Motivation- Fuel of Success

If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.

-Jim Rohn

Desire sets fire but fuel of success is only motivation. In fact, the spark that ignites is motivation itself. Motivation is the ‘cause’ part of cause-effect duo. It is the reason behind any behavior.  In reality, any deed could not proceed on its own without any reason. Each and every action must have a cause. This is the basis of Karma theory or the theory of cause and effect. Cause and effect are not two entities but one, Karma; the micro-level is cause and macro-level is known as effect.

A group of American car executives went to Japan to see a Japanese assembly line. At the end of the line, the doors were put on the hinges, the same as in America. But something was missing. In the United States, a line worker would take a rubber mallet and tap the edges of the door to ensure that it fit perfectly. In Japan, that job didn't seem to exist. Confused, the American auto executives asked at what point they made sure the door fit perfectly. Their Japanese guide looked at them and smiled sheepishly. "We make sure it fits when we design it." Motivation could be understood in terms of ‘Why’ which designs success.

There are many theories put forth to answer the ‘why’ of human behavior. Some emphasize importance of goal as driving force; some consider necessity as motivating factor while a few also focus on input-output ratio to be the determining part. The popular one includes theories of Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg, David McClelland, Adams etc.

Athletes in a race have to run fast to reach the finishing line. Is it the finishing line that they are running for? Of course not but for trophy; are they really running for trophy or may be there some sublime personal reasons such as gaining reputation, commitment to someone, earning bread, passion for running etc.?

Muhammad Ali was born as Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. He is a former professional boxer. He is a descendant of Pre Civil War era American slaves in the American South. His father painted billboards and signs and his mother was a household domestic. In spite of these odds, he won six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, an Amateur Athletic Union National Title, and the Light Heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He lost only five matches in his entire boxing career. He mentioned in his autobiography that he threw his Olympic gold medal into the Ohio River after he and a friend of his were refused service in a restaurant at Louisville because of being a Negro despite he was a Olympic Champion who bought pride to his motherland. Some whites tried to snatch his medal. He explained his feelings as “The Olympic Medal   had been the most precious that had ever come to me. I worshipped it. It was proof of my performance, status, a symbol of belonging, of being a part of the team, a country, a world. It was my way of redeeming myself with my teachers & schoolmates, of letting them know that although I had not won scholastic victories, there was something inside me capable of victory. How could I explain I wanted something that mean more than that? Something that was so proud of me as I would be of it. Something that would let me what I know I had to be, my own kind of Champion.”

After extensive studies, researches and analysis of enormous statistical data, it is found that manipulation and inspiration are the only ways to motivate human behavior and the factors behind motivation is either pleasure or fear. A behavior is manipulated by way of incentives or punishments. Inspiration could be obligatory or personal.

Pleasure and fear are opposites but complementary as poles of magnet which cannot be separated; it doesn't matter how hard one tries. Life itself is an excellent example. Oxygen is very essential to sustain life. Life without oxygen could not be imagined; even in a dream. Oxygen is oxidized in the process called oxidation in the mitochondria of cell where electrons are passed between different molecules, with each pass producing useful chemical energy needed for life but in the very process also releases free radicals of oxygen called oxidants which accumulates over time and shuts down mitochondria, causing cells to die, the organism to age and finally die. Oxygen is pleasure as it gives life and fear because it takes life. Life is a paradox, full of irony. All natural phenomena or processes are concoctions of pleasure and fear and it rests with us which one we choose to see.

There lived two brothers; Sohan and Mohan. Sohan was a drunkard and very cruel, always beating his wife and children while Mohan was a caring husband and responsible father. There was a big difference between their character as of sky & earth. It was something very strange for brothers who were living and had grown in similar conditions. This generated curiosity among the people to find out the reason. Sohan was asked first and he said that his father was also a drunkard and was doing the same. It was like “Like father like son.” But when Mohan was asked the same question, his reply was astonishing. According to Mohan, he was decent and generous because of his father’s deed. He was suffered a lot and decided not to suffer any people and would lead a peaceful life. It is not the condition which is responsible for the motivation but how one takes it.

Every act we do intensifies the motivation behind it in proportion to contributions it made. An act carried out identically could affect different people differently, or even the same person differently at different times because the motivations for the act are likely to be different. If the feelings that lead the action are of pleasure then the particular act intensifies the pleasure. If fear is the motivation for an act, the act intensifies that fear.

Napoleon Hill ranked the desire for sex expression as top most stimuli for human mind. He opined that desire for sexual pleasure is so strong and impelling that the human freely run the risk of life and reputation to indulge it. Anaïs Nin, author of Delta of Venus, praised orgasm in the words: “Electric flesh-arrows... traversing the body. A rainbow of color strikes the eyelids. A foam of music falls over the ears. It is the gong of the orgasm.” The duration and count of orgasmic pleasure is transitory and limited. Human want to extend their duration and counts. This is reflected in the sales report of aphrodisiac products. On the contrary, there are women who have hundred orgasms a day; climaxing every thirty seconds. Their experiences are not pleasure but agony. They suffer from women’s rare disorder called Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD). The persistent arousal is a restless, painful feeling that drives these women mad. Kim Ramsey said “People who don’t understand the disorder think multiple orgasms are a luxury, but I’m constantly in pain.” As it turns out, far from being blessed with a succession of divine orgasms of mega proportions, sufferers of PGAD are very deeply traumatized by the condition. Gretchen Molannen committed suicide after years of battling her affliction. Wilhelm Reich, an eminent psychoanalyst, well said that the pleasure of living and the pleasure of the orgasm are identical. Extreme orgasm anxiety forms the basis of the general fear of life.

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice.

-Wayne Dyer