Did you know that Saturday January 2nd was National Motivation and Inspiration Day? No, me neither, but apparently it was - and it has been celebrated, particularly in the US, annually since 2002.
Now, if you tuned into yesterday's worship here on the blog, you will have shared in our reaffirmation of faith on Covenant Sunday, so I thought this was a nice opportunity to think about the things that inspire us, motivate us, and help guide us in our daily lives. Perhaps it is also a good opportunity for us to revisit some of our projects we started during the lockdown last year - our journaling, scrapbooks and diaries - and formally recognise some of these motivations and inspirations there.
Motivation and inspiration can come in many forms. Intrinsic motivation is a type of motivation in which we are motivated by internal desires and is satisfied when internally rewarded. For example, we might be motivated to lose weight and get fit - we might then be happier about our overall health and appearance. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is a type of motivation in which we are motivated by external desires or extrinsic rewards - perhaps someone has suggested we need to lose weight and get fitter! It's an unpleasant conversation and topic and we are motivated to do something about it to avoid the external pressure again.
Then there are more minor forms of motivation. Incentive motivation or reward-based motivation is a type of motivation that you may be familiar with from the workplace when you are offered a reward once a certain goal is achieved. Or a reward-based motivation is in play when you work hard for a promotion. Similarly a fear-based motivation is one we are most likely familiar with - fear of letting ourselves or someone else down can inspire us and motivate us onward with a task.
There are so many motivating factors, and they are connected to so many aspects of our lives, that we can find these positive forces, these inspirations where-ever we look. For some it will be in seeing others achieve, it might be in the natural world around you, wanting to help someone or from something you have read. It may come from a direct conundrum or perhaps something more intangible, like faith, a sunrise, or a piece of music that sparks a feeling or emotion. It doesn't matter what they are or how you find them, but it is worth trying to identify and recognise some of them for yourself. Go on, give it a try!
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