Motivation: What Really Drives Us?

When we awaken in the morning‎ during the week, what are our thoughts about the day ahead?

What would your thoughts be? Dread, utopian motivation, just a daily job, or a supreme level of energy to get out there and further achieve what has become a lifetime goal; a mission? To create, to build, to market, to witness success and spreading employment, motivation, and security? To be the difference?

Regardless of being a highly successful entrepreneur, front-line health worker, or for example a landscape gardener,  working from home; what triggers the mind and heart; initial motivation and drive for the start of a new day?

Front Line Health Worker

A front line health-worker; a nurse entering potential dangers of a Covid-19 dominated hospital. What are the thoughts on awakening? Abject terror? Desire to make things better, to help, to cure?   Nursing and related activities is a vocational passion; not for financial incentive, not an everyday nine to five job. Experiencing success; the cure, recovery of those painfully ill, or trying to stay a step beyond grief projected and received by loved ones as they witness a sad departure.

‎How many of us could tolerate seeing patients pass away one after another; the grief of relatives creating a tangible atmosphere of dispair; the future no more a positive element of life, but denial of a loved one. As time passes, walking along a sad pathway through a field of desolation, until a little healing light shines from above, caressing the bereaved with hope and fond memories.

Nursing staff are nothing but heroes, selfless in their desire to heal the sick and empathize with those who have lost loved ones. Quite a combination. Without fail, front-line health workers and especially nurses, are so positive. They smile in the face of adversity. They are truly wonderful. Vocational passion being the ultimate description.‎

Landscape Gardener

A gardener, walking outside to be greeted by blue skies, or dark looming clouds, rain, wind, or snow, the joy of gardening knows no boundaries. No such thing as ‘bad’ weather, just appropriate clothing.  A pure rapport, synergy with Mother Nature, Gardening facilitates a combination of hard manual work and the ultimate pleasure of witnessing the completed tasks come to life.

A landscape gardener has a similar instinct for an ideal layout as an interior designer; walking into a house for the first time, and visualizing the finished project. Gardening; love of fauna, immaculate lawns, gentle colored flowers, and buxus border designs. ‎Trees which morph into varied shades during the seasons.

From winter through to the rebirth of Nature at Springtime; infinite optimism, to summer glory, onto Autumn with stunning colors, through to winter again; hopefully a snowfall to grace the landscape; a blanket muffling sounds and; a birds claws marks along the surface. Birdlife witnessing snow for the first time must truly wonder what on earth is going on!

Gardening is part of Nature’s Mission to enhance, respect, energize, and enthuse those who would happily engage in such tasks just for the love of it.

A job, a career is a hobby when truly enjoyed, and gardening is the epitome of that ideal.

Motivation? Getting up in the morning? A true lover of gardens will waste no time in engaging with the natural environment. Probably thinking of trimming hedgerows, planting flowers, and where to place them; but all positive thoughts, enjoying the harmony that Nature gifts us with. A garden may have boundaries, but surrounding scenery has no limits.

Motivation

Are thoughts and ultimate motivation based upon positive enthusiasm or fear of reprimand, or even job loss?  Should being late at the work-place be viewed as a sin.‎ Not the hours invested but what is achieved in those hours. Not efficient, but effective.

What gets us out of bed in the morning? Is it the need; inward demand to get out and do ‎whatever job we are employed to do?   ‎Or fire of imagination, motivation, and desire to get out and ‘confront’ or assimilate the requirements of the rôle we are employed to do.

Entrepreneur

For example, an entrepreneur’s instinctive drive to achieve, to create theoretical ideas and witness materialization into reality;  goals either planned or, generated by the subliminal motivation to the ultimate success of a dream or idea that initially ‎stimulated those parts of the brain and heart that provided the desire to prove that whatever the dream, can be done,  recognition, accolades awarded?‎

Was the idea or inspiration launched from inside a garden shed?

Quietness, solitude as if awaiting and ultimately receiving the inspiration to break with normality, thinking outside the confines of usual expectations. To embark upon a life-changing venture for all who recognize the potential of the created system, product, or even attitude.‎ And attitude is key. Open-minded, not insulated from the traditional norm. Or to use a tired, well-worn phrase, ‘thinking outside the box’.

To quote Shakespeare’s Hamlet,

I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space.

Does the mind wander around addressing issues? Does the entrepreneur visibly or inwardly smile, impatient with positive motivation to go to the work-place, infect others with dynamism, bordering on a magically inspired drive to deliver what has been previously viewed as elusive; but now grasped with alacrity as the team ‘high-five’ in mutual celebration of a breakthrough, previously considered a fantasy, a pipe dream; cuckoo land!  But now tangible. Real.

Such is the drive, excitement, and enthusiasm for getting into gear,  such an individual can’t wait to drive off, sunrise in front or behind, dominated by supreme motivation and total belief in success.

Is this individual alone? Is there a team of like-minded individuals who also can’t wait to get to the office or creative unit and hit the start button?‎ All working with supreme enthusiasm and belief in the product or service.

What motivated you on a weekday?