What Motivates You?
 

I've posted elsewhere that lately I'm suffering a complete lack of motivation in my workplace. Now there've been a few things that were rather dispiriting in general (re-org, redefining work etc.) and I think I'll get through it - but how to get myself started?

What do you do to get yourself motivated to do something?

The thought of bankruptcy.


Well? You asked-lol!

Heh - well that gets me through the "minimum reuired" part, but not sure it inspires me anymore than that ;)

In a situation like this I like to recall what a canoe operator once said whilst traversing the Rivers of America in Disneyland, "You'll notice that this canoe has no motor and that you each have oars. Essentially that makes you guys the motor and that makes me your motor-vator!"

So what you need is to bring a canoe operator with you to share your workspace and make light of the more arduous tasks to keep you rowing...er, on second thought, that might get you a lot of suspicious looks from co-workers. :eek:

Whenever I need some motivation I like to re-analyze my current situation and bring to the front some of the reasons I wanted to be here and the jobs I had previously to get here. Usually, this gives me enough enthusiasm and excitement to get right back on track. If that doesn't work I usually take some time to compile a few new ideas I can fiddle with on the back burner to keep me afloat till things just click again. :)

I have an inner God who always wants to smite me. That's why I've never needed an actual religion. I do enough guilting all on my own, thank you.

I am envisioning Chris Farley as a Canoe operator/motivational speaker - not sure if that works for me, but it sure makes me want to giggle.

I think that might be an ulcer.

Alas, my apathy is met with internal atheism...

Every evening in the forest an owl awakes knowing it must be faster then the slowest field mouse.

Every evening in the forest a mouse awakes knowing it must be faster then the slowest field mouse.

Most of us are motivated just enough to avoid being a slow mouse.....;)

Oh, I see..... You're not looking for motivation, you want inspiration! Sorry, can't help you there. I'm motivated by worry and fear, but am otherwise hugely uninispired. I am the Queen of Ennui.

You're not 'moping' or any such thing, are you? Just sitting and staring ahead, unmoving?

Do you need to be ...confused?:evil:*

(Warning to NA- possible Monty Python intervention coming).

Hmmmm - perhaps that's the problem, I've misdiagnosed myself....

Well then, what inspires you?

At work- art. Seriously. I see my clients as three dimensional canvasses, and I try to make them as aesthetically pleasing as possible. I also have a very strong work ethic, and I think if you do something, you should do it to the best of your abilities. I also hate it when people aren't wowed by my work, so I suppose a healthy chunk of ego is involved.....

At home? My kid.

It's a super question for those who don't like their jobs. Because how do we all get along in them, anyway? I've been in a really horrible OK-pay job for two and a half years, and there was a period when I was only doing the minimum required. As it turns out, the minimum required isn't actually the minimum required. If you do it long enough, they begin to notice and you have to step up the pace to ensure that you can pay your bills.

Paying my bills. That motivates me.

But as for my evening work? My writing? My miserable day job inspires me-- I don't want to do it anymore. My desire to be creative inspires me. The Artist's Way inspires me. (And it might inspire you, too.)

Perhaps what you're really discovering, Chris, is that you envision a different kind of life for yourself. Something creative. Something that allows you to use your skills for good and not for evil. (Oh, wait, that's just me; insurance is the chosen career of Satan, you know.) And I encourage you to try to motivate yourself in your regular job-- but to also think outside of it. Have you ever wanted to write a novel? A travel guide? Have you ever wanted to be a silversmith? A filmmaker? A pastry chef? It is never too late.

A swift kick to the ass has always worked well for me.

People inspire me. Not everyone...
People with life in them that is unfamiliar to what I see everyday.
and music.

Sometimes, it will hit just right, and when I hit a rut at work, I need to listen to music to work without thinking how much I dislike what I am doing. Bless my ipod.

but then motivates me to do what? inspires me to what end? Sometimes, only to finish the project.
Other times... Out come the paints.

p.s. .... but I totally agree with that mouse comment.

I'm going to have to disagree with the last part. At some point it will be too late. For all of us. If we find ourselves living a life that is less than fulfilling, perhaps what we need isn't motivation to do something only that only marginally satisfies us, perhaps what we need is something different.

A career change isn't always practical at any given moment, but if there are things you'd rather be doing then you can always take a class or befriend people in that field, etc. At least then you're working towards fulfilling your dream. If you don't then one day you're going to wake up as an old man with fingers too bony and arthritic to do anything really useful.

oddly enough, what I do to motivate myself at times is....well, nothing.

let it all pile up to the point where things are behind, stress levels are all but at heart attack levels, everyones deadline is close at hand and everyone wants theirs yesterday. eventually it works to start the ball rolling. once its rolling, I can usually maintain that for awhile and not only clear out what Ive let (sometimes intentionally, sometimes not) build up but surpass it with ease preparing for the next lack of motivation crisis. in the meantime, I've usually gained so much speed that I can steamroll through things for at least a few months.

it'll likely shorten my life overall, but you didnt ask that. stress.....THE ultimate motivator!

(oh yeah, and really really strong coffee)

Hmm I nominate Tracilicious to play the Grim Reaper for the Annual Lot Halloween party - but her fatalism reasonate with this aging existentialist - at least at the moment.

But it's not that I hate my job, in fact I've had some fun with it. But it's changing now, and I can sit aand wait patiently for things to happen and fall into place (which may never happen) or I can be a bit more proactive. Unfortunately, if I look at what I must do to ensure my own success and happiness, it seems that as well as running faster than the slowest field mouse, I may have to trip a few of the field mice next to me. Living in a corporate world I know this stuff goes on all the time, but I'm not sure I have the stomach to engage in such ruthlessness, on the other hand the field mouse next to me is eyeing my stride making sure I'm always one step behind him.

Damn these public boards that makes me post in metaphore. Ah well, at least it keeps me thinking creatively eh?

Doh!!!
Coffee!! I forgot about that!

I had an acquaintance who was a song writer. Some people would ask him what his inspiration was - some horrible tragedy, deep beliefs, personal experience, whatever. He would simply say "I'm hungry and I need money to eat."

Well, at the very least the Grim Threatener. (Have you seen the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy? That is a hilarious show!) I don't actually want to kill people, but breathing down their necks would be pretty fun. ;) And you're not that old...yet. You should feel some extra pressure. As an atheist you can't even look forward to an afterlife. :p

Ugh, those corporate dillemmas really suck. I think for me it would depend on whether I just needed to do my best and be sure to do better than the next mouse, or whether I needed to set a few traps to catch the other mice. I can outperform mice, but killing them would probably haunt me. If they were blind, then I could certainly chop off their tails with a carving knife. Oh wait, that's an entirely different scenario.

So, is THAT why you adopted the new cat? You need someone to go in a stomp on those corporate field mice?

You know, it's all about how you look at things. You can look at the drudgery of your job or you can look at the fun challenges you have faced and will continue to face. Motivation is a choice. Yes, it can come from outside but, you have to be receptive to it for you to recognize it.

How much energy do you waste thinking about how you need inspiration and motivation rather that utilizing the inspiration and motivation already presented to you?

Ummm...not to derail, but does the new kitty have a name?

Charlie - as in Charlie the Lonesome Cougar.

He looks an awful lot like this only a bit more orange.

You know, we used to name our animals cool, creative, and somewhat aeriodite names (Mephistoles, Mesopotamia and Aloysius) and now we're just normal people. Dexter, Buster, Jack, Lyra, Scoundrel and now Charlie - nothing to obscure in any of them.

I'm going to get a fish just so I can name it Anastsia Hippopotamus Rachmanonov. ;)

Oops. I derailed!

Well, I'll re-rail to say that, unfortunately, nothing inspires me about anything that has the purpose of making money. Even the creativity of art that is a guaranteed inspiration and motivator for me ... fails when money is the payoff in addition to creation.

At work, all I can rely on for motivation - - and it usually suffices for my employers and my sense of integrity if not for any soulful satisfaction - - is my perfectionism.

Outside of money-making, there is plenty of motivation and inspiration. I am motivated to create things, often odd-ball things ... and when I am doing so, I am practically obsessed (so very far beyond motivated). I am inspired by people I know, and they make me want to improve my life in ways I would never be able to do without their inspiration. In particular, I find the relative mellowness of my boyfriend and the genial mellowness plus sharp wit of the O.P. of this thread to be inspiring of a calm beauty that is foreign to me, but which I would like to emulate.


When all is said and done with our existence, what will we have valued of what we do for a living vs. what we do with our lives? It's our growth and our love and our spirit that matters in the end (and all the while) ... though there can be pride in accomplishments that have also put bread on the table, I suppose.

To get out of bed every morning even when I really don't want to?

Death.

Actually, I'm lying. There have certainly been days when I didn't feel like getting out of bed in the morning, so instead I remained there until 4 p.m., finally crawling out of my bed and into some clothes so that I could feed myself at a local diner.

But, in that case, I was seriously motivated to laze about in bed all day.

Mission Accomplished! Because, you see, I thought, "I really want to sleep today. And I could die at any moment, so I might as well do what I really want to do...and sleep."

At work it's often fear of failure. I wish I was a perfectionist. Most of my really talented and productive friends are, but I'm more of a "Good Enough" kind of girl.

I should paint! Except, well, I'd rather watch....Everwood! Good enough!

Ah man, can't a man whine?

I had a different kind of motivation this evening...

A guy went nuts while I was on the payphone with my wife, hung the phone up, and started slamming the handset against the phone (eventually breaking part of the earpiece).

Then he made the mistake of attacking me.

Every bit of workday frustration from today coursed through my fists, and relieved itself on his head and upperbody. I'm ok, I got a bruise on my right arm where I blocked a bad punch from him. A rent-a-cop at the gas station interrupted the incident, and kept me from killing him.

Damn CM....

I'm glad you're okay... more or less.

Any photos?

At work when I'm feeling in a rut, I tend to reorganize. This is especially helpful during slow periods, when I don't have a lot to do. It gives me something to do for a while, digs up new things to do that I may have forgotten, and gives me the chance to get a fresh look at my work and possibly a new way to to things to keep it more interesting.

man thongs

Hehehehe. He's supporting me pretty thoroughly at the moment! Ahhhh my Mr. Moneypants, how I love him.

Once you go man thong, you'll never go back.

yeah...they certainly motivate me! :evil:

Glad to hear it! :D


even if there is the occasional camel toe :evil: