What's My Motivation?

Part of my professional work deals with motivations to engage in certain activities.  Also, on a daily basis, I’m trying to motivate, encourage, and bolster professionals, students, and volunteers.

Very few people are motivated to accomplish anything.  Maybe I’m just an arrogant jerk, but I believe that I am a highly motivated person.  I work hard, invest a lot of time, energy, and passion into what I do, pay attention to details, and get really glad/sad/mad when my goals either come to fruition or wither on the vine.  I don’t get off on praise, I couldn’t care less how much money I make, and I’m pretty happy with my CV as it is.  I enjoy work for the sake of work.  And that’s the attitude that I see lacking in so many people.

It’s tempting to believe that I’ve been instilled with the Protestant Work Ethic by my working class Midwestern parents.  Trouble is, my attitudes and worldview are about 180 degrees removed from that of my parents.  And I know this is true with regard to my work ethic because when I was in school and grad school, their interest in my academic success was strictly limited to its direct impact on my earning potential.  They got excited about internships and job hunts, never about whether I was actually learning anything or actualizing myself as a person (maybe just their own working class bias towards education).  Plus, the whole predestination thing tied into the Protestant Work Ethic has no appeal to me, since nothing will happen when I die.  :)  I’m working now for no ultimate reward.  That’s okay – none’s needed.

What’s more likely is that I’m someone who is motivated by their need to prove themselves to the world.  I’m not of the vertically challenged persuasion, but growing up as a nerd, freak, bookworm, whatever, often motivates those types to work hard.  I may not have a Napoleon complex, but I’m sure there’s some complex there.  Couple that with being a white male in America whose work is likely to actually pay off (sadly, that's still a reality), and the incentive to work hard is there.

I’ve often wondered if the unmotivated, the idle, are just simply happy-go-lucky and perfectly content with themselves.  I question if I’m missing out on a life of pure joy by failing to just not give a shit.  Maybe that’s the case, but I don’t think I’m wired to move to that lifestyle.  I care too much.

But the question that baffles me is how to effectively motivate the apathetic.  Obviously external incentives like money, recognition, grades, and social pressure help.  But you’d be surprised at how many people (at least that I deal with professionally and in the classroom) don’t respond to rewards.  The real problem, as a coworker related to me today, are those tricky intrinsic, internal motivations.  How do you get someone to change their internal motivations, change how the little fireworks in their head go off?  How do you tug at those heart strings and make them realize how fun it is to be creative and execute your vision?  I'm not cynical enough yet to believe it's a lost cause for everybody.  So, I’m going to have to hit the Psychology textbook.  And I’ll let you know what I find out.