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15 Peak Motivation
People work harder for others than they do
for themselves because humans are hard-wired for cooperation. For motivation,
social value is stronger than self-interest.
Negative proof:--Recently
a respected retirement home was saddened by the suicide of one of its most
appreciated residents, a retiree from an active and productive career, father
of several successful, caring children. Living with his wife, he was
surrounded by healthy activities and supporting family--a prime
prospect for an active retirement.
There was no surprise in his suicide.
Being provided everything he needed, he was missing the most important ingredient
of life: nobody needed him.
After a lifetime of caring for others, he was deprived of his vital identity as a nurturer.
Positive proof:--In
my childhood I heard a father testify at church that his daughter was keeping
him alive. He had experienced a difficult life that left him with a lovely
pre-teen daughter and insignificant material possessions. He would have given
up on himself, but he was sensitive to his daughter's needs and potential.
Supporting her progress assured him purpose for staying alive.
A young mother survived drug addiction to
save her daughter. Her first person account described frustration and drug
abuse before her pregnancy. Eventually her caring human values and mother
instinct made her sensitive to the needs of her daughter more than she had been
to her own needs. Her courage to overcome addiction was realizing that more
than her own life depended on recovery.
Discussion:--If
you are keen on resistance training, you may be thinking that adversity
makes us stronger. However, it is the will, not the resistance, that
leads to strength. Addicts have excess adversity. The geriatric client could
have sought out some worthy cause for which to live, some adversity to
overcome. Instead of being invigorated, he died internally lacking motivation
to find and conquer a challenge. He thought all his needs were being
met by other people and did not realize his overpowering need to be needed
by other people.
Consider the power of empathy: The new
name of this blog BeingForOthers reminds us that service to
others is peak motivation.
Being For Others Blog copyright © 2020 Kent Busse
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