Greetings fellow academics,

This month's outpouring is on motivation, is it one of life’s necessary evils, where does it come from and more importantly how do we keep it?

Introduction

Welcome to my ‘Tales from the Dunes’ (for those that don’t know I am based in Kuwait). This will be a monthly blog on the trials and tribulations on what I hope to be a successful journey toward an MBA. When I decided to venture into this world of blogging it was with the noble intentions of:

1. Getting me used to creative writing again
2. A historical journal as proof that in years to come I can look back on this adventure of starting another degree course and show the grandchildren “See it’s never too late!”
3. Hopefully injecting a little humour into our time together (let’s face it starting out on this course kicking fifty (50) you have to have a highly developed sense of humour!)
4. Finally in all seriousness not just to prove to myself that I’m capable but to aid advancement in my company.

At this early stage in my quest it led me to question not just my own motivation but to investigate the concept of motivation.

What is Motivation?

I find it hard to accept that the majority of people don’t have ambition in some form or another, so what is this force that makes us achieve our ambitions then? Is it luck or do we make our own luck by constantly striving to better ourselves. It logically follows then, that in order to manufacture our own luck that we need to be motivated in order to achieve personal goals. These goals cover us all from day one.

Is Motivation a Conscious or Unconscious Phenomenon?

How many times have we put the pictures drawn by our little ones on the fridge door? Surely the child in question has not been formally taught the concept of motivation so it is an unconscious phenomenon, or is it? Do we not teach motivation by the reward of praise as witnessed by the hanging of the masterpiece in a place for all to see?

Is the same not true then for the rest of our working lives? It could be argued that the pursuit of wealth and material goods is a form of unconscious motivation, happily going from day-to-day content with what we achieve or are we secretly in need of the same praise and admiration like our young fridge painter enjoyed, but now from our peers as we buy the latest iphone, the holiday home abroad or yet another bass guitar (sorry Danielle!) this must surely make motivation a conscious act does it not?

How many of us have borne witness to multiple instances of highly experienced colleagues who by means of self motivation (unconscious) meet targets, goals and project deadlines, yet still can be passed over for promotion due to not meeting the minimum requirements, usually a degree of some sort. Unfortunately, (as far as I know) it is not possible to achieve a degree for common sense! Alas, I suspect that is what makes our motivation a conscious one leading us down this path of learning and enlightenment.

Conclusion

For those of us who have racked up a good few years of experience in our respective careers, we have all met the “seen it, done it” brigade. I have never had much time for the proponents of this saying personally, as it’s usually a good indicator of someone who has lost their motivational ‘mojo’, either that or they are just so arrogant that they believe they know it all so why get a piece of paper to prove it!

The fact of life is we all strive for recognition, everything from your first step to walking onto a platform to receive a degree, showing your first born to the world to being able to retire. All life’s milestones require motivation, some reach that goal unconsciously where the majority of us have make a continuous conscious effort to work harder, either way isn’t it good to know it never leaves you!

So next time you’re struggling and staring at a blank sheet of paper, desperate for the moment of inspiration to strike and pen a great essay or trying to come up with that knock out marketing idea. Take a minute, think upon what is important and good in your life. You can even draw a wee picture and put it on the fridge door if you like because motivation never leaves us, sometimes we just have to look harder within ourselves for it to appear and when it does your goal will be achieved and praise is sure to follow!

Andrew is currently studying for his Masters Entry Diploma in Management (University of Wales) with RDI.

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