I lean on my small list of effective motivators, God, my family, my girlfriend, and a call to make the world a better place through creativity. It is these relationships and this calling that inspire me to strive for success, but it is these same things that are always there for me when I fall in failure. To strive for excellence without effective motivators is to embark on a pointless rat-race that will never reach completion or satisfaction.
When we’re tired, beat down, weary, and in all honesty, wanting to quit altogether, it is our effective motivators that remind us that sinking is impossible, because they are always keeping us afloat, and giving us the strength to climb back in the boat and continue living, striving, and daring with great passion.
I asked this question in the hopes that my answer would pull me from this worn-out stupor I seemed to be stuck in. When I asked “why”, I began to reflect on my motivations, and I noticed a distinct difference between motivations that were effective in spurring me from my current state, and those that were not.
Effective motivators are unchanging truths existing in our lives. Money is an ineffective motivator, because sometimes we don’t make very much. The love of my family, however, is an effective motivator, it is unchanging, no matter how little money I make or how run down I get. When inevitable failures and the monotony of the American way overtake me, I lean on my small list of effective motivators, God, my family, my girlfriend, and a call to make the world a better place through creativity. It is these relationships and this calling that inspire me to strive for success, but it is these same things that are always there for me when I fall in failure. To strive for excellence without effective motivators is to embark on a pointless rat-race that will never reach completion or satisfaction.
When we’re tired, beat down, weary, and in all honesty, wanting to quit altogether, it is our effective motivators that remind us that sinking is impossible, because they are always keeping us afloat, and giving us the strength to climb back in the boat and continue living, striving, and daring with great passion.
