I have to admit that I'm a junkie when it comes to talking with people about the basic psychology of life. With the little bits of training I had in college for counseling on general issues, combined with a fair number of therapist visits before and after my divorce, I really feel like I've learned enough to have these great conversations with people.
Lately, I've had a lot of conversations with friends about a range of topics involving professional development. A friend of mine recently went to a job that he will love. I've talked about the danger of compromise and settling. There's the origin of innovation, as a recurring theme. Don't forget the fluid definition of success. But I think the next big thing to tackle, in part for my own satisfaction, is the topic of motivation.
I've been around a lot of people who struggled to keep their head above water in grad school, and one of my friends is in that position now. She's at the end, and the stress and volume of work makes her want to bail. I for one would have a hard time in that situation. So where does the desire to work through it and achieve something come from?
There's no question that money, which we often associate with everything from survival to success, can be a motivator. But we also know from mounds of research that intrinsic motivation is far more powerful. I can tell you that in my life, I'm so full of intrinsic motivation to do so many things that I could burst. The problem is that even the things we ordinarily enjoy can have phases where there is no joy to be had. In the grad school example, one might love learning and soaking up knowledge, but having to get another paper done or study for a make-or-break exam can suck the motivation right out of you.
I think it's safe to say that this is, in part, just what life is. I struggle with this all of the time. There are components to what I do, whether it's in my professional life or in hobbies, that I would rather just not do. These less fun things can often block the entire process and overpower the intrinsic motivation.
The challenge, then, is to find the motivation to power through a pile of suck so you can get back to doing what you really enjoy. It's hard. You need to lean on people, engage in useful distractions and most importantly, develop a plan to do the sucky stuff. In fact, the primary motivator might just be to get it behind you so you can again rely on the intrinsic motivators.
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